No Exit Lies and Deceit Quotes Page 1
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 #1 GARCIN: Yes, a brute, if you like. But a well-beloved brute. ([Far-away look comes to his eyes.] No, it's nothing. Only Gomez, and he's not talking about me... What were you saying? Yes, a brute. Certainly. Else why should I be here? (294) |
All three of the characters go through this same pattern; they first "confess" to an altered version of the past, and then own up to their real crime later on. From this passage, it seems that Garcin thinks his real crime was mistreating his wife, not running a pacifist newspaper.
| Quote #2 INEZ: Not "Mrs." I'm unmarried. (71) |
Notice that this is the first thing Inez reveals about herself – even before she gives her name. She has chosen a certain part of herself – her sexual orientation – and used it to define her being.
| Quote #3 ESTELLE: I did wrong to sacrifice my youth to a man nearly three times my age. Do you think that could be called a sin? |
Look at the spin these characters put on their stories. This sort of denial is bad faith in its simplest form.
