"No Exit" Response #1

So far, it is not really clear why Inez, Estelle, and Garcin are together in hell, though Inez suggests that this has been designed so that each one of them will act as torturer of the others. The depiction of hell is very ordinary, simply an ugly room. However, the closed door that traps the characters in the room also traps them in their own minds. At first, they try to convince each other and themselves that there is no reason they would be put in hell. However, they all seem very bitter about their deaths, especially Estelle, who sarcastically describes her sister "trying her best to cry" (11). Estelle has always perceived herself through other people's view of her, even watching herself talking in a mirror to make sure she had an idea of how others saw her (19). The fact that there are no mirrors in hell could be a reflection on the existentialist idea of existing simply for the sake of being. Estelle has always lived through others' view of her; now, she has to accept her being as something that exists of its own accord.

I think that what the characters "see" happening on the earth after their deaths could all be in their minds. Talking about his wife, Garcin states, "Oh, how she got on my nerves!" (12), while Estelle doubts that her sister's grief is sincere. To both of them, the opinions of other people matter greatly, even after their deaths, so they could be imagining what is happening, based on their insecurity about themselves.