Sartre's No Exit: 'Double, double, toil, trouble. . . .' -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 15:04:39 04/20/08 Sun
Author: Hwaet!
Subject: Sartre's No Exit: 'Double, double, toil, trouble. . . .'

Obviously Jean-Paul Sartre�s No Exit proposes that hell is a mimetic triangle, and it therefore shows similarities among characters that grow more and more alike, to the point of rivalry. The doubles in this play, however, are not limited to triangles. Remember how there is no mirror available, and Inez serves as Estelle�s mirror? This is freakier than staring at yourself in a mirror�having someone put your exact appearance into words and offer commentary. It�s not that Inez actually becomes Estelle�s double, but she does in the sense that she knows Estelle better than Estelle knows herself: �Oh, I don�t know,� says Estelle. �You scare me rather. My reflection in the glass never did that; of course, I knew it so well. Like something I had tamed. . . .� The talking reflection, by contrast, is out of Estelle�s control and for that reason makes her uncomfortable. It seems to pose a threat like that which primitive cultures perceive from tangible mirrors.

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