No Exit Power Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue. We used the translation by S. Gilbert found in No Exit and Three Other Plays, published by Vintage International in 1989.

Quote #4

ESTELLE: But – [points to Garcin]
INEZ: Oh, he doesn't count. (218-9)

Go ahead and highlight all the times this phrase comes up in No Exit. Inez doesn’t think Garcin counts; Garcin doesn’t think Estelle counts; Estelle doesn’t think Inez counts. This "inextricably linked" chain matches up with the chain of torment. Inez torments Garcin; Garcin torments Estelle; Estelle tortures Inez. Each character is concerned with his/her tormentor and his/her tormentor only – the other character becomes superfluous.

Quote #5

ESTELLE: Your scare me rather. My reflection in the glass never did that; of course, I knew it so well. Like something I had tamed...I'm going to smile, and my smile will sink down into your pupils, and heaven knows what it will become. […] [The women gaze at each other, Estelle with a sort of fearful fascination] (240-1)

Estelle realizes the power Inez has over her through merely looking upon her; this is why she fears the woman.

Quote #6

GARCIN: There she is: the moment I mention her, I see her. It's Gomez who interests me, and it's she I see. (272)

This raises an interesting point – who controls what the individuals in hell see? Do they control it themselves (perhaps unaware of this ability), or does "the management" play a hand in this?