I would like to take this opportunity to discuss Jean Paul Sartre's philosophy and it's integration into his play "No Exit". Embedded within the character interactions are many Sartrean philosophical themes. Personal attributes serve to demonstrate some of the more dominant ideas in Sartre's writings. Each of the three characters in the play show identifiable characteristics of sexual perversion, bad faith, and interactions of consciousness.

This play takes an interesting setting, that of the afterlife. The plot centers around three main characters, Joseph Garcin, Estelle Rigault and Inez Serrano. Hell, as portrayed in this work, is no more than a room with three couches and Second Empire decorum. There are no mirrors, no windows, no books, generally no form of amusement. Some very human privileges that we take for granted have also been taken away: sleep, tears, and even momentary reprieves of blinking. Each of the three characters is introduced into the room by a surprisingly polite Valet. Initial confrontations are "uncomfortable", each person knowing that he/she is deceased, but they are not impolite. However, as the true reasons why each person has been sentenced to Hell are revealed, t

Inez: ..I crept inside her skin, she saw the world through my eyes. When she left him, I had her on my hands.

Our third character is Inez Serrano. I believe that she is presented as an incarnation of what we would all consider to be "evil". She and Garcin are the first two individuals to enter the room, and she instantly believes that he is the torturer. Garcin is shocked and amazed, and after explaining that he is no such person asks why she would think so:

Inez: When I say I'm cruel, I mean I can't get on without making people suffer. Like a live coal. A live coal in other's hearts. When I'm alone I flicker out. For six months I flamed away in her heart, till there was nothing but a cinder. One night she got up and turned on the gas while I was asleep. Then she crept back into bed. So now you know. (No Exit, pg. 27)

This fact is the one that he believes condemned him to his fate in Hell. Chronologically, this is our first example of sexual perversion. Garcin was a complete womanizer, he dominated his wife in any way possible, and used other women for nothing other than sex. Sartre would say that he destroyed any gains from sexual desire by actually fulfilling those needs. The play serves to enforce that idea. Not only does Garcin know that it was this behavior that brought him to Hell, but he sees his wife in a "saintly" light. His words insinuate that Garcin did not have a sexual relationship with his wife, and yet she still craved him. I believe that this is meant to enforce the desire theory. Garcin hated his wife for wanting him so much, she had achieved the ultimate end of sexuality, a state that he spent his time continually destroying. Therefore, it was not so much hatred, but it's remarkably similar cousin: jealousy.

The first person to appear in the play is Mr.Garcin. At first glance, he is a very polite, gentlemanly, and moral individual. However, the further into the play that we read, we find that he is none of these things. Instead, he represents some of the worst ails that afflict humankind (according to Sartre). He was graced with a wife that loved him unconditionally, and he loathed for no other reason. In fact, one the first memories that he has of her is how "she got on his nerves". There is one story that is obviously intended to shock the reader, and provide a good interpretation of Garcin's true character. He states:

Her actions have given us more evidence to Sartre's theory of sexual desire and it's relation to sexual perversion. The most prolific and impressive state of any sexual interaction is that of desire. Unfortunately it is a state that is inherently unstable. The only way to satisfy the sexual desire one feels is through the physical act. As we see from Estelle's story (and her opinion of it), this quickly degrades.

We can sit and say that this is futile and thereby not worth any effort put into it. Our characters, and Sartre for that matter, believe that the state of sexual desire is so alluring that it is irresistible. Estelle has no shame about expressing this theme, constantly demanding that Garcin show some physical affection. It was this affection, and it's ends, that originally sentenced her to Hell! In addition to this story, Estelle goes on to enhance the sexual perversion theme when discussing Peter, a boy she knew in life. She can see him dancing with her best friend Olga, and is very quickly angered:

Inez: [We must try] To forget about the others? How utterly absurd. I feel you there, in every pore. Your silence clamors in my ears. You can nail your mouth shut, cut your tongue out - but you can't prevent your being there. Can you stop your thoughts? I hear them ticking away like a clock, tick-tock, tick-tock, and I'm certain you hear mine...

Some common words found in the essay are:
Inez I'm, Inez Inez, Estelle Roger, Hell Chronologically, Inez That's, Valet Initial, Yes Inez, We're-inseparables Exit, Laugh I'm, Exit Embedded, sexual perversion, exit pg, sexual desire, bad faith, world eyes, sartre's sexual perversion, sartre's sexual, play garcin, drain hole, inez serrano, sartre's theory, exit pg 43, oaklander pg 284,
Approximate Word count = 3025
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)