Date of Award
5-2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.F.A.
Degree Program
Film and Theatre
Department
Film and Theatre
Major Professor
David W. Hoover
Second Advisor
James C. Marchant
Third Advisor
Wendy A. Young
Abstract
Throughout No Exit, Sartre’s mirror is key to understanding his characters and philosophy. It is his tool for exploring ideas that are limited by the time in which he lived. Here, the play does what all great works should do: it challenges the status quo and looks beyond what can already be seen. This thesis will use his established mirror metaphor and an expanded mirror metaphor to unearth the true nature of No Exit’s characters.
In setting down the characters’ path, Sartre asks questions that humans have considered for Millenia: Why are we here? Why am I suffering? How can I stop it? Sartre rarely answers these questions in his existential opus. To find them, we shall examine the original existentialist: the Buddha.
Finally, with the nature of his characters and their journey established, I will reflect on the University of New Orleans’ production of No Exit.
Recommended Citation
Brewer, Aaron, "Killers, Queers, and Cowards: Suffering and Freedom in Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit" (2024). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 3146.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/3146
Included in
Acting Commons, Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Performance Studies Commons
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.