Choice or decision: committed literature through Sartre-Bataille's exchange

Abstract

The explicit and implicit dialogue between Georges Bataille and Jean-Paul Sartre was a crucial moment for the mutations that occurred in the essay genre, as well as in 20th-century French philosophy and literature, particularly in the post-World War II period. In this article, I propose to examine some moments where the works of these two authors came into contact, highlighting the constant presence of two words, choice and decision, which still seem pertinent for what would be a revaluation or reassessment of the notion of engagement(or “committed literature”)as a key word in literary criticism and theory.