No Exit

Sartre and the existentialists claim that people are their actions. We create meaning from our behavior, but so do others observing us.

Garcin, Inez, and Estelle spend most of their time looking at one another. Their inability to sleep or blink in the afterlife, as well as the play’s one act structure, emphasize looking without pause or rest. The characters must regard one another constantly. Garcin hides his eyes behind his hands, but even if he and the others aren’t looking literally, they can’t escape awareness of one another. After the three characters take a vow of silence and vow not to look at one another, Inez exclaims: “To forget about the others? How utterly absurd! I feel you there, in every pore. Your silence clamors in my ears” (23). Sartre uses Inez to clarify that the Look is not just literally looking, but being aware of the presence of others, who are aware of you. The Look is a reflexive cycle: When Garcin is looking at and aware of Inez, Inez is looking at and aware of Garcin.

Subjectivity is the philosophical quality of having internal thoughts, feelings, and self-reflection.