The Thermal Economy of Terror: Ambient Materiality and Affective Confinement in Jean-Paul Sartre's The Wall

Abstract

The modern concept of sovereignty is a mechanism with an influence on the human body which is undeniable during times of crisis. In such situation, thermal agency and environmental hostility are also crucial. The research paper focuses on Jean-Paul Sartre's perspective of the effect of sovereignty on physical control and the development of dread in confined areas. In order to understand the mechanisms of state-approved dehumanization, the protagonist, Pablo Ibbieta, endures the physical trauma and sensory sensations imposed by the dictatorship in the hospital cellar.  The concept of bare life and affective atmospheres by Ben Anderson and Giorgio Agamben are employed to assess how space contours the characters' physical reactions and how the environment functions to frame total horror. As Ibbieta confronts his imminent death, he learns that sovereign institutions have total control over his somatic responses. This study demonstrates how reality is framed by power structures and environmental constraints, physiological stability is undermined, and biological capitulation replaces it.