Marcel, Gabriel (1889–1973)

French dramatist and philosopher. His philosophy, which has been described as a Christian version of existentialism, owes much to Bergson, Nietzsche, and Dostoevski.

Among his plays are La Chapelle ardente (1925), Un Homme de Dieu (1929), Le Fanal (1936), Le Dard (1936), Rome n'est plus dans Rome (1951), Les Coeurs avides (1953), and Croissez et multipliez (1955). His philosophical works include Etre et avoir (1935), Le Mystere de L'Etre (1951–52), and Presence et Immortalite (1959).

Marcel differs from Sartre and other atheist existentialists in that despair and anguish at the absurdity of life are no part of his attitude. For him as for other Catholic existentialists, despair is no more than a transient temptation. Hope is the texture of life, and is its essential condition.