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No Exit and Three Other Plays

4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 · rating details · 12,832 ratings · 409 reviews

In these four plays, Jean-Paul Sartre, the great existentialist novelist and philosopher, displays his mastery of drama. NO EXIT is an unforgettable portrayal of hell. THE FLIES is a modern reworking of the Electra-Orestes story. DIRTY HANDS is about a young intellectual torn between theory and praxis. THE RESPECTFUL PROSTITUTE is a scathing attack on American racism.
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Paperback, 275 pages

Published October 23rd 1989 by Vintage (first published 1949)

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Jan 30, 2011 Cassandra Silva rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy, theatre

I am surprised no one said much about the piece "Dirty Hands" since it was terribly interesting and took up a great deal of this book. Though I love No exit and think that the punch line was both clever and well developed I think that Dirty Hands was by far a more enjoyable work. It was extremely clever, the wit was harsh. The characters manipulative and yet humorously negatable. The deep political messages, the thoughts surrounding "purity of political ideals". For some reason I can just better...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Ensiform rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, french

Four plays:

"No Exit," translated by S. Gilbert. Three strangers, locked in a room. Can't really say anything about this brilliant allegory without revealing too much. It should be very widely read.

"The Flies," translated by S. Gilbert. A reworking of the Orestes/Electra story. I liked it better than Euripides'. Sartre made the characters multi-faceted and real; he also added Zeus as an adversary of Orestes who feeds on remorse. Orestes' refusing to repudiate his crime, create his own freedom an...more

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Nov 10, 2009 Madeline rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: assigned-reading

A brief one-act that seems much longer than it really is. Alternately horrible and funny, it's Sartre's take on Hell, which can be described as such: a small hotel room with no windows or mirrors, a door that is usually locked, and three couches. Three people - Garcin, Ines, and Estelle - are all brought to this room by what I can only guess is a bellboy. (I read this in French, so forgive any factual errors that I missed as a reult of that) Everyone keeps asking, "Where's the torturer?" because...more

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Mar 02, 2009 Adeline rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jean Paul Sartre uses hell for the setting of his existentially significant work, No Exit. While Sartre is an atheist, he uses a place that is fundamentally connected to Christian beliefs. Yet Sartre's hell is vastly dissimilar to the Christian conception of hell, and makes no reference to a God or Satan. Ultimately, the hell in No Exit serves the same purpose as a Christian hell: to torment and torture. The methods used are different, but the result is the same. In fact, Sartre's hell is more i...more Jean Paul Sartre uses hell for the setting of his existentially significant work, No Exit. While Sartre is an atheist, he uses a place that is fundamentally connected to Christian beliefs. Yet Sartre's hell is vastly dissimilar to the Christian conception of hell, and makes no reference to a God or Satan. Ultimately, the hell in No Exit serves the same purpose as a Christian hell: to torment and torture. The methods used are different, but the result is the same. In fact, Sartre's hell is more intense than a Christian one because not only is one tortured, but one tortures others, and most importantly oneself. A Christian hell features external tortures, but in Sartre's one is his or her own torturer.
While a Christian hell offers fire and brimstone, infinite lakes of fire, and the rack, Sartre's hell consists of little more than confinement and human company. In fact, Sartre's hell ultimately proves to offer an escape; it's the people who choose to continue their torment. Sinners sent to a Christian hell “shall be punished with everlasting destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). Pain and destruction might be the ultimate punishment for a Christian, but for Sartre's existentialist characters the judgment of “the other” is the greatest torture.
When Sartre's three main characters enter the scene, they are shocked by the lack of sinister “instruments of torture” (No Exit, 4). Slowly, Garcin begins to understand the nature of his torture, if not the actual form it will take. “Ah”, he says, “it's life without a break” (5). Once Garcin observes the lack of eyelids in his hell, he realizes there will be no escape. The rack and poker can only cause so much pain. But this hell is eternal, without even a momentary respite. A Christian hell offers physical tortures, but a Sartrean hell dispenses psychological torture. Garcin, Inez, and Estelle are to be eternally plagued with each other's company. And of course, with company comes judgment.
Inez is the only one who comprehends the torture that the company of others is to be. She is also the only member of the trio who outrightly admits to her sins. Inez explains the nature of the group's sinning: “There have been people who burned their lives out for our sakes – and we chuckled over it” (17). Inez is the only character who is not in “bad faith”; she is completely aware of her cruelty and need for dominance. She desires domination and admits that she “can't get on without making people suffer” (26). As a lesbian, she transgresses the lines of typical sexual interactions and takes on a typically male role. The other two sinners, Garcin and Estelle, outrightly deny that they have sinned. Estelle, in fact, goes so far as to claim that a mistake has occurred; surely she doesn't belong in hell! Bur Inez knows better. She knows that “they never make mistakes” (16) in hell, and that her two companions are being untruthful.
Ultimately the group's concern with “the other” stems from power. All three have different needs for power and control. Inez must control others with the intent of causing harm. Estelle needs to feel desired, and by feeling desired she believes herself to have control. She is also particularly disturbed by the lack of mirrors in hell, because she needs to “see [herself:] as others saw [her:]” (19). Garcin is, it seems, the least power-hungry of the trio but he nonetheless asserts his dominance over his wife and over Estelle. Estelle fixates on Garcin and seeks his admiration because he is the only available male. Though Inez affirms her beauty, it is not enough for Estelle. She needs a man to affirm her. Garcin takes advantage of this situation as much as he took advantage of his wife. Estelle is weak in the same way that Garcin's wife was – she is willing to accept sub-par treatment as long as she has a man. Garcin wishes to use Estelle to affirm his bravery. If he can convince Estelle that he is truly a brave man, then he somehow feels better. Of course, Estelle doesn't care one way or the other about Garcin's true self; “Coward or hero, it's all one – provided he kisses well” (38).
Garcin, Inez, and Estelle are unendingly confronted with the judgment of others as their punishment, as well as the company of each other who happen to be equally judgmental and simultaneously terrified of judgment. While Inez seems completely aware of her transgressions, the other two are in total denial. In fact, they are unwilling to truthfully share the circumstances of their deaths. They lie in an attempt to hide from the negative judgments of their companions, just as they eluded justice for their actions while on earth. However, once the truth does come out, and once Inez has fully expanded on her own cruelty, it becomes like a sort of contest amongst the the trio. Each person wants to explain how cruel they were and what “power” they held over the other. Estelle made a man die, Garcin tortured his wife, Inez seduced a woman and led her to her death. Surely they must be important, special, and powerful to have had such a profound effect on the other? But even with this shallow victory they continue to require affirmation from the other. The way they are thought of on the earth they no longer inhabit becomes of extreme importance.
All three characters claim that they don't care about others, and they outline their cruelties without any real sign of remorse. It seems like a badge of pride that they have been able to inflict so much damage on others. The strange contradiction to this is their unending concern with the judgment of others. They view the other as essentially useless, a petty object to be toyed with, and yet they can't handle the prospect of being thought negatively of. The three look down at the people they left behind and hope their minds are focused on the deceased. If people on earth still value them, then their lives continue to be significant. Estelle wants men on earth to miss and admire her, Garcin wants his peers to respect him and affirm that he is not a coward. Garcin's “fate” (39) has been left in the hands of others, and the prospect scares him. Even after they realize that earth is somewhat separate from them, they cannot let go of the need for affirmation from each other. Even in hell they need affirmation; Estelle believes that if Garcin loves her, then she can be happy and have power, for example.
When the three are given the opportunity to leave hell and the hell of each other's company, they don't take it. They are so wrapped up in the need for affirmation that they can't leave each other until they are sure they have it. Garcin stares at the open door and says, “I couldn't leave you here, gloating over my defeat” (42). He then proceeds to shut the door and continue what is now SELF-imposed torture. This is where the most significant difference between a Christian hell and a Sartrean one becomes highly apparent. In the Christian hell there is the rack and the poker to torture the sinner. But in the case of the poker, someone else must inflict pain. In Sartre's hell the sinners torture themselves.
Hell is not only a place of unending “judgment”, but to a Christian part of the torture of hell is the absence of God. Once one is damned to hell they are forever without God's love and presence. Obviously, Sartre does not care if God is present, and the three sinners in Sartre's hell seem to have no notion whatsoever of a God. The fact that their hell lacks God is irrelevant. But there is a different sort of lack that causes their torture. They lack the presence of others who can make them feel good about themselves and make their lives meaningful. They look down on earth and observe the lives they no longer touch, and the consciousness of those people somehow define their own existence. As the ability to see down to earth fades away, so does their importance on earth. Estelle looks down and as long as she can see her old life she is only “half here” (32) in hell. When Garcin's view down to earth is gone, he surrenders and claims, “I've left my fate in their hands” (39). His hope is that even though he cannot see the earth anymore, the earth will remember him.
Of course, the remembrances of others are not enough to satisfy Sartre's characters. The specific WAY in which they are remembered is of equal, if not more, importance. Garcin is fixated on being remembered as a brave man. Estelle wants to see that her beaus still desire her. All the characters are also fixated on each other. Inez is the most diabolical, it seems, but we see a certain degree of weakness in her. While she does seem cold, she is also very dependent on trapping Estelle's emotions. But it is hard to tell whether she needs love or if she genuinely needs to hurt the psyches of others in order to be happy. Considering that up to this point she has been the only one living “in good faith”, she can be seen as truly cruel. She may need to make others miserable in order to be happy, but we can assume she will have no problem finding such happiness. She is, after all, in hell, where torture is on the menu and she is an expert chef. In fact, her power to make the others suffer is so great that they don't even run from her when the opportunity arises. Garcin could run from her when the door opens, but she has entrapped him so thoroughly that he cannot leave without her blessings regarding his character.
In Sartre's hell there is no God and no Satan, as well as no implements for physical suffering. And yet the three characters who find themselves there are in agony. They rely on the positive opinions of others, and both their companions and those they left on earth do not give them this affirmation. Sartre's hell runs with great economy, as the tortured become their own torturers, and no one can leave because of their dependence on others. Locks are unnecessary in his hell, as the damned become psychologically dependent on each other – even as they feel pure hatred for the other. The Sartrean notion of hell offers a level of psychological torture that a Christian hell cannot achieve: the pain of torturing oneself. And unlike a Christian hell, there is no need to employ torturers or buy any tools. The damned take care of the torturing without any input or supervision. A fantastically effective hell that requires no effort on the part of any outside entity. What could be more perfect?(less)

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Nov 12, 2008 Lucy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: senior-year-bookshelf

The second book I read is No Exit by Jean Paul Satre. I thought this book was really psychological and reminded me of a lot of things. In the book 3 people were brought to this place where there was thing but them. The theme of the book was to be yourself and not let anyone judge you. People do not make who you are, you are yourself. The 3 protagonists were unable to get pass people’s opinions so they were unable to leave. In life I think everyone cares about what others think of them. The only...more

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Sep 04, 2007 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: autodidactic, fiction

I wish I had years and years left of college so I could have fit in all the classes I could dream of. If I did, I would have taken an course in existentialism. Unfortunately it was only ever briefly touched on in one philosophy class, but the brief mention was enough to ignite an interest that I was free to pursue on my own.

I would recommend that anyone who finds comfort in exitentialism, like myself, read NO Exit. The line "Hell is other people" might be one of my favorite mantras.

Why I find i...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Ayo Summers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: summer-2012

The No Exit and Three Other Plays by Jean-Paul Sartre is compilation of four different plays; No Exit, The Flies, Dirty Hands and The Respectful Prostitute. All of these plays were good however my favorite play in this book is No Exit. There are four characters in this play, Garcin, Inez and Estelle who have all been dammed to hell, and Valet who shows Garcin, Inez and Estelle to their room where they have to spend an eternity with each other. I really enjoyed this play for two reasons. The firs...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Chrissy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, gamechangers

"One always dies too soon--or too late. And yet one's whole life is complete at that moment, with a line drawn neatly under it, ready for the summing up. You are--your life, and nothing else."

----

Zeus: Your gift to them will be a sad one; of loneliness and shame. You will tear from their eyes the veils I had laid on them, and they will see their lives as they are, foul and futile, a barren boon.
Orestes: Why, since it is their lot, should I deny them the despair I have in me?
Zeus: What will they...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Kristen Edgell rated it 4 of 5 stars

What would you do if you were stuck in a room with people you hate for eternity? In the play “No Exit” a man and two women are damned to be in a room with each other for the rest of existence. The characters are Garcin, Inez, and Estelle and all have a reason why they are put into this room together. Throughout the play, Garcin realizes he’s there for mistreatment of his wife. Estelle believes there must have been a mistake made of why she was in the room, but then admits adultery and a murder....more What would you do if you were stuck in a room with people you hate for eternity? In the play “No Exit” a man and two women are damned to be in a room with each other for the rest of existence. The characters are Garcin, Inez, and Estelle and all have a reason why they are put into this room together. Throughout the play, Garcin realizes he’s there for mistreatment of his wife. Estelle believes there must have been a mistake made of why she was in the room, but then admits adultery and a murder. Inez’s perception is that she knows exactly why she’s there and faces the reality of her soul because of seducing her cousin’s wife. Not even a whole day of being with each other, fights begin to occur between them. Garcin decides that everyone should just be quiet and be in their own thoughts without everyone else. Of course the women don’t obey this rule and start talking. Inez eventually tries to seduce Estelle and she doesn’t take that well. Eventually, Garcin has to make a decision if he wants to leave or go and soon realizes that other people is what hell is.
The author of this play is named Jean-Paul Sartre. Satre was a French existentialist philosopher and studies Marxism. He was in WW2 and he spent nine months as a prisoner of war of Germany. He was inspired by another famous existentialist named Albert Camus.Sartre believed that authenticity and individuality have to be earned and wasn’t able to be learned. He has the opinion that people need to experience death to realize what is important in life which is experience. Throughout the play the theme of “hell is other people” is conveyed.
The different flaws of the other people are supposed to drive one of the other people living there crazy. It is mentioned that the people do not have eye lids and therefore have to see everything that the others are doing to make them insane, because they can’t escape it. This book connects to the people living in prison for life with cell-mates. They have to be in the same room with those people the rest of their life. They have to deal with the other prisoner’s flaws and differing opinions. This book is a great explanation that hell isn’t just considered a “torture chamber” but makes the reader view hell in a different perspective. (less)

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Dec 22, 2011 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

More an illustration of Existentialist concepts than a true drama; still the one-act play about 2 women and a man in hell, coming to terms with their own lack of self concept, or their dependency on others for a sense of self is intellectually interesting (and very quick read). Existentialism was always so empowering to me, but in this play, it seems more nihilistic or fatalistic than I recall. And the fact that it takes place in hell, after the three main characters have died, strikes me as mor...more

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Aug 22, 2011 thewanderingjew rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When a friend asked if I had seen the play or the movie based on Sartre's "No Exit", my curiosity was piqued. I searched online and found a version I could read. In this brief one-act play, Sartre illuminates the human condition and the consequences of behavior. Actions often taken lightly, reverberate and leave disaster in their wake. The three main characters are dead. In life, they were each, in their own way, responsible for a tragic ending. They are now in Hell, where they are forced to exp...more When a friend asked if I had seen the play or the movie based on Sartre's "No Exit", my curiosity was piqued. I searched online and found a version I could read. In this brief one-act play, Sartre illuminates the human condition and the consequences of behavior. Actions often taken lightly, reverberate and leave disaster in their wake. The three main characters are dead. In life, they were each, in their own way, responsible for a tragic ending. They are now in Hell, where they are forced to explore their sins. They are forced to face them and take responsibility for their actions. There is a purpose and design to the combination of the souls together, in the room with no exit.

Ines is a lesbian. She is the most realistic about their plight and is the intuitive foil used to move the play along, used to expose each of the other character's faults. Estelle is consumed with her own vanity, her own image. Garcin is a coward who does not want to face his own weakness or his true self image. All three are in denial about the errors of their ways and their deaths. Each has been involved in an affair of the heart, which ended in dreadful circumstances because of their transgressions. Each has been consumed, in the conduct of their lives, by the selfish satisfaction of their needs, without regard for the pain those actions caused in there aftermath.

When at the beginning, Garcin says to the valet: “So one has to live with one's eyes open all the time?”, my first thought was, so that is Hell, having to face oneself. Later, near the very end, he says: "Hell Is Other People” and I realized the simplicity of the message the play imparts. Hell is being placed in a situation where you have to face yourself through the eyes of other people, others who are relentless in their effort to expose and judge you, the very thing you avoided during your lifetime, the truth.

The three people chosen to be together in the room with no exit, have been condemned to the constant exploration of their character flaws through their intimate conversations. They lay bare the imperfections in each other and, therefore, can no longer hide from their own. Their torture was not physical but emotional and mental. They must constantly face their shortcomings with no hope for redemption. In the same way they tortured others in their lives, with dreadful consequences, they now are tortured by the actions of their "roommates" who are consumed with themselves and their own cruel natures, bent on exposing each other and forcing each to witness the humiliation of their shameful ways and horrible consequences of their shallowness, perhaps over and over through eternity. There is no escape from that kind of Hell.

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May 16, 2011 Eric Sonnenschein rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have a special affection for NO EXIT because, along with THE STRANGER and IRRATIONAL MAN, it was my introduction to existentialism, the very cool "philosophical attitude" that seemed to fit me as well as my Levi 501s.

The ingenious set-up of 3 mismatched people in a stark room, offering no comfort or companionship, but only laying their respective trips on one another seemed to represent most of the relationships I had and saw around me--and I was only in my teens! "Hell is other people" could...more I have a special affection for NO EXIT because, along with THE STRANGER and IRRATIONAL MAN, it was my introduction to existentialism, the very cool "philosophical attitude" that seemed to fit me as well as my Levi 501s.

The ingenious set-up of 3 mismatched people in a stark room, offering no comfort or companionship, but only laying their respective trips on one another seemed to represent most of the relationships I had and saw around me--and I was only in my teens! "Hell is other people" could have summed up my feeling about the human species into which I was born. Unfortunately, this uninformed early impression of humanity would not be reversed by subsequent experience.

We humans are weak and alone. We seek strength, understanding, and support in others (why would be in GOOD READS, otherwise?) but often what we receive is indifference and "otherness"--an assortment of extraneous and antagonistic attitudes that undermine what coherence we have found in our perceptions and what belief we have had in ourselves.

How often do we go to the mail hoping for some real communication only to receive a pile of bills and junk mail? How often do people try to sell us items that we don't need? How many people try to attract our attention to entertainments and causes that are promised to satisfy us in some way when all they do is waste our time? This is the "chatter" Heidegger refers to, the ambient noise of being

Anyone who has enrolled in a creative writing workshop can relate to Sartre's bumper sticker observation. There you are in the proverbial room with no exit among strangers who have randomly chosen to be in the same room. You are all alike in an important respect: you have a creative impulse that the weight of deadening experience has not been able to snuff. You think that you may have found your tribe. But what you have found is that nervous crowd of anxious individuals, that DeTocqueville wrote about, who feel they are unique, yet look around and see that they are not.

Competition sets in with , politically correct praise qualified by nitpicking exceptions. Each person wants to rewrite your piece in their own way, or claims to have liked what you wrote, except for the aspect that you liked and believed in the most. You don't know where you stand or who to believe or if it's even worth going on. I have often thought that you only know you're a writer if you can endure several writing workshops and still be a writer after it's all over. No parental objection can kill the creative spirit as well other creative people.

Maybe that is Sartre's point in NO EXIT. You can only be truly human when you have gone through the spiritual meat-grinder of other people in a spare room, and come to terms with the essential aloneness among others that is the gift and curse of freedom.

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Jan 06, 2011 Henry added it

Shelves: drama

"No Exit"
Garcin: Open the door! Open, blast you! I'll endure anything, your red-hot tongs and molten lead, your racks and prongs and garrotes--all your fiendish gadgets, everything that burns and flays and tears--I'll put up with any torture you impose. Anything, anything would be better than this agony of mind, this creeping pain that gnaws and fumbles and caresses one and never hurts quite enough.

Garcin: I "dreamt," you say. It was no dream. When I chose the hardest path, I made my choice deli...more "No Exit"
Garcin: Open the door! Open, blast you! I'll endure anything, your red-hot tongs and molten lead, your racks and prongs and garrotes--all your fiendish gadgets, everything that burns and flays and tears--I'll put up with any torture you impose. Anything, anything would be better than this agony of mind, this creeping pain that gnaws and fumbles and caresses one and never hurts quite enough.

Garcin: I "dreamt," you say. It was no dream. When I chose the hardest path, I made my choice deliberately. A man is what he wills himself to be.
Inez: Prove it. Prove it was no dream. It's what one does, and nothing else, that shows the stuff one's made of. . . . Ah, wasn't I right when I said you were vulnerable? Now you're going to pay the price, and what a price! You're a coward, Garcin, because I wish it. I wish it--do you hear?--I wish it. And yet, just look at me, see how weak I am, a mere breath on the air, a gaze observing you, a formless thought that thinks you.

Garcin: So this is hell. I'd never have believed it. You remember all we were told about the torture-chambers, the fire and brimstone, the "burning marl." Old wives' tales! There's no need for red-hot pokers. Hell is--other people!

"The Flies"
Orestes: You are right. No hatred; but no love, either. You, Electra, I might have loved. And yet--I wonder. Love or hatred calls for self-surrender. He cuts a fine figure, the warm-blooded, prosperous man, solidly entrenched in his well-being, who one fine day surrenders all to love--or to hatred; himself, his house, his land, his memories.

Orestes: Why, since it is their lot, should I deny them the despair I have in me?
Zeus: What will they make of it?
Orestes: What they choose. They're free; and human life begins on the far side of despair.

Orestes: Yes, my beloved, it's true, I have taken all from you, and I have nothing to offer in return; nothing but my crime. But think how vast a gift that is! Believe me, it weighs on my heart like lead. We were too light, Electra; now our feet sink into the soil, like chariot-wheels in turf. So come with me; we will tread heavily on our way, bowed beneath our precious load. You shall give me your hand, and we will go--
Electra: Where?
Orestes: I don't know. Toward ourselves. Beyond the river and mountains are an Orestes and an Electra waiting for us, and we must make our patient way towards them.(less)

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Jul 25, 2011 Nathan added it

"Hell is--other people"

I only read the title play of this book, so I can't comment on the other three. But "No Exit" is an intriguing perspective on hell written through Sartre's existentialist pen

Three people who don't otherwise know each other find themselves locked together in a single room. They reach some startling conclusions as they explore their afterlife:

"In short, there's someone absent here, the official torturer.... It's obvious what they're after--an economy of man-power--or devil p...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Katherine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Just to make things clear: I'm reviewing this from the point of view of a general reader/audience. I'm trying to leave my studies in philosophy aside, the rating would be very different from that p.o.v. I think we are all aware this is an existentialist classic.

So far I'm going to give it just 3 stars because I really liked one play and not so much the other one (believe me, I'm heartbroken about that). I have one play still left so I may change my mind later.

The Respectable Prostitute:

I hadn't...more Just to make things clear: I'm reviewing this from the point of view of a general reader/audience. I'm trying to leave my studies in philosophy aside, the rating would be very different from that p.o.v. I think we are all aware this is an existentialist classic.

So far I'm going to give it just 3 stars because I really liked one play and not so much the other one (believe me, I'm heartbroken about that). I have one play still left so I may change my mind later.

The Respectable Prostitute:

I hadn't heard about this play before, which made it a very nice surprise. I didn't know what to expect nor what it was about so I came in a virgin into it. It was fantastic! As I said pleasant surprise.

As you might imagine its about a working girl, Lizzie, who has a pretty decent moral compass in spite her profession, she has moved from New York to a new town in the southern states in America and gets involved in a murder accusation between a white man and a black man. Although I'm not absolutely sure of the historical time in which it takes place, by the dialogue I understood it to be somewhere around (either right before or right after) or during the American Civil War. The people from the town (particularly the Senator and his family) want to incriminate the black man that is said to have tried to and raped Lizzie. However, she knows that this is not true and she tries to help the man escape.

I already knew I like Sartre's writing, which is why I picked up the book (I was particularly interested in finally getting to read Huis Clos -No exit-) but the character development (the little that such a short play can permit) and the structure of the plot in this play left me with a new sense of admiration for Sartre's writing. Completely recommend it.

Huis Clos (No Exit):

No Exit could be see as an experiment on human nature. If you've ever done some minor philosophy training and have encountered Sartre's work beyond Existentialism is a Humanism, then you've probably heard of Huis Clos (No Exit). It is the story of three damned souls: Mr. Garcin, Inez and Estelle; that after their death have gone straight down (or should I say up?) to Hell. In there, they don't encounter whips and torture machines and fire, as they expected; they encounter each other, locked in a small poorly decorated room for all eternity. They cannot sleep (there's no need to) and they cannot even blink. They cannot rest from each other's company, or presence even. And, as Sartre himself indicates, 'Other People are Hell'.

This makes for an excellent plot prompt! (to say the least) And I have to be honest...I was slightly disappointed with Huis Clos. This is probably Sartre's best known play and I think the whole fuzz around it (at least from the philosophical point of view) gave me higher expectations than what I met on the page. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see this on stage and it is still a very interesting play. But I suppose that, with the foreknowledge of what situation they were going to be at, I was expecting something more from this characters once I had met them...

Lucifer And The Lord:

-I am yet to read this one, I'll update this review once I do so.-
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Sep 26, 2011 John rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

All four of these plays address issues of conscious choices and their consequences. In "No Exit," Sartre starts with the consequences, but uses these to illustrate the very choices which caused them. There's little I can add to what has already been written about this classic one-act, although one is left with the sense that Sartre's vision of Heaven would likely be as horrific as his vision of Hell.

Both "The Flies" and "Dirty Hands" center around characters who knowingly choose that which damns...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Daniel rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a nice compilation of important plays by Sartre.

No Exit is a nicely accessible work in which Sartre examines the nature of self identity. Three people sent to either purgatory or hell, whichever best fits your idea. It is a clever use of implotment and dialogue to reveal character. Perhaps a bit too obvious, but for drama such is how the point gets across. I found Sartre's attempt to examine ethics interesting. I am not sure when this work was produced relative to Sartre's career, but he...more This is a nice compilation of important plays by Sartre.

No Exit is a nicely accessible work in which Sartre examines the nature of self identity. Three people sent to either purgatory or hell, whichever best fits your idea. It is a clever use of implotment and dialogue to reveal character. Perhaps a bit too obvious, but for drama such is how the point gets across. I found Sartre's attempt to examine ethics interesting. I am not sure when this work was produced relative to Sartre's career, but he certainly met plenty of self-serving, ethically blind individuals as he climbed the Communist Party ladder. Perhaps No Exit is Sartre's attempt to expiate his own indiscretions.

I enjoyed The Flies, a take on the myth of Orestes. In this version, Orestes returns to Argos with no apparent reason. Readers (and Orestes) quickly discover his connection to the place and suddenly Orestes decides to stay and take action despite his teacher's and Zeus' pleads to the contrary. The play ends on a wonderfully sour note, Orestes supposedly leading the flies out of Argos and on a new road of interminable suffering. I can easily see many metaphors for political wrangling and harassment of those with noble intent. Orestes' sudden decision to stay and Electra's betrayal lend an absurd, tragic air to the play. Orestes might have been noble in intent but in reality he is just another human with lofty ideals. Will anyone notice? Perhaps. Will he be supported? No, and I think this is where Sartre was aiming the gist of the play: Those who do nothing to alleviate their own self-inflicted suffering. Clever.

Dirty Hands goes straight at the political jugular, so to speak. An interestingly named Hugo returns from jail after serving the needs of his party. Assassination, that is. This is one of Sartre's more artful plays, using flashback to explain how Hugo ends up at the beginning of the play. There is nice use of characters as archetypes, such as Hoederer as the monomaniacal leader. There are several hints that even these clearly fleshed-out characters are not quite so simple, such as Jessica—who puts Hugo into fits with her deviousness. Indeed, the dual (or triple?) nature of human character to say one thing and yet do another seems to be important to this play. Dirty Hands was written before Sartre formally denounced the Russian flavor of Communism, but it is well known that he was not entirely comfortable aligning himself with any political group—he did so mainly to further his career. This play seems to investigate the dichotomy (Ack! Did I just write that?!) of being part of a group with contradictory goals: To promote a group of people (plebeians here) by playing with the very system that oppresses them. I can see Sartre's interest in examining how an intellectual would struggle rationalizing a pragmatic philosophy with idealism. An interesting play, indeed.

The Respectful Prostitute seems strongly influenced by Sartre's journeys in the U.S.A.—ironic by the fact that the visit was a favor by his then-friend Camus and which would help Sartre push his career forward, eventually ending the friendship. As an American, I recognize the idealism and love for power (and money) that outweighs moral and intellectual values in the play. It is a harsh sting. The prostitute in question avoids fully acknowledging her vocation and, when we think she will display the grit and determination that form the idealized American character, she fails. Miserably. For the worst reasons. The end to this very short drama is a sad recognition that few things change. Perhaps Sartre wanted to demonstrate that human values are always corruptible, perhaps he wanted to reveal the influence of money and political power. The racial take on things is obvious and shocking. There is also an interesting feminist angle on the play that merits further investigation, though I suspect Sartre's rough treatment of his female main character might reflect his personal frustrations with women.

This compilation combines two well-known and two lesser-known works in a very nice overview of an important thinker of the past century. Sartre's writing is something obtuse, and some of his plays seem inaccessible, but these four represent four very interesting, accessible aspects of the writer.(less)

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Aug 20, 2009 Amber rated it 3 of 5 stars

To be fair, we only read No Exit. No one ever reads The Flies in high school English, though.

No Exit drove me, and I am sure, countless other 15-year-olds to discover that everything they believed could be boiled down to some kind of accessible existentialism. I never read any Nietzsche and I didn't get into any Camus until two years later, but the idea that we are all responsible for what we do- not a God who, if he existed, has abandoned us- and not taking responsibility is the worst sin anyon...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Kurt rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this collection on sale at a bookstore that was going out of business, and I've seen plenty of cultural references to No Exit, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to read the play for myself. I expected this collection to be pretentious, but I was pleasantly surprised to find four plays that explore philosophical issues in the context of stories that pulse with vitality.

The title play is clearly the most effective, as three cruel and funny and needy and undeniably Human cha...more

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May 29, 2007 Trixie B rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: the morbid and antisocial

I only read 'No Exit' but I liked it, pretty much. I wasn't aware that the quote "Hell is...other people." came from this play, but I've always agreed with the sentiment. I wouldn't say it's groundbreaking or anything (though I know nothing about the historical context, so it may have been when it came out) but it's a solid, easy read with a simple, resonant point.

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Apr 26, 2009 Melissa Gray rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read several of the plays in this book, and enjoyed them all.
No Exit is definitely thought-provoking, and was discussed with my book club. Its interesting to get an existential interpretation of Hell. I'd say its worth a read, plus its short.

Respectful Prostitute. I found this play interesting and frustrating. A story about racial tensions, class divisions, and "patriotism", this play will both arouse pity and annoyance towards the characters. Its kind of like the play Chicago where you hate...more

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Mar 29, 2009 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars

This play is amazing. Jean Paul Sartre perfectly highlights humankind’s absurd existence by depicting three characters in their afterlife. It's humorous nature goes hand in hand with the grim reminder that all the characters featured in the play are really in hell. Although you may emphatize with theses characters at some point in the play, Sartre brilliance exists in the title's itself. There is No Exit for they are in Hell.

The fact that for the continuation of eternity all three characters wil...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Sarah Key rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

I was recently reminded of this book when a friend posted a quote from Les Mains Sales on his blog. I first read these plays when I was in high school, and I have been surprised at how closely they have followed me (particularly in the past year). It was refreshing to read again, and I hope that I will have the same pleasure of reading them in the future.

Preferred Reading Order:
1. Huis Clos (No Exit)
2. Les Mains Sales (Dirty Hands)
3. Les Mouches (The Flies)
4. La Putain Respectueuse (The Respectf...more

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Feb 06, 2008 Spencer rated it 2 of 5 stars

i dont even remember this book--i just remember not being that impressed. come to think of it, i don't remember half the books on here, but i rate them nonetheless. i shouldn't even be allowed on here.

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Sep 01, 2011 Susanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 11th-grade-reading

The book No Exit written by Jean-Paul Sarte is a fiction book. In this book it talks about 3 souls, Garcin, Inez, and Estelle being in the same room arranged by Valet. This book reminds me of Inferno where each ring has a punishment for people in the underworld. This book reminds me of Inferno because, each soul that’s in the room has done things that are similar to each other and they are in the room making each other miserable. My favorite part in this book was when Garcin had the chance to le...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Marc Perroquet rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have only read this in French so I can't say how the English translation compares. The play that most intrigued me was "No Exist". However, this English title does not convey quite the same meaning as its original "Huis Clos," which is probably why the play has gone by several different English names.

The play is a step into an uncomfortable existential drama involving three people who have all died and now find themselves together in a waiting area while, they assume, a place is being prepare...more

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Mar 17, 2010 Donson Liu rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 14, 2009 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophical-other

I only read No Exit from this book but I thought it was brilliant. Sartre explains through this play that we ultimately define and live ourselves through others. It makes me think of tarzan, if one was raised by apes they would be an ape even though a human, but put that person in a room with other humans and the human condition remodels their behavior. Tarzan would live as an ape because he would live through those around him. We continue to grow as beings in our unique way because we continue...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Nora W rated it 5 of 5 stars

No Exit: The story of three people condemned to hell, where hell is other people. It also begs the question are these people dead or alive? What is Sartre's definition of being alive? Existence preceeds essence, and to me it seems that these people at least have their essence so they are alive.

The Flies: A town condemned to forever seek forgiveness, untill Orestes comes to kill the king who killed his father. Unlike the characters in No Exit I tend to think that Sartre considered the towns peop...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Colin N. rated it 3 of 5 stars

"No Exit," Sartre's most famous play, is clearly the standout here and is excellent. Surreal, haunting, darkly comic. "Dirty Hands" is also quite good, concerning the internal struggle of a young communist tasked to commit an assassination. "Prostitute" is fine as a broad critique of racism in the U.S., but is a bit blunt. "Flies" is the least successful of these four plays. Sartre reworks the Electra myth to expound on his ideas of freedom, as Orestes struggles with the will of the Gods vs. his...more

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About Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre, normally known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre, was a French existentialist philosopher and pioneer, dramatist and screenwriter, novelist and critic. He was a leading figure in 20th century French philosophy.

He declined the award of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his work which, rich in ideas and filled with the spirit of freedom and the quest for truth, has ex...more

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“Ha! to forget. How childish! I feel you in my bones. Your silence screams in my ears. You may nail your mouth shut, you may cut out your tongue, can you keep yourself from existing? Will you stop your thoughts.” — 159 people liked it

“Man is what he wills himself to be.” — 127 people liked it

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