Garcin, Inez, and Estelle can never be alone again. They can never try to forget their actions in life because they each serve as a constant reminder to the others. They can never attain closure, and their memories will haunt them eternally. Most importantly, they will never be able to finally shed their fabricated outward dispositions and be themselves. Everyone's different when they're alone; when you're under the speculation of anyone else, you change. For some, like Estelle, you want to look your best. For others, like Garcin, you want to appear stronger. But, when you're alone, you're comfortable with who you are underneath the lipstick and news articles. There's a sense of security and ease when you know what you are is all you need to be. But, Garcin, Estelle, and Inez will never be able to experience this feeling. They will always feel pressured to look and behave a certain way under the scrutiny of others. Moreover, they can never relish in a few hours of sleep or even a millisecond of blinking to escape reality. In this way, they will have the company of each other for eternity, but they will be forever alone, trapped in the existence they have created for themselves. Freedom cannot even be dreamed of.
Sounds like hell to me.
1 comment:
I think this concept is very interesting. Is it really possible to be your authentic self when you know others are watching?
Even when you become very comfortable with a person and know pretty much everything about them—sort of how the three characters share their "darkest secrets"—sometimes you still don't say everything you think, or you might phrase your ideas differently in this constant search for approval (or at least in a way that will earn you the least amount of disapproval).
In connection with that, this discussion reminded me of a poster back in 6th grade Mr. Stanton's math classroom that said, "The true test of character is what you do when no one is watching." Put simply, how you act when no else is there to either approve or disapprove of what you're doing. However, I think your post also raises another question: are people always "authentic" when they're just by themselves? Honestly I would say no. I think that even when it's just "me, myself, and I," people still don't want to accept certain things about themselves, and they will lie, even if it is to no one else (because oftentimes they will just refuse to even acknowledge these things)—whether that's certain values, thoughts, desires, etc.
Post a Comment