Jean-Paul Sartre described the meaning of his play No Exit as" Life is for the living if they exist authentically. If they do not then they are surely dead, objectified and meaningless." Through the characters of Inez, Garcin and Estelle, Sartre shows us how he believes Hell is the result of living without feeling. Each of the characters thrived on life through the disposal of others. But when they enter hell and are forced to see the lives of their loved ones flourish, they slowly begin to lose the idea of what they thought they were and begin to see their true selves emerge and they have great difficulty accepting it.
Garcin is the most unauthentic. During the time he was alive all he did was try to live up to the expectations of others, not what he wanted to be. He had a fixation with being the strong "manly-man". Garcin is easy to surrender his freewill to others. He refused to believe he was not a coward until Estelle says he's not. " I"m brave and decent and the rest of it-well, that one person's faith would save me. Will you have faith in me? Then I shall love you and cherish you forever. Estelle-will you?"(39) Garcin is obsessed with how people judge him, even when he is dead. When he sees his friends calling him a coward, he thinks his reputation is destroyed. "But they wont forget me, not they! They"ll die, but others will come after them to carry on the legend. I've left my fate in their hands."(39) When Garcin gets the chance to leave when the door opens he doesn't. He can't bear the fact that Inez will talk about him when he is gone. In hell, Garcin thinks Inez's judgments are the only thing that can characterize him. Garcin's strong need for other's approval border's of pathetic. He actually believes that he cannot exist with out others telling him who he is, instead of he himself defining his essence.
Inez has the best grasp on reality. Her bluntness and degrading comments make it obvious that she likes to control.
