Pirandello's Six Characters In Search Of An Author Analysis

Anti-realism, as defined by Braver, is the denial of an objective reality. Whereas realism would put an interest in aspects of what is real and true, Anti-realism puts an emphasis on what is speculated on and what is abstract (2007:45). It can thus be deducted that the Anti-realism movement was created due to the Realism movement. Beginning as a joint venture by artists from many fields, their aim was to move beyond the surface of realism, in order to explore inner realities that cannot be directly perceived. Metaphors and images assisted the movement in restoring traditional aesthetic values of fantasy, poetry and profundity. By the early 20th century, the movement had already invaded the imaginations of playwrights, resulting in the birth
Merely a few chairs and folding tables are scattered about the stage. A stage-hand is commencing to build a set, but the stage manager interrupts him, informing him that it is time for rehearsal. A company of actors and the producer arrive, who set out to reading the stage directions; the actors complain about the script, but the producer (who also serves as director) explains that he “can’t get hold of good French plays any more so that now we’re reduced to putting on plays by Pirandello.” Before the rehearsal proceed, an attendant comes up the central aisle of the auditorium and announces unexpected visitors. Six characters, wearing masks, and identified only as Father, Mother, Stepdaughter, Son, Boy, and Girl, follow the attendant up the aisle and beg the producer to find them an author who can write a play about them, or to include them in the play he is about to produce
He portrays the, previously mentioned, traditional goal of the theatre—“to create a perfect illusion of reality”—and asks the audience to consider the different levels of reality present in a stage production: the theatre as a physical space, including sets constructed by a crew; the written text of the play; the actors’ performance; and the represented reality of the characters’ lives, which of course is usually fictional. In Six Characters, however, the fictional characters come to life and insist on their own rights, seeking to dismantle the illusion of reality in favour of reality itself, or rather in favour of illusion itself, which is their only reality (States, 1985: