No Exit Isolation Quotes Page 2
Citations follow this format: (Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue. We used the translation by S. Gilbert found in No Exit and Three Other Plays, published by Vintage International in 1989.
| Quote #4 ESTELLE: You looked so – so far away. Sorry I disturbed you. |
What exactly is Garcin hoping to accomplish with all this solitary time?
| Quote #5 ESTELLE: Are my lips all right? |
Garcin is "no one" for Estelle because, at the moment, he has his head buried in his hands. He’s not looking at her, so in her mind, he doesn’t count.
| Quote #6 INEZ: When I say I'm cruel, I mean I can't get on without making people suffer. Like a live coal. A live coal in others' hearts. When I'm alone I flicker out. (299) |
The characters are as much tormented by their need for company as they are tormented by the company itself. There is a tension between wanting to take another’s subjectivity and freedom from them, and being afraid to lose your own freedom and subjectivity by exposing yourself.
