Theatrical Sign: The Relational and Differential Pattern of Meaning in No Exit

Abstract

This study analyzes Jaun-Paul Sartre’s play No Exit structurally in terms of theatrical sign. It draws on Sartre’s philosophy of existentialism and the structural relations among various elements i.e., dramatic performance, language, theatrical objects, consciousness, and the audience. It aims to show that No Exit is a fertile literary work for an existentialist analysis because Sartre’s plays embody his philosophy. Sartre’s philosophy is rooted in phenomenology that emphasizes the relation between the world and the mind. The mutual relation between the mind and the world constructs meaning; consciousness, therefore, is not a substance but a relation. In the context of Sartre’s drama, the relations between the world and the mind are conceptualized in totality, making the whole dramatic work a complex theatrical sign. Using close textual analysis as methodology, the study contests Martin Esslin’s views that Sartre’s plays are not the expression of his philosophy and that his characters seem like they possess an ‘immortal soul’ because they do not change. The study critically discusses the signifier first and then the signified. The signifier focuses on existential concepts in terms of the relationship between the mind and the world with reference to Sartre’s philosophy. The signified sums up the meaning and philosophy in No Exit with reference to the collective mind of the audience.