Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit was
performed in Paris in 1944 during the Nazi Occupation of World War II. Because there
were curfews imposed by the Germans, Sartre wrote his play in one act so that Parisians
could meet this curfew. Before the play could be performed, however, it had to meet the
approval of the German censors who approved and then disapproved several times as they
watched rehearsals. Nevertheless, Sartre inserted subtle messages of resistance in his
play that the Parisians greatly appreciated. However, critics were divided in their
reviews, probably in order to prevent arousing suspicion by the
Nazis.
No Exit became symbolic of the
Resistance, an underground organization formed by the exiled general Charles de Gaulle
who was in Great Britain. Members of the Resistance of occupied France aided Great
Britain with military intelligence and by helping British pilots who were shot down
escape France. Those who worked with the Germans under the newly formed Vichy
government were known as Collaborators; these are the pacifists to which Garcin alludes
in the play. Another element in Sartre's play that relates to the Nazi occupation
is the ironic comments about the abundance of heat and light in the hellish room that
Garcin, Estelle, and Inez occupy. Of course, the philosophy of Existentialism that is
thematic to No Exit also appealed to the members of the Resistance
in its emphasis on the necessity and responsibility of the individual's creating his own
essence.
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