Sartre's Use Of Hell As A Dramtic Devices

Sartre’s use of hell as a dramtic device in the play ‘Huis Clos’ is highly effective. It gives him a platform to explore his philosophical themes, in particular the objectifying gaze of the other, self deception, bad faith as well as the issue of human freedom and responsibility. It allows him to shock the audience by challenging their pre-conceived notion of hell. By shying away from the stereotypical view of hell Sartre challenges his audience to become introspective and ask uncomfortable questions of themselves. His use of hell as a dramtic device also gives him the chance to capture the full and total attention of his audience by creating an air of mystery and tension. I will be discussing these points in my essay.
Sartre’s depiction
However, he finds he doesn’t want to, and the women hesitate as well. Estelle tries to convince Inez to leave so she and Garcin can be alone, but Garcin says he will stay because of Inez.He is totally consumed with how she sees him and desperately seeks her approval. Garcin vows that he will not leave the room unless Inez pronounces her faith in him. She does not, and Garcin, unable to exercise his freedom, instead chooses imprisonment. He concludes, “Hell is—other people!” We can see quite clearly from this that the characters in Huis Clos give each other the ammunition by which to destroy themselves. They both resist and rely on each other. Garcin initially begs for the women to be silent but then finds himself depending on them to validate him as a man. In declaring her love for Estelle, Inez provides Garcin with all he needs to torture her. Estelle clearly needs both Inez and Garcin to make her feel beautiful, like a woman. She wants Inez to be her mirror and craves physical affection from Garcin. Their relationships in Hell are warped and twisted, mirroring their warped and twisted relationships on earth. Even in the afterlife they cannot escape the people they once were. Garcin is still a coward who refuses to take responsibility for himself, Estelle is still vain, shallow and craves affection from others while Ines is still