The Reprieve

I will be eternally thankful that on a day long ago, I stumbled upon this incredible author who writes on existentialism, Jean Paul Sartre, most notable for his work, No Exit. He writes divinely and yes, he does contribute to my apparent morbidity but truly, he's amazing.

The following is an extract:


An abyss of shame has opened right in front of him; he had only to drop into it… He leaned over the pit and felt dizzy. Shame awaited him at the bottom of it; he had to but choose that shame. He closed his eyes, and the day’s exhaustion surged back upon him. Exhaustion, shame, and death. Shame, self-chosen. Why didn't I go? Why did I choose not to go?

The black pit was still there, and at the bottom of it shame. He peered down into it, suddenly he understood, and anguish wrung his heart; it’s a trap, if I fall into it I could never face myself again. Never. He sat up straight and said firmly to himself: “I didn’t go because I was tight!” The abyss closed; he had chosen. He had come too near to shame, he had been too frightened; from now on he had chosen to never feel shame again. Never again.

~ Jean Paul Sartre, The Reprieve