The drawing-room’s lack of mirrors represents Sartre’s interest in how perception influences a person’s sense of self. Unable to check her reflection, Estelle feels existentially amiss, as if her mere existence depends upon her ability to see herself. She explains to Inez that she usually likes to have a mirror nearby when she’s having conversations so that she can look at herself while talking, thereby grounding herself. Otherwise, she’s forced to imagine what other people see when they look at her—an experience that deeply troubles her. When Inez offers to let Estelle use her eyes as a mirror, Estelle only gets more uncomfortable; she senses that the version of herself Inez sees will always be different than the version Estelle herself imagines. Because of this dynamic, then, the mirrorless drawing-room becomes a representation of the existential fluidity the trio experiences in hell, ultimately standing for their desire and failure to make peace with the way they present themselves to the world.
Mirrors Quotes in No Exit
ESTELLE [opens her eyes and smiles]: I feel so queer. [She pats herself] Don’t you ever get taken that way? When I can’t see myself I begin to wonder if I really and truly exist. I pat myself just to make sure, but it doesn’t help much.
INEZ: You’re lucky. I’m always conscious of myself—in my mind. Painfully conscious.
ESTELLE: Ah yes, in your mind. But everything that goes on in one’s head is so vague, isn’t it? It makes one want to sleep. [She is silent for a while.] I’ve six big mirrors in my bedroom. There they are. I can see them. But they don’t see me. They’re reflecting the carpet, the settee, the window—but how empty it is, a glass in which I’m absent! When I talked to people I always made sure there was one near by in which I could see myself. I watched myself talking. And somehow it kept me alert, seeing myself as the others saw me. . . .
Mirrors Symbol Timeline in No Exit
