47 pages • 1 hour read
Six Characters in Search of an Author
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Symbols & Motifs
Mirrors
An actual mirror only appears once, when the Step-Daughter and the Father ask to add the mirror to the set when they are staging the encounter in the brothel, but the idea of mirrors and mirroring recurs throughout the play. The actors mirror the characters, highlighting differences and revealing misperceptions. For example, when parts are being handed out, the Step-Daughter has difficulty seeing “that woman there” as herself (26). She clarifies she is not criticizing the Leading Lady at this point, but rather she looks at the Leading Lady and “can’t see” herself “at all” (26).
When the Son discovers the Juvenile Actor watching and mimicking him, he asks the Manager if he hasn’t “yet perceived it isn’t possible to live in front of a mirror which not only freezes us with the image of ourselves, but throws our likeness back at us with a horrible grimace” (50). Like the Father, the Son finds that these representations reduce them to one part of themselves in one moment in time.
The Envelope
The envelope in the first retelling helps reveal the horror of the inappropriate sexual relationship between the Father and the Step-Daughter. She reveals that in the envelope, “there was a bit of money too” (9). The envelope with money is a tangible embodiment of their actions. The Father is unable to and does not dispute his visits to sex workers because of this evidence. Because the envelope is on a nearby table, the Step-Daughter can see it during their encounter. It was so close she “could take hold of it” (10). This underscores her financial dependency on sex work. She is close to what she needs, represented by the envelope.
In the second retelling, the envelope becomes a marker of factual accuracy. The Step-Daughter demands that “the pale blue envelope” be gathered for the rehearsal of the scene (24). While the Father and the Manager see it as “an ordinary envelope” (27), the envelope represents trauma for the Step-Daughter. Like the envelope given to her, the Father’s eyes are also blue (3). The color connects the Father to the transaction for the Step-Daughter, as she sees the blue envelope and his blue eyes in the same moment. Her insistence that the envelope be blue and be included reflects her quest to hold the Father accountable and get revenge.
The Child and the Boy
The Boy and the Child act as an extension of the Mother’s suffering. Their presence reminds her of their impending absence. Their silence reflects their inability to affect the drama’s actions. Their deaths are presented as unavoidable tragedies caused the actions of others. The Child, in particular, represents purity and innocence. The Child is “dressed in white, with a black silk sash at the waist” (3). Her white dress reflects her innocence. The Child’s purity contrasts with the Step-Daughter’s “vile contaminated body” (38). Her tragic death is suggested in the black sash. Her death reflects a destruction of innocence.
Whether their deaths are real or pretend, the emotional ramifications have an impact. Before the end is staged, the Mother is already “in anguish” about her children such that she faints (7). The two children being near her “keep [her] torment actual and vivid” (39). After their deaths, the Mother gives “a cry of terror,” and the Step-Daughter “sobs” (52). The reality or pretense of their deaths, the play suggests, is beside the point.
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