this ability. Human consciousness, however, is burdened with the absolute responsibility for the actions or decisions it makes, which an inanimate object does not. In the play, Garcin becomes unable to escape through the open door because he refuses to acknowledge and handle the responsibility of confronting his decision to desert his country at war. Instead, he pleads to Inez to judge and determine his essence, rather than take the risk of making that choice himself. That is his responsibility for being a free moral agent. Estelle, on the other hand, is willing to accept the existence that a mirror reflects. Otherwise, she chooses a social image. But she makes that choice only to escape the responsibility of deciding her own essence or having others do it for her. All three characters prefer self-condemnation to exercising their individual freedom (Sartre).
             "No Exit" describes the eternal punishment of three characters, Garcin, Ynez and Estelle, and their physical and mental torments, together and individually (Sartre 1960). A mysterious valet puts them in one room with no windows or mirrors and only one door that is closed. The lights never turn out. The three characters have no hope of ever leaving this particular room, which is garnished with Second Empire furniture. What heigh
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