Sartre-No Exit

Jean Paul Sartre's "No Exit" is an apt description of existential hell. (Sartre, 1958) Existentialism attempts to describe our desire to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe. Existentialism requires the active acceptance of our nature. Or, existentialism assumes we are best when we struggle against our nature. In either case, we should want this. Given this brief description of existentialism, what transpires in "No Exit" is that the players are trapped in their own natures. There is a loss of freedom at several levels. The stage setting reveals that even in writing No Exit, Sartre cannot completely rid himself of his existentialist leanings. He asks for a chandelier in the center of the room. And in the ceiling there is a hole -- through which he allows as an escape route.

The first loss of freedom is in the room in which Joseph Cradeau, Inez...
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