Thank you for your intelligent and thought-provoking post, Lionel! I knew just enough about Sartre to wonder what, other than the Nazi Occupation, made him so morose and life-denying (especially since he was in a creatively nourishing relationship).

Now I see that, as with so many other people (including myself at one point), he was determined to make himself miserable and ignore what was nourishing and fulfilling around him.