No Exit - Sartre: "Hell Is Other People"
Topics:
Jean-Paul Sartre, Estelle Asmodelle, Existentialism Pages: 18 (3374 words)
Published: September 8, 2008
Hell is Other People
“Only in the self can the drama of truth occur. A crowd is untruth.” - Kierkegaard
On a literal level, Sartre’s play, “No Exit”, is an account of three individuals
damned to a hell unlike any other. The first and only Act opens upon the arrival of
Garcin. He is escorted by a valet into a room furnished with Second-Empire furniture
where he shall be spending the rest of his eternal existence. The valet, the only other
character besides the occupants of this room, is amused by Garcin’s pre-conceived notion
of hell. Garcin observes there are no mirrors, nor anything breakable in the room. He
then shouts that they should have at least allowed him his “damn toothbrush!” The valet
is further amused by this outburst, pointing out that every single “guest” inquires about
the torture chamber, and then once they’ve gotten over the initial shock, they start asking
for their toothbrushes and what-not. He assures Garcin that he’ll have no need for his
toothbrush here, nor sleep, and advises him to forego his “sense of human dignity”.
While trying to come to terms with his situation, Garcin is disturbed by the valet’s
lidless eyes and parallels his perpetual sight to his own perpetual consciousness. “So
that’s the idea, I am to live without eyelids….No eyelids, no sleep; it follows, doesn’t it?
I shall never sleep again. But then - how shall I endure my own company?” (After
rereading the play for a second time, this seems the most ironic bit because Garcin is
Liedtke 2
unaware at this point that this room IS his torture chamber, and the other occupants are
his torturers, and there will be no escaping them; not even in sleep.)
When left alone, Garcin quickly grows impatient and begins repeatedly ringing
the bell which is supposedly meant to summon the valet. However, it doesn’t seem to be
working so he gives up. The door then opens and the valet is accompanied this time by
a woman named Inez. She observes Garcin and is silent when the valet asks if she has
any questions. When he exits, she immediately demands from Garcin the whereabouts of
someone named Florence, but he has no idea what she’s talking about. Inez assumes
Garcin is her torturer and when he asks why she thinks that, she replies that torturers
often look frightened. He laughs at this, for who have torturers to be frightened of? Inez
replies, “Laugh away, but I know what I’m talking about. I’ve often watched my own
face in the glass.”
Garcin perceives her hostility but attempts to get along with Inez. He says it’s
obvious she doesn’t want him near her and that’s good because he himself would rather
be alone anyways. “To think things through, you know; to set my life in order, and one
does that better by oneself.” He does, however, suggest they try to appease the situation
by being extremely courteous to one another. Inez bluntly states, “ I am not polite.”
(Basically, Inez is a lesbian and hates men, and the very presence of Garcin irritates
her.) She is soon annoyed by his fidgetiness and reproaches him for it; “You talk about
politeness, and yet you don’t even try to control your face. Remember you’re not alone;
you’ve no right to inflict the sight of your fear on me.” She believes there’s no use left in
being afraid because they are dead, and there is nothing to hope for anymore. He
declares, “There may be no more hope - but it’s still before. We haven’t yet begun to
suffer.”
The final “guest” then enters the room; another woman named Estelle. She
immediately tells Garcin, whose face is buried in his hands, not to look up. (He’s a man,
so naturally he looks up.) She realizes she mistook him for someone else; someone she
was expecting to face when she got to hell.Estelle’s first concern is the sofas that are
meant for them to sit on;...
Cited: Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980): Existentialism, The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 10 Jan. 2006 http://www.iep.utm.edu/s/sartre-ex.htm
Kamber, Richard. On Sartre. New York: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. Nausea. New York: New Direction Publishing Corporations, 1964.
“Only in the self can the drama of truth occur. A crowd is untruth.” - Kierkegaard
On a literal level, Sartre’s play, “No Exit”, is an account of three individuals
damned to a hell unlike any other. The first and only Act opens upon the arrival of
Garcin. He is escorted by a valet into a room furnished with Second-Empire furniture
where he shall be spending the rest of his eternal existence. The valet, the only other
character besides the occupants of this room, is amused by Garcin’s pre-conceived notion
of hell. Garcin observes there are no mirrors, nor anything breakable in the room. He
then shouts that they should have at least allowed him his “damn toothbrush!” The valet
is further amused by this outburst, pointing out that every single “guest” inquires about
the torture chamber, and then once they’ve gotten over the initial shock, they start asking
for their toothbrushes and what-not. He assures Garcin that he’ll have no need for his
toothbrush here, nor sleep, and advises him to forego his “sense of human dignity”.
While trying to come to terms with his situation, Garcin is disturbed by the valet’s
lidless eyes and parallels his perpetual sight to his own perpetual consciousness. “So
that’s the idea, I am to live without eyelids….No eyelids, no sleep; it follows, doesn’t it?
I shall never sleep again. But then - how shall I endure my own company?” (After
rereading the play for a second time, this seems the most ironic bit because Garcin is
Liedtke 2
unaware at this point that this room IS his torture chamber, and the other occupants are
his torturers, and there will be no escaping them; not even in sleep.)
When left alone, Garcin quickly grows impatient and begins repeatedly ringing
the bell which is supposedly meant to summon the valet. However, it doesn’t seem to be
working so he gives up. The door then opens and the valet is accompanied this time by
a woman named Inez. She observes Garcin and is silent when the valet asks if she has
any questions. When he exits, she immediately demands from Garcin the whereabouts of
someone named Florence, but he has no idea what she’s talking about. Inez assumes
Garcin is her torturer and when he asks why she thinks that, she replies that torturers
often look frightened. He laughs at this, for who have torturers to be frightened of? Inez
replies, “Laugh away, but I know what I’m talking about. I’ve often watched my own
face in the glass.”
Garcin perceives her hostility but attempts to get along with Inez. He says it’s
obvious she doesn’t want him near her and that’s good because he himself would rather
be alone anyways. “To think things through, you know; to set my life in order, and one
does that better by oneself.” He does, however, suggest they try to appease the situation
by being extremely courteous to one another. Inez bluntly states, “ I am not polite.”
(Basically, Inez is a lesbian and hates men, and the very presence of Garcin irritates
her.) She is soon annoyed by his fidgetiness and reproaches him for it; “You talk about
politeness, and yet you don’t even try to control your face. Remember you’re not alone;
you’ve no right to inflict the sight of your fear on me.” She believes there’s no use left in
being afraid because they are dead, and there is nothing to hope for anymore. He
declares, “There may be no more hope - but it’s still before. We haven’t yet begun to
suffer.”
The final “guest” then enters the room; another woman named Estelle. She
immediately tells Garcin, whose face is buried in his hands, not to look up. (He’s a man,
so naturally he looks up.) She realizes she mistook him for someone else; someone she
was expecting to face when she got to hell.Estelle’s first concern is the sofas that are
meant for them to sit on;...
Cited: Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980): Existentialism, The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 10 Jan. 2006 http://www.iep.utm.edu/s/sartre-ex.htm
Kamber, Richard. On Sartre. New York: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. Nausea. New York: New Direction Publishing Corporations, 1964.
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