The play No Exit...
Illustration
The play No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre depicts a caricature of hell. It is an old French drawing room from the Second Empire. Residents are not able to brush their teeth, see themselves in a mirror, close their eyes, sleep, change anything in the room, summon the valet, or go outside. The characters are Joseph Garcin, a journalist killed by gunshot wounds while fleeting as a deserter, who now has a disconcerting twitch of his mouth; Inez Serrano, a single woman, previously a postal clerk, extremely critical of other people, who was killed with gas from a turned-
on stove by a friend she had abused; and Estelle Rigault, a very judgmental person, who killed a baby she did not want and has just died of pneumonia she caught while pursuing an affair with a younger man. While part of their punishment is having to watch life continue on earth without them, their chief torture is having to spend eternity with these roommates whom they cannot stand.
If having to spend eternity with people who are annoying, unpleasant, or even hurtful can be pictured as a tormenting hell, we can see how difficult it must be to love someone who is our enemy. Yet, that is exactly what Jesus expects of us. It is something impossible except for the fact that he has already loved us.
-- Guettler
on stove by a friend she had abused; and Estelle Rigault, a very judgmental person, who killed a baby she did not want and has just died of pneumonia she caught while pursuing an affair with a younger man. While part of their punishment is having to watch life continue on earth without them, their chief torture is having to spend eternity with these roommates whom they cannot stand.
If having to spend eternity with people who are annoying, unpleasant, or even hurtful can be pictured as a tormenting hell, we can see how difficult it must be to love someone who is our enemy. Yet, that is exactly what Jesus expects of us. It is something impossible except for the fact that he has already loved us.
-- Guettler
