Sartre's No Exit: Existentialism vs. Determinism

Introduction: Existentialism and the Setting of Hell

Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit is an apt description of existential hell (Sartre, 1958). Existentialism attempts to describe our desire to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe. It requires the active acceptance of our nature — or, alternatively, assumes we are at our best when we struggle against our nature. In either case, we are meant to want this engagement. Given this brief characterization of existentialism, what transpires in No Exit is that the characters are trapped within their own natures, experiencing a loss of freedom at several distinct levels.

The stage setting itself is revealing. Even in writing No Exit, Sartre cannot completely rid himself of his existentialist leanings. He calls for a chandelier in the center of the room, and in the ceiling there is a hole — which he allows as a symbolic escape route. The physical space thus encodes the philosophical tension at the heart of the play: confinement alongside the perpetual, tantalizing suggestion of a way out.

Three Levels of Lost Freedom

The first loss of freedom is the room in which Joseph Garcin, Inez Serrano, and Estelle Rigault are trapped. Here, nothing ever changes. They are destined to exist forever on three sofas in a space that is sparsely furnished — furnished as no livable room would be. The seasons do not change; the lights remain on without interruption. The existences of the players (one cannot call it life, since they are dead) form a continuum from which there is no respite. This is a loss of the freedom of life itself.

At the second level, Garcin, Serrano, and Rigault are trapped with personalities that confound one another. There are aspects of each that the others find appealing, but the dislikes easily trump the likes. At the third level, the three are trapped within themselves. They are the victims of their own personalities and idiosyncrasies. Their actions in life are what brought them to this place, yet even in death they neither possess nor seek freedom from themselves. Towards the end of the play, Inez makes a statement that captures the essence of their condition: "Hell is — other people." It is natural to blame others when mere introspection would help. What the characters need is freedom from themselves, but they never realize it. Thus, no matter in what realm they find themselves, they are bound to suffer this lack of freedom.

At the beginning of the narrative, the reader is led to believe that the room is a hotel or a prison of some kind. As the story proceeds, it becomes clear that the players are dead, and there is no doubt that this place is hell. But why? What have these people done to merit such a fate? As the story unfolds, the answer emerges through each character's biography.

Character Profiles: Lives That Earned Damnation

Joseph Garcin is a pacifist writer. When war breaks out, he is branded a traitor because he refuses to support it. He is sentenced to death and executed — shot with twelve bullets. By nature, he is an emotional abuser. In his wife, who possesses a martyr complex, he finds a perfect victim. He met her when he rescued her, as he puts it, "from the gutters." While he plays the hero for the cause of freedom of speech and expression in public, he revels in muzzling his wife at home, torturing her through serial philandering. His married life consisted of his long-suffering wife acceding to his every wish. He loves women as sexual objects but cannot abide them as companions, nor does he attempt to understand them when they do not serve his immediate desires.

Estelle Rigault is an attractive and deeply vain woman. While she was alive, her bedroom contained six mirrors so that she could constantly observe herself. Her very reason for being was the knowledge that she was always in the limelight. She married an older man because he could provide for her sickly brother's medical treatment, but she later fell in love with a younger man and began an affair with him. She became pregnant and, against her lover's pleading, killed the baby girl to avoid the inconvenience the affair would cause her. She later contracted pneumonia and died.

Inez Serrano is a postal clerk and a lesbian. She has an affair with a woman named Florence, breaking up Florence's marriage in the process. The heartbroken husband either commits suicide or is struck by a tram. Inez lives with Florence for a time, but by her own admission, she makes the lives of those near her miserable. Florence, consumed by guilt, kills both herself and Inez by turning on the gas in their apartment. Inez is perceptive and objective, but this objectivity masks a need for quick, ruthless solutions and conceals a take-charge personality that suffocates those around her.

References

Blatchford, R. (1994). The delusion of free will. In E. D. Klemke, A. D. Kline, & R. Hollinger (Eds.), Philosophy: Contemporary perspectives on perennial issues (4th ed., pp. 112–117). St. Martin's Press.

Sartre, J. P. (1958). No exit: A play in one act (Acting ed.). Samuel French.