Work · Jean-Paul Sartre
Nekrassov
A swindler impersonates a defecting Soviet official and becomes useful to a press hungry for anticommunist revelations.
Understanding the text
First staged in 1955 during the Cold War, this satirical comedy examines the newspaper industry and the manufacture of politically useful revelations.
Key points
- 01
Information
A story can be published because it satisfies expectations rather than evidence.
- 02
Character
Lying requires continually performing an identity recognized by others.
- 03
Institutions
Press interests enable and destabilize the impostor's career.
How to read it
Track who benefits from believing each version; comedy emerges from collective mechanisms of lying.
Editions & sources
Summaries and key points are original editorial interpretations. They accompany reading the work and do not replace an edition of the text. Editorial method ↗