Aden, Arabie is the story of a man who attempts to flee bourgeois life in France by seeking exoticism in the Middle East. His trip is a failure; the freedom of travel is exposed as an illusion. This account is based on Nizan's own trip to Arabia and has been resurrected through the efforts of Jean-Paul Sartre. In Aden, Arabie, Nizan came to understand that everywhere-in Arabia as in France-oppressive forces drain us of our humanity.
