Jean-Paul Sartre quotes
1905 – 1980 · 20th century · Philosopher, novelist, playwright; public intellectual
About Jean-Paul Sartre
Born in Paris in 1905 and died in 1980, Sartre produced influential philosophical, literary, and theatrical works in the postwar period. He examined freedom, individual responsibility, and the complexities of human relations, and remained an engaged public intellectual throughout his life.
Works: Nausea; Being and Nothingness; No Exit; Dirty Hands
Quotes
“Hell is other people.”
Source: No Exit, final exchange (1944) · Check the source
Verified attributionWhat we know
- What is documented
- The sentence appears in Sartre’s play No Exit and is spoken by the character Garcin in the play’s concluding lines.
Sartre’s line reframes hell as a human condition: being trapped under other people’s judgments so that you become an object for their gaze. It closes the play No Exit, where three dead characters are forced into mutual scrutiny. The point targets dependence on others’ evaluations, not company itself.