No Exit and Three Other Plays

Jean-Paul Sartre

1944

September, 2023

4/10

My first time reading plays (apart from Shakespeare in high school). I can't say I liked Sartre's approach in general, but the occasional idea stood out.

More than anything, the roles females played were very bothersome — from damsels in distress to insufferable attention-seekers (regarding men). I can't help but get "Julia vibes" from 1984 which is a shame.

No Exit - 4/10

Contrived. A fever dream of logic. The proper, deeper ideas were there, but the play just felt forced. From the dialogue to the events and the characters' reasonings. And the roles the women played were just weird. "Hell is other people" — but only the people in this play.

The Flies - 7/10

While the "play speech" can still feel a bit forced, the thoughts and ideas were far more compelling. I actually enjoyed the message of the play, it was what I would expect from Sartre. I do think the events were a little strange, but the exploration of free will and the role of God in the context of freedom was very good.

Dirty Hands - 4/10

The characters simply did not work for me. And I feel like the story was meant for the time period. I was consistently tempted to skip this one. However, the conversations towards the end were good.

The Respectful Prostitute - 5/10

For a different time period.