In the first act of Six Characters in Search of an Author, Pirandello compares a fact to a sack via simile to reinforce the claim that facts cannot be "true" without human context. In Act 1, The Father says to the Manager:
THE FATHER. Very good, sir! But a fact is like a sack which won't stand up when it is empty. In order that it may stand up, one has to put into it the reason and sentiment which have caused it to exist.
Here, the Father claims that "a fact is like a sack" that will not stand up if it is empty. In other words, to make a fact "stand up" as a true statement, one must consider the reason and sentiment (i.e., the actual circumstances and emotional context that surround it). Why does the Father make this claim? He slept with the Step-Daughter. This bare "fact" makes him an incestuous, adulterous criminal. However, if one treats this fact "like a sack," and fills it with the appropriate rationalization or justification, then the Father can have a slightly better standing in the viewers' minds. This simile calls into question the (seemingly simple) definition of the word "fact" and opens the possibility that statements presented as facts might not, in fact, be true. It also serves as one of many dubious claims the Father makes to exculpate himself from responsibility for his disastrous family life.
