Two different interpretations of 'Huis clos' are proposed and both are presented as plausible. In the first reading the three protagonists are viewed as victims of the traditional, repressive society. Their difficulties are a result of social discrimination and stubborn adherence to stale morality of sham decency. In the second reading the three characters are viewed as selfish and inconsistent individuals who eagerly satisfy their desires and shamelessly neglect other people's needs. Now their difficulties are fully deserved as a punishment for cultivation of false ideas about their remarkable achievements, grand roles and fictitious obligations to others. Though both reading are plausible, the author argues that the second is more interesting and more characteristic of Sartre's philosophy. To sustain this claim the author offers a new, and rather unorthodox, interpretation of the concepts of 'etre-pour-autrui' and 'etre-pour-soi'. He concludes by presenting Sartre as a champion of an intellectualist ethics based on the concept of authentic life and a critical scrutiny of human motives.
'Huis clos' is a story of a battle between two worlds. One is the world of here and now - which means eternal punishment. The other is the world of what has been done and experienced. In hell everything is fixed, completed, closed, sealed and irrevocable. There is no room for novelty, for new starts or an alteration of what has happened. Yet the hell of eternal reenactment requires repeated relapses in old faults and weaknesses. An understanding of past failures weighs heavily against old customs, and every attempt to make a slightest change in one's character is futile. The world that was left behind has been lively, dangerous, perhaps treacherous to some extent, but always challenging and emotional. The world of present ordeal is dead, cold, ephemeral and without consequence. It is filled with powerlessness and faded emotions. Admittedly, it offers a relief after a lifetime of trials, but it places every actor in a situation that must end in disappointment and frustration.
The history of salvation is God’s design whose purpose is to restore the original balance in the world after the original sin. The plan was carried out by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Thanks to Him, the idea of a human as a child of God has been renewed. An event called in the Credo ‘descending into hell’ is its part. Hell, originated from ancient traditions, identii ed with the area in-habited by the dead and the land of demons, in Christian religion has gained a new dimension. In the Bible it is perceived as the lower parts of the earth (Ef 4, 9), to which the Son of God descended to lead the unfortunate people who have lived before His Incarnation, to the land of happiness and endowed them with ,,visio beatii ca”. It does not have in common with Origen’s apocathastasis, because Christ descends into hell not to rescue the damned, but the just who have lived before Him. The event does not refer to the one, chosen nation, but all mankind. Thus the idea of salvation is a universal one.
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