No Exit Pacifism

“A noble pacifist,” Garcin seems to embody kindness. Caring and unwilling to torture others, Garcin appears to be the perfect image of mercy, almost making one wonder why he’s in hell. A bit underneath this tranquil surface, however, Garcin is a man in despair, cursing his weakness in being unable to change his image. And at the core lies a man so enamored with his misfortune that he does not realize the simple choice in front of him. In No Exit, Garcin is a character who reacts to the absurd by, in an act of bad faith, giving himself up to the Look, a process that slowly occurs throughout the play, beginning with a small concession, developed through deep introspection, made desperate by his attempt to convince Estelle, and finalized through

After the introduction of Estelle, Garcin enters a state of introspection, looking deeply within himself to find answers. Unlike Inez, who doesn’t care about her past death, or Estelle, who attempts to ignore it, Garcin comes at it directly, in a way that could be described as brave. Virtually ignoring the other two occupants of the room, with his trance broken only by half-hearted responses, Garcin tries to find answers to his death and events that led to it. Through this introspection, Garcin does not find the answer to the question he most desperately wants answered: was he right or wrong in deserting? Here, Garcin faces an absurd moment, trying to find meaning in actions that do not have any inherent meaning. For some, Garcin may have been a hero, sticking to his ideals, trying to go against the war. To others, he is scum, a coward who refused to fight. And considering everyone, there is no consensus. Hence, Garcin finds nothing through introspection, for there is no answer. From the battles of introspection, Garcin comes out, defeated. Unwilling to admit defeat, Garcin stubbornly continues. If Garcin am unable to find answers within, Garcin reasons that, surely, there must be answers without. This stubborn belief in truth drives Garcin ahead. If Garcin is unable to find a definite answer, perhaps the approval of his peers will

Garcin’s approach towards Estelle for intimacy is spurred on by Garcin’s desire to spite Inez. Yet, with intimacy of body comes intimacy of mind, and reveals Garcin’s terrible doubts. In the middle of intimacy, Garcin tells his story, the story of a man who upheld his ideals, the story of a coward who ran away, the story of a man who made his choices and came to doubt them. He pleads for Estelle to understand him and to judge him right. Estelle merely indulges him. For a scant few moments, Garcin is whole and certain. His cause is just, and his actions were aligned with that just ideal. Then Inez ruins it all, pointing out that Estelle doesn’t really care about what he’s saying, only about his body. Perhaps Garcin realized subconsciously that Estelle did not care about what he was saying. If so, Garcin ignored that realization. Pretending that Estelle’s judgement is sound, Garcin lives in a happy delusion, before it is shattered. For a scant moment of happiness, Garcin utterly gives in to others, succumbing to the subversion of the Look. Before, Garcin could have ignored everyone else’s judgement with his own assertion. Indeed, he even has the responsibility to make such an assertion. But, Garcin barely does so, and in a manner so weak that it barely counts. It is absolutely clear that Garcin wants to be judged worthy and that he cannot bear do so to