No Exit is a 1944 existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The original title is the French equivalent of the legal term in camera, referring to a private discussion behind closed doors. The play was first performed at the Theatre du Vieux-Colombier in May 1944. The play begins with three characters who find themselves waiting in a mysterious room. It is a depiction of the afterlife in which three deceased characters are punished by being locked into a room together for eternity. It is the source of Sartre’s especially famous phrase “L’enfer, c’est les autres” or “Hell is other people”, a reference to Sartre’s ideas about the look and the perpetual ontological struggle of being caused to see oneself as an object from the view of another consciousness.
— Wikipedia
ACT I
Estelle
I, Estelle Rigault, am a damned soul. I have been brought to this room in Hell and locked inside by a mysterious valet.
Joseph
I, Joseph Garcin, am also a damned soul. I have also been brought to this room in Hell and locked inside by a mysterious valet.
Inez
I, Inez Serrano, am also a damned soul. I have also been brought to this room in Hell and locked inside by a mysterious valet.
Joseph
We had expected torture devices —
Inez
— to punish us for all eternity —
Joseph
— but instead —
Estelle
— we found a plain room furnished in the style of the French Second Empire!
Joseph
Estelle, what is the reason for your damnation?
Estelle
I cannot and will not admit it. There must be some mistake. Joseph, what is the reason for your damnation?
Joseph
I cannot and will not admit it. Perhaps it was because I was an outspoken pacifist. Inez, what is the reason for your damnation?
Inez
I am the only one to demand that we all stop lying to ourselves and confess to our mortal crimes. I refuse to believe that we all ended up in this room by accident, and I will soon realize that we have been placed together to make each other miserable. I deduce that we are to be one another’s torturers.
Joseph
I suggest that we try to leave each other alone and be silent.
Inez (singing)
I have started singing about execution!
Joseph
Shh!
Estelle
What if I be your mirror, Inez? I’ll tell you everything you see but end up frightening you instead!
Inez
It is soon clear that I am attracted to Estelle.
Joseph
But Estelle is attracted to me!
Estelle
And Joseph is attracted to neither of us two women!
Joseph & Inez
We are arguing!
Estelle
After arguing, we have decided to confess to our crimes so that we know what to expect from each other. I’ll start: I had an affair and then killed the resulting child, prompting that child’s father to commit suicide.
Joseph
I cheated on and mistreated my wife, and I was executed by a firing squad for desertion.
Inez
I am a manipulative sadist who seduced my cousin’s wife, Florence, while living with them, which drove the cousin to kill himself and resulted in Florence asphyxiating herself and Inez flooding the room with gas while they slept, out of guilt.
Joseph
Despite the revelations, we continue to get on each other’s nerves. I have finally begun giving into the lascivious Estelle’s escalating attempts to seduce me —
Inez
Which drives me crazy.
Joseph
I am, however, constantly interrupted by my own guilt. Please tell me that I am not a coward for attempting to flee my country during wartime, Estelle
Estelle
I comply —
Joseph
— thank you —
Inez
— but I mockingly tell you that Estelle is just feigning attraction to you so that she can be with a man, any man.
Joseph
This causes me to abruptly attempt an escape. After trying to open the door repeatedly —
Estelle
— it inexplicably and suddenly opens!
Joseph
But I am unable to bring myself to leave.
Inez
And we others remain as well.
Joseph
I will not be saved until I can convince Inez that I am not cowardly.
Inez
I refuse because you are obviously a coward. I promise to make you miserable forever.
Joseph
I conclude that rather than torture devices or physical punishment, “hell is other people.”
Estelle
I try to persevere in my seducting of Joseph —
Joseph
— but I cannot make love while Inez is watching.
Estelle
I, infuriated, pick up a paper knife and repeatedly stab Inez!
Inez
I chide Estelle, saying that we are all already dead, and I even furiously stab myself to prove that point.
Estelle
HA HA HA! I laugh hysterically at the idea of us being dead and trapped together forever!
Joseph
HA HA HA!
Inez
HA HA HA!
Joseph
HA HA HA!
Estelle
HA HA HA!
JOSEPH
I finally conclude, eh bien, continuons…
Inez
Which means “well then, let’s get on with it.”
END OF PLAY