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Dialect
Act 1
Explanation and Analysis:
Six Characters in Search of an Author belongs to a post-World War II genre called Theater of the Absurd. This theatrical movement depicted the inherent futility and absurdity of human life. Works within this movement tend to have an existential or psychological focus; many chaotic disagreements occur among their characters to the point that it seems like everyone exists in a different reality. This extensive genre also includes playwrights such as Jean Genet and Samuel Beckett.
Pirandello's play contains many meta-performative moments that call attention to his work's genre. In Act 1, the Father says:
Oh, sir, you know well that life is full of infinite absurdities, which, strangely enough, do not even need to appear plausible, since they are true.
The Father's statement is, in itself, absurd! He claims that life is full of absurdities that need not appear plausible because they are true. How can an implausible statement be true? It usually cannot, but the Father insists upon the potential truth of an implausible statement because he hopes the audience will believe his claims to innocence. He uses absurdism to excuse or minimize his immoral behavior. If everything in life is inherently absurd, then nothing can be "right," and nothing can be "wrong."
This play could also be called a tragedy. The story centers upon a fractured family in which two children die and one disappears. The Father pays the Step-Daughter for sex, breaks up his marriage with the Mother, and finally gives up on trying to save his broken clan. As his attempts to save his family fail, his motives are revealed to be meaningless. The Characters believe they can resolve the family's conflicts, but they themselves fall into a tragic ending. The Boy dies after being shot by a revolver, and the Manager exclaims, "to hell with it all!" before the curtain falls.
Related Themes:
