No Exit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| No Exit | |
 Cover of the Vintage edition |
|
| Written by | Jean-Paul Sartre |
|---|---|
| Characters | Garcin Inès Estelle Valet |
No Exit is a 1944 existentialist play by Jean-Paul Sartre, originally published in French as Huis Clos (meaning In Camera or "behind closed doors"). English translations have also been performed under the titles In Camera, No Way Out, and Dead End. Huis Clos was first performed at the Vieux-Colombier in May 1944, just before the liberation of Paris in World War II. [1]
The play features only four characters (one of whom, the Valet, appears for only a very limited time), and one set. No Exit is the source of perhaps Sartre's most famous quote, "Hell is other people." (In French, "l'enfer, c'est les autres"). It has been adapted in cinema many times, notably in 1954 by Jacqueline Audry.
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
The play begins with the Valet leading a man named Garcin into a room that the audience soon realizes is in hell (hell may be a gigantic hotel, in light of the "rooms and passages" mentioned in the play). The room has no windows, no mirrors, and only one door. Eventually Garcin is joined by a woman, Inès, and then another, Estelle. After their entry, the Valet leaves and the door is shut and locked. All expect to be tortured, but no torturer arrives. Instead, they realize they are there to torture each other, which they do effectively, by probing each other's sins, desires, and unpleasant memories. At first, the three see events concerning themselves that are happening on Earth, but eventually (as their connection to Earth dwindles and the living move on) they are left with only their own thoughts and the company of the other two. Near the end of the play, Garcin demands he be let out; at his words the door flies open, but he and the others refuse to leave.
[edit] Characters
Garcin – Garcin is the first character to whom the audience is introduced. He is a Brazilian whose sins are cowardice and callousness (which also motivated the suicide of his wife after his death). He deserted the army during World War II, and he blatantly cheated on his wife - he even brings his affairs home and gets her to make them breakfast, without any sympathy. Initially, he hates Inès because she understands his weakness, and lusts after Estelle because he feels that if she treats him as a man he will become manly. However, by the end of the play he understands that because Inès understands the meaning of cowardice and wickedness, only absolution at her hands can redeem him (if indeed redemption is possible). He is constantly waiting for his physical torture to come, but this itself is torturous. He is condemned to wish for pain, which he feels will redeem his cowardly actions. In the American adaptation of the play, the character's name is changed to Vincent Cradeau.
Inès – Inès is the second character to enter the room. A lesbian postal clerk, her sin is turning a wife against her husband, twisting the wife's perception of her spouse and the subsequent murder of the man (who is Inès' cousin). Indeed, Inès seems to be the only character who understands the power of opinion, throughout the play manipulating Estelle's and Garcin's opinions of themselves and of each other. She is the only character who is honest about the evil deeds she, Garcin, and Estelle have done.
Estelle – Estelle is a high-society woman, a blonde who married her husband for his money and cuckolded him with a younger man. To her, the affair is merely an insignificant fling, whereas her lover becomes emotionally attached to her. She drowns the illegitimate child that results, which drives her lover to commit suicide. Throughout the play she makes advances towards Garcin, seeking to define herself as a woman in relation to a man. Her sins are deceit and murder (which also motivated a suicide).
Valet – The Valet enters the room with each character, but his only real dialog is with Garcin. It is never made clear in the play whether the Valet's job is his by choice, by birth, or as punishment. We do learn that his uncle is the head valet.
[edit] Film adaptations
| No Exit | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Tad Danielewski |
| Produced by | Fernando Ayala Héctor Olivera |
| Written by | Jean-Paul Sartre (play) George Tabori |
| Starring | Carlos Brown Elsa Dorian |
| Music by | Vladimir Ussachevsky |
| Cinematography | Ricardo Younis |
| Editing by | Jacques Bart Carl Lerner Atilio Rinaldi |
| Distributed by | Zenith International Films |
| Release date(s) | December 5, 1962 |
| Running time | 85 min. |
| Country |  USA Argentina |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
- Huis clos (1954), directed by Jacqueline Audry
- No Exit (1962), directed by Tad Danielewski
- No Exit (2006), directed by Etienne Kallos
[edit] References in Popular Culture
- In Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, one of the girl campers can be seen with an open copy of the play on top of her as she sleeps.
- An episode of Futurama, "Hell Is Other Robots", takes its title from the famous line "Hell is other people."
- An episode of The West Wing bears the name of the play. The episode portrays a lockdown of the White House, leaving many of the characters trapped together in pairs. In some cases this leads to unpleasant conversations as in the play.
- In an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ("Eleven Angry Jurors") in which one of twelve jurors is murdered by one of the other eleven, Grissom is heard quoting Sartre.
- Also in a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" episode, one of the criminalists is seen by Greg listening to No Exit in French on a tape recording.
- In the movie Puccini for Beginners, the main character Allegra sits in a park on a bench and says: "It's hell being alone." Immediately a woman responds: "No honey, hell is other people."
- In an episode of Recess, while pursuing the mysterious library girl, Gretchen directs the group to corner the girl in the Existentialism section because there is "No exit".
- In the Gossip Girl book You Know You Love Me, 'Dan Humphries' is reading the novel and recommends it to the It-girl character 'Serena Van Der Woodsen'.
- In the film Beetlejuice when the main characters are in the waiting room, there is a sign behind them that reads "No Exit".
- In the Song "Go to Hell" from the album Swansong by death metal band Carcass, "Hell is other people" is a lyric sung by Jeff Walker.[2]
- In an episode of BBC sitcom Game On entitled "Matthew, A Suitable Case For Treatment", the character Mandy (played by Samantha Janus) compares her living arrangement with her flatmates Matthew and Martin to the play. She erroneously states that the characters are two men and a woman as opposed to two women and a man.
- In Woody Allen's 2003 film, Anything Else, the characters Jerry and Amanda (played by Jason Biggs and Christina Ricci respectively) exchange gifts on their anniversary. Amanda buys Jerry a copy of "No Exit and The Flies", another Sartre piece.
- In the book House of Leaves, it is referenced on page 399 with regards to Navidson's dreams and how they were shaped by Huis Clos.
- The fifth track of the Jonas Hellborg/Shawn Lane/Jeff Sipe live album, "Personae" is entitled "Hell is Other People."
- In the Harvey Danger song 'Diminishing Returns' is the line 'Hell is other people; some people never learn'
- Terry Pratchett's novel Eric, which is a re-imagining of Goethe's Faust depicts Hell as being a Hotel, though in a parodic fashion.
- The existentialist film Waking Life includes a scene with a prisoner in a Hell of his own devising, addressing a similar theme to this play
- The Sci-Fi show Supernatural on the CW named one of its episodes from season 2 "No Exit"
- The last episode of "Seinfeld" ends in a scene reminiscent of "No Exit" with the 4 main characters locked up in a jail cell together.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Wallace Fowlie, Dionysus in Paris (New York: Meridian Books, inc., 1960) page 173.
- ^ Carcass - Go To Hell LYRICS
|
|||||||||||||||||
