Why Inez is not in Hell

This chapter presents an original interpretation of Jean-Paul Sartre’s classic play Huis Clos (also known as No Exit and In Camera). The protagonists are usually understood to be in Hell, condemned for eternity to torture one another by refusing to confirm one another’s self-images. But this standard reading does not make sense of the character of Inez or of the apparent progress that Garcin makes during the play. We can make better sense of the play if we see Garcin and Estelle as facing the Last Judgment, with Inez as an undercover demon whose role is to goad the other two into recognizing and regretting their sins. On this reading, the difficulties faced by Garcin and Estelle are grounded in their seeing themselves and other people as having fixed natures, rather than accepting the existentialist truth that our outlooks and behaviours reflect our freely chosen projects.