Psychological suffering versus physical torture is one of the essential themes in the play No Exit by French playwright and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. His famous quote that “Hell is Other People” is illustrated through the interactions of Garcin, Inez and Estelle. Through psychological suffering, the self-destructive flaws of the characters are revealed. These ultimately emphasise how each is responsible for their own fate. They have the freedom of will to help redeem each other, however they choose not to.
To subtly reinforce the theme, even the style of the play is psychologically wearing on the audience. Sartre uses tense, short dialogue and boring repetitive sentences which deliberately irritate the audience.
Garcin arrives first in Hell, and is expecting physical torture. However, he soon realises that his personal Hell is about psychological torture, which he considers worse. Garcin asks the Valet;
“Where are the instruments of torture…the racks and red-hot pincers?”
At first, he is afraid to be tortured, but he then begins to experience the small, irritating details that surround him. For example, the room is decorated in an outdated Second Empire style, which bothers him every time he looks at it. Speaking about the bronze ornament on the mantlepiece, Garcin remarks;
