Inescapable Subjectivity and the Problem of Others in Sartre's "No Exit"

         No Exit, a highly revered play written by philosopher and political activist Jean-Paul Sartre, is a work of great metaphor and symbolism. The play features three characters in hell. This hell is dissimilar from the image of hell purported by Christianity, and instead a simple room with three people, locked for eternity. This hell turns out to be worse than any of the characters imagined. No Exit has a variety of symbols and broader meanings, but the symbol of the mirror is particularly important. 
        Like all other literary symbols, the mirror acquires meaning over time. Sartre first introduces the mirror as something quite insignificant. When first arriving in Hell, Garcin, a major character in the play, notices that there are "no mirrors...only to be expected" (Sartre, 3). Garcin seems initially unperturbed by the lack of mirrors, but the characters later introduced do not fair nearly as well. After first becoming acquainted, the characters being to annoy each other quite a bit. To prevent this, Garcin suggests that the characters stop speaking. The others agree to this. The silence is quickly broken by Estelle. She's is unable to find a mirror, and is in desperation. So much so, that she says to Garcin, "Even if you won't speak to me, you might lend me a glass" (Sartre, 11). Estelle is willing to break the silence agreed to prevent eternal suffering simply for a mirror. As such, the mirror brings on a great importance for the characters; this importance, though, is not yet made clear by Sartre. 
        The importance of the mirror grows for Estelle. After more failure, Estelle realizes she simply cannot persist without a mirror. So much so that she mentions, "When I talked to people I always made sure there was one near by in which I could see myself... I can't do without a looking-glass for ever" (Sartre, 11). Estelle attempts to put on lipstick, but she has the intuition that she did a poor job. Inez, another soul in hell, offers to act as Estelle's mirror. Estelle is initially hesitant, but agrees. Although Inez repeatedly tells Estelle that she is "lovely," Estelle cannot bring herself to trust Inez. So much so that she responds, "but how can I rely upon your taste? Is it the same as my taste? Oh, how sickening it all is, enough to drive one crazy!" (Sartre, 12). 
         The meaning and importance of the mirror now becomes more clear. The mirror, as a literal reflection of one's appearance, can give one a view of themselves. For Sartre, the problem with a world of multiple conscious beings is their irreconcilable subjectivity. One can never escape the gaze of the other, and thus are trapped by another's subjectivity. By looking in the mirror, one is able to look at and define themselves. The Hell depicted by Sartre is truly hell, because it is an environment in which one is wholly unable to achieve self-definition and self-perception. 
         This irreconcilable and shackling subjectivity is furthered in the remainder of No Exit. After their first encounter, Inez begins to heckle and torture Estelle. Inez taunts Estelle as she says "I'm your...mirror, my dear, and you can't escape me" (Sartre, 12). Moreover, Inez beings to understand her power as a "mirror." Inez notes, "suppose the mirror starts telling lies?" and then proceeds to lie to Estelle about having a pimple on her face. The ability to interpret existence gives the interpreter power, and the ability to determine one's own existence is the human struggle portrayed in No Exit, using the symbol of a mirror.