The Chairs

In A Nutshell Eugene Ionesco was a late bloomer as far as playwriting goes. He was in his forties when his first play, The Bald Soprano, was produced in 195 . !his ama"ingly weird, ama"ingly awesome play was inspired by English language primers. It didn#t ha$e much success until it was disco$ered by some bigwigs in %aris#s a$ant&garde theater mo$ement. 'efore long, Ionesco was an international theatrical superstar. The Chairs was produced in 195(. !hough it was critically acclaimed, )amuel 'ec*ett#s famous Waiting for Godot stole the spotlight that year. )till, Ionesco continued to grow in popularity and influence. +any thin* he reached his playwriting pea* with Rhinoceros, in 19, . In 19,( +artin Esslin wrote a little boo* called The Theater of the Absurd, which basically defined an entire genre of theater. Esslin placed se$eral playwrights, including Ionesco, )amuel 'ec*ett, -ean .enet, Arthur Adamo$, and later Harold %inter under this label. !hough some of the playwrights disli*ed being labeled as any one particular type of writer, you can definitely see similarities in their wor*s. All of them seem to ha$e been inspired by, or at least to sympathi"e with, the famous Albert /amus#s idea of the Absurd. /amus outlined his philosophy in his essay, The Myth of Sisyphus. !o ma*e a long story short, he proposed that life is meaningless and therefore e$erything humans do is essentially Absurd. Ionesco and his Absurdist buddies used similar techni0ues to e1press the idea of the Absurd. In many of their plays, characters are trapped in repetiti$e, meaningless situations, spea* in clich2s, and e1ist in decidedly unrealistic realities. Absurdist plays also often use clowning techni0ues borrowed from $aude$ille and the films of /harlie /haplin and 'uster 3eaton. All of these elements are present in The Chairs. Ionesco *ept writing plays way into the 194 s, but none of them e$er seemed to roc* 0uite as hard as his early stuff. He died, at age 45, in +arch 1995. !hough his body lies in a %aris gra$eyard, his influence li$es on. Harold %inter, !om )toppard, Edward Albee and many other famous playwrights all owe a debt to our buddy Eugene. His horrifically comic anti& plays helped redefine the theater. Ionesco and his Absurdist buddies changed the language of drama fore$er.

Why Should I Care?

The Chairs is a play for anyone who#s e$er wondered, 67hy86 )cratch that. +a*e it, 67hy89 7H:89WHY?!6 Here#s an e1ample; it#s <am and a girl is desperately trying to memori"e the capitals of e$ery country in )outh America. Her test is first period. !he pressure is on, but somewhere in the bac* of her mind there#s a nagging $oice;

=oice; 7hy am I doing this8 .irl; 'ecause I need good grades. =oice; 7hy8 .irl; 'ecause I want to get into a good college. =oice; 7hy8 .irl; )o, I can get a good >ob. =oice; 7hy8 .irl; I want nice things. =oice; 7hy8 .irl; 'ecause...I want to be comfortable. =oice; 7hy8 .irl; I don#t *now, I mean, that#s what people want. =oice; 7hy8 .irl; 'ecause we#re made that way. =oice; 7h&& .irl; -ee", shut up9 I#m trying to study here9 =oice; -ust as*ing. .irl; 7hy98 =oice; ?on#t you start9 Has your mind e$er gone down a similar path8 Eugene Ionesco definitely spent some time thin*ing about the great big 67hy86 His plays ha$e been labeled as !heater of the Absurd, and many Absurdist plays seem to be based on the on the E1istentialist idea that human li$es ha$e no meaning. 7e#re born@ we do whate$er it is we do@ we die. !hat#s it. .ame o$er. !he Absurdists thought that since there was no great meaning to life, e$erything we do to fill our days is ultimately ridiculous or absurd. ?epending on your point of $iew, this philosophy might seem either totally depressing or totally liberating. Absurdists belie$ed that if there#s no larger uni$ersal meaning, then each of us gets to decide what#s meaningful for oursel$es. If the ghost of Eugene Ionesco happened to be passing through the bedroom of our poor confused girl, he might answer her 0uestion of 67hy86 with 67hy do you thin*86 If he happened to be standing behind you right now and you turned around and as*ed, 67hy should I care about The Chairs86 he might say, 6!hat#s something you#ll ha$e to decide for yourself.6

The Chairs Summary

How It All .oes ?own !he play begins with an Ald +an and an Ald 7oman chilling in their house, which is apparently completely surrounded by stagnant water. 7e#re not e1actly sure why their house is in the middle of an ocean, but we get the idea that >ust maybe the whole world has come to an end. 7e learn that the Ald +an has been wor*ing his entire life on a message to all of humanity. It#s ne$er clear what e1actly this message is, but apparently it contains the meaning of life.

!he old couple is e1cited, because tonight pretty much e$eryone in the entire world is coming o$er to hear the Ald +an#s message. Howe$er, the Ald +an doesn#t feel capable of deli$ering the message himself, so he#s hired a professional Arator to tell it to the crowd. .uests begin to arri$e. !he weird thing is that they#re all in$isible@ only the Ald +an and 7oman can see them. !his whole in$isible&guest thing ma*es us wonder if the old couple is >ust imagining all of this. Are they >ust playing ma*e&belie$e to pass the time8 ?oes the Ald +an really ha$e a message8 7hether the in$isible guests are real or not is unclear, but Ald +an and 7oman seem totally con$inced. !hey scurry about the house, greeting their guests and dragging in chairs to accommodate the crowd. !his section of the play pea*s when the Emperor arri$es Bhe is, of course, also in$isibleC. !he Ald +an and 7oman couldn#t be more honored and push their way through the in$isible crowd to greet their most e1alted guest. At long last, the Arator shows up. 'elie$e it or not, he is actually $isible, meaning he#s played by a real actor >ust li*e the Ald +an and his wife. !he Ald +an is bursting with pride. He#s so happy that his message will finally be heard and feels that his life#s wor* is now complete. !he only logical thing to do now is to *ill himself. His wife agrees. !he Ald +an tells the Arator that it#s now in his hands to deli$er the all&important message. 7ith that, the old couple throw themsel$es out the windows and splash into the waters below. !he Arator stands in front of the rows of chairs, which may or may not contain an in$isible crowd. He opens his mouth to try and deli$er the message, but it swiftly becomes clear that he is a deaf&mute. !he Arator ma*es unintelligible noises that apparently can#t be understood. Drustrated, he writes on a blac*board, but that too comes out to basically be gibberish. E$entually, the Arator gi$es up and e1its without the message ha$ing been communicated. 7hen he lea$es, the sound of a crowd is heard. It steadily gets louder and then fades away. !he curtain slowly descends.

The Chairs The Chairs Summary

)tage directions tell us that the Ald +an is sitting on a stool, peering out a window. !he Ald 7oman lights a gas lamp. )he tugs on her husband#s slee$e. !he Ald 7oman tells him to shut the window@ it#s letting in mos0uitoes and the smell of stagnant water. He tells her to lea$e him alone. )he#s concerned that he might fall out the window into the water outside@ she doesn#t want him to die li*e Drancois I. !he Ald +an says he#s tired of her references to Drench history. He wants to see the boats in the sunlight. !he Ald 7oman reminds him that it#s dar* outside. 7ell, he says, I want to loo* at their shadows, then. )he pleads with him to come away from the window.

Eeluctantly, he does as she as*s, but reminds her of how much he li*es to loo* at the water. !he Ald 7oman can#t understand why@ the stench of it ma*es her feel lightheaded. !he Ald +an sits in the 7oman#s lap. He recollects that it used to get dar* much later than it does now. !he Ald 7oman agrees and compliments him on his fine memory. He says it#s dar* because the earth *eeps spinning round and round, sin*ing deeper and deeper. )he compliments him on his intellect and tells him he could ha$e been a general. !he Ald +an replies that he is a general, a 6general factotum6 B1FC G an employee who does a little of e$erything. !he Ald +an complains that he#s bored. !he Ald 7oman suggests that they play ma*e&belie$e. !hey argue o$er whose turn it is to ma*e belie$e. !he Ald +an tells her to drin* her tea, but there in none. He calls her by the name of )emiramis. B)emiramis was a legendary Assyrian 0ueen, with a reputation for being slea"y.C )he as*s him to imitate the month of Debruary. He replies that he doesn#t li*e the months of the year. !oo bad, she says, they#re the only months we ha$e for now. !he Ald +an does an impression of Debruary, which for some un*nown reason in$ol$es scratching his head li*e )tan Haurel Bof the famous comic duo Haurel and HardyC. )he#s $ery impressed and says he could ha$e been head general. He reminds her again that he#s a general factotum. !he Ald 7oman begs him to tell a story that begins, 6!hen at last we arri$edI6 B5 C He complains that he#s been telling the story e$ery night of their F5&year marriage. )he begs him some more, saying that it#s her story too. Eeluctantly, the grumpy Ald +an agrees. He recalls that they were $ery cold when they first arri$ed. !hey went through a garden and on the other side was a $illage. !he Ald 7oman as*s the name of the $illage. He says it was %aris@ it was a city of light, but now there#s nothing left of it. !he 7oman says that her husband could#$e really been something but now all hope is washed down the drain. )he begins to laugh in a demented way. !he Ald +an laughs too and continues his story. It#s pretty garbled because he#s laughing so hard, but it has something to do with an idiot arri$ing with rice stuc* to his belly. B:eah, pretty weird.C Apparently, whate$er incident the two are recalling is hilarious, because their laughing gets e$en cra"ier. !he Ald 7oman e1claims that %aris was wonderful. )he says again that he could#$e really done something and suggests that perhaps he#s wasted his life. !he Ald +an replies that they should be happy with what they ha$e. He brea*s into tears, calling for his mother. !he Ald +an whines that he#s, 6an orphan...dworfan6 BF5C. He wonders where his mother is. His wife tells him she#s in Hea$en. !he Ald +an cries.

!he Ald 7oman tries to comfort him. )he reminds him that he has a message to deli$er, something he#s always wanted to say. !he Ald +an buc*s up. He wipes his tears and declares that he is special because he has a message for all of humanity. His wife tells him that he would#$e gotten farther in life if he#d learned to get along better with people. !hey sit for a while in silence. )uddenly the Ald +an begins to tal* again about the lost city of %aris. He tries to remember more but *eeps getting befuddled. !he Ald +an complains that he has trouble e1pressing himself. )he says it#s his duty to get his message to humanity. )he#s proud of him because he#s finally going to spea* to the heads of the entire world. He corrects her, saying that he#s hired a professional orator to spea* for him. !he Ald 7oman gets e1cited. )he can#t belie$e that tonight is the night. It seems the Ald +an has in$ited e$ery *ind of person in the entire world to hear the Arator spea* his message. !he guests should be arri$ing any minute. !he Ald 7oman worries that the whole thing might ma*e them too tired. !oo late, though... !hey hear the sound of a boat outside G the first guests are arri$ing. !he Ald 7oman wonders if it#s the Arator. Her husband says the Arator won#t arri$e till later. !he doorbell rings. !he Ald 7oman frets o$er her hair and clothes. !he old couple hobbles off stage. 7e hear them greeting a guest. !he Ald 7oman compliments the guest on her clothes. !he couple comes bac* on stage with the guest wal*ing in&between them. !he guest is in$isible Bto us at leastC. !he Ald +an brings a chair onstage for the in$isible Hady. !he couple ma*es small tal* with her. !hey appear to be $ery amused with whate$er the Hady is saying. !he in$isible Hady drops an in$isible ob>ect, which the Ald +an insists on pic*ing up for her. 7e li$e a pretty good life, the couple tells their guest. Dishing occupies a lot of the Ald +an#s time, but he spends at least two hours a day wor*ing on his message. !he doorbell rings again. A new in$isible guest enters. It#s a /olonel. !he Ald +an is honored to meet him and is flattered he#s ta*en the time to come. !he Ald 7oman compliments the /olonel#s uniform. )he blushes as the in$isible /olonel *isses her hand. !hey get the /olonel a chair and introduce him to the Hady. !he doorbell rings. !he Ald +an greets an in$isible couple.

Apparently he *nows the woman from the past@ they used to call her 'elle. !hey come to the conclusion that her nose has gotten longer. !he Ald +an tells 'elle#s husband that she will always be 'elle to him e$en though she#s old now. !he Ald +an introduces the new guests to the /olonel and the Hady. +ore chairs are brought on. 'elle#s husband has brought the Ald 7oman a present. It#s a painting. !he Ald 7oman thin*s that 'elle#s husband is a doctor and tells him about her aches and pains. !he Ald +an corrects his wife, saying that 'elle#s husband is a %hoto&engra$er, not a doctor. !he Ald 7oman begins to tal* with the %hoto&engra$er while the Ald +an tal*s to 'elle. It seems the Ald +an once lo$ed 'elle long ago. !he Ald 7oman than*s the %hoto&engra$er, who is apparently hanging up the picture he brought. 'oth the Ald +an and the Ald 7oman begin to flirt with their con$ersation partners. !he Ald +an spea*s wistfully to 'elle about times gone by. !he Ald 7oman raises her s*irts and compliments the %hoto&engra$er on his cle$er fingers. E$entually, the old couple as*s 'elle and the %hoto&engra$er to ta*e seats with the other guests. )tage directions tell us that a long mute scene follows. !he old couple sits silently for a while and listens to the con$ersations of their in$isible guests. !he Ald 7oman tells the %hoto&engra$er that she and the Ald +an ha$e only had one son. !he Ald +an, howe$er, tells someone else that they#$e ne$er had a son at all. Not ac*nowledging this, the Ald 7oman tells the %hoto&engra$er a story about her son. Apparently, one day the streets were full of dead baby birds and her son yelled at her, thin*ing it was all her fault. !he Ald 7oman tried to deny that there were dead birds, and her son ran away. !he Ald +an begins spea*ing of his mother, saying that he left her to die alone in a ditch. !hese two stories seem to intertwine and become a bit garbled. E$entually, the old couple stops their story telling and sit in silence for awhile. +ore boats are heard. !he Ald +an goes off to welcome the new guests. !he Ald 7oman arranges chairs. !he Ald +an shows in the new guests, who are apparently newspapermen. He introduces them to all the other in$isible people and comments that the Arator should be arri$ing soon. !ons of in$isible guests begin to fill the room. !he couple scurries around trying to accommodate them all. !hey worry that there won#t be enough chairs. !he sounds of doorbells, boats, and wa$es grow louder. !he old couple runs around li*e cra"y trying to deal with the growing in$isible crowd. E$entually we get the impression that the room is totally crammed with people. !he Ald 7oman begins selling programs and candies.

Apparently, the room is so pac*ed that she can#t e$en mo$e, so she >ust throws them all up in the air. %ushed by the crowd, the old couple ends up at opposite windows. !hey call to each other from across the mass of in$isible people. !hey each spea* to random people near them. !he say that the Arator should be here by now. !hey tal* about how all the world#s problems will be sol$ed once the Ald +an#s message is heard. )uddenly, the main doors open wide and bright light shines in. !he Ald +an e1claims that the Emperor has arri$ed Bof course, he is in$isible tooC. !he couple celebrates >oyously that the Emperor has honored them with his presence. !hey push their way through the crowd to show their respects. !he Ald +an tells the Emperor about all the failures and disappointments of his life. He implores the Emperor to be patient@ the Arator will be here any moment to deli$er the message. At long last the Arator arri$es. He is a real person. 7ell, he#s played by real actor at least. )tage directions tell us that he loo*s li*e a typical painter or poet from the nineteenth century. !he Ald 7oman seems a little uncon$inced that he#s real, but after touching him she declares, 6Here he is96 B544C. !he Ald +an and Ald 7oman are both so happy that this hasn#t all been a dream. !he Arator bows to the crowd and salutes the in$isible Emperor. !he Arator signs tons of autographs for the eager, in$isible crowd. %roudly, the Ald +an than*s the crowd, then e1tends his than*s to basically the entire human race. He than*s the Emperor especially. !he Ald +an tells the ruler that his and his wife#s mission in life is now complete. Now that the Ald +an#s message will finally be heard, his life will not ha$e been for nothing. He than*s e$erybody who helped him get to this glorious day and reminisces a bit about his life. !he Ald +an declares that after years of toil in the name of humanity#s greater good, he and his wife will now ma*e the ultimate sacrifice. !he Ald 7oman agrees@ it#s better that they die now while in their full glory. !he couple laments that their bodies won#t be able to rot together in the same gra$e. Instead, their corpses will drift apart in the waters that surround the house. !he Ald +an turns to the Arator and tells him that he#s placing all his faith in him@ he#s trusting the Arator to get his message across to the world. 7ith that, the Ald +an and 7oman throw themsel$es out separate windows, crying, 6Hong li$e the Emperor96 B5<F&55 C. 7e hear splashes as their bodies hit the water. !he Arator is left alone onstage in dimming light. He stares at the rows of chairs. He tries to communicate to the crowd, but it becomes ob$ious that he is deaf and mute. His speech comes out as gibberish. Drustrated, he turns to a blac*board behind him and writes, 6AN.EHDAA?,6 among other things B551C.

He tries to e1plain himself to the crowd, but it becomes increasingly ob$ious that they ha$e no idea what he#s tal*ing about. E$entually, he gi$es up, bows politely to all, and lea$es. After he e1its, we begin to hear the noise of a crowd@ it gets louder and louder then fades into nothing.

The Chairs Theme of Philosophical Viewpoints: The !surd

!he plays of Ionesco, along with the wor* of )amuel 'ec*ett, -ean .enet, and Arthur Adamo$, became the foundation for the theatrical mo$ement *nown as the !heater of the Absurd. !his mo$ement was defined by +artin Esslin in his important boo* entitled Byou guessed itCThe Theater of the Absurd. An the whole, these writers seemed to be inspired by the philosophy of E1istentialism, populari"ed by -ean&%aul )artre, and the idea of the Absurd as articulated by Albert /amus. 'asically, they belie$ed that there is no great purpose in life, therefore e$erything we do is meaningless or absurd. Ionesco said that, 6Absurd is that which is de$oid of purposeI/ut off from his religious, metaphysical, and transcendental roots, man is lost@ all his actions become senseless, absurd, useless6 BsourceC. In the minds of the Absurdists, it was each indi$idual#s responsibility to create meaning for himself. !his philosophy can be seen throughout The Chairs.

Questions About Philosophical Viewpoints: The Absurd

1. (. How is the philosophy of E1istentialism reflected in the idea the Absurd8 In the Absurdist $iew, how do we bring meaning to our li$es8 3. Eead another Absurdist play, such as 'ec*ett#s Waiting for Godot. How does it compare to The Chairs8 5. In what ways might the play argue against the idea of the Absurd8

Chew on This
!ry on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the de$ilJs ad$ocate. !he Ald +an bears all the hallmar*s of a typical Absurdist hero. !he Ald +an#s message goes against the ideas of E1istentialism because it proposes the e1istence of an absolute, ob>ecti$e truth.

The Chairs Theme of Versions of "eality

It#s really hard to tell what#s real and what#s not in The Chairs. As soon as you thin* you#$e got the world of the play figured out, Ionesco pulls the rug out from under you. 'y the end, audiences ha$e been completely absorbed into the hallucinatory dream world of the Ald +an and 7oman. 7e lea$e the theater wondering if the elderly couple was cra"y or if we are. The Chairs forces us to e1amine our own li$es and wonder if they#re real. How do we

truly *now fact from fiction8 How can really *now if we#re awa*e or dreaming8 Is there a difference8 ?oes it matter8

Questions About Versions of Reality

1. play8 (. room8 <. 5. If this is all >ust fantasy, whose is it8 !he Ald +an#s8 !he Ald 7oman#s8 'oth8 Is the Arator really there, or is he part of the Ald +an and 7oman#s hallucination8 ?o you thin* the whole play is a dream, or are there really in$isible people in the How do the door bells and boat sounds affect the audience#s concept of reality in the

Chew on This
!ry on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the de$ilJs ad$ocate. !he old couple attempts to combat their isolation through the creation of a >oint fantasy. !here is no true reality in the play, showing that e$erything is ultimately sub>ecti$e.

The Chairs Theme of #an$ua$e and Communication

)ome thin* The Chairs presents a cynical $iew of language and communication. !he language of the play is 0uite garbled the entire way through. !he characters mostly spea* in random clich2s and non&se0uiturs and spout half&forgotten memories in bro*en sentences. At the end of the play, the great Arator is supposed to re$eal the meaning of life but instead only mumbles unintelligibly. Ionesco was attac*ed in the London Observer by the critic 3enneth !ynan for not belie$ing in the possibility of communication through language. 7e can see why !ynan would say this after reading The Chairs, but Ionesco thought the criticism was silly. As a playwright, of course he thought language could communicate meaning. 7hy else would he, you *now, write8 Ionesco saw the uncon$entional use of language in his play as a way of reawa*ening 6a dead form of communication6 BsourceC.

Questions About Language and Communication

1. (. <. 7hat is the purpose of the seemingly purposeless language in the play8 7hen, if e$er, do the characters in the play truly communicate8 7hat is the play saying about communication when the Arator deli$ers the message in gibberish8

Chew on This
!ry on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the de$ilJs ad$ocate. !he play presents the pessimistic $iew that language is incapable of truly e1pressing human e1perience.

!he play reawa*ens the power of language by reimagining the way it can be used.

The Chairs Theme of rt and Culture

The Chairs seems in many ways to be a comment on the art of theater itself. It is littered with self&referential touches and often references the fact that it is a play. !his style of theater, called meta&theater, was typical of the !heater of the Absurd. !his ties in closely with the theme 6=ersions of Eeality6; the audience is ne$er allowed to forget that the theatrical e$ent it#s watching is merely a self&conscious illusion. 7hen the play ends without definitely answering any of the 0uestions it raises, some may wonder whether theater itself is capable of truly communicating to an audience. An the other hand, you could interpret the dislocated nature of the play as the only honest way to portray reality, ma*ing this meta&theatrical romp the closest thing to 6reality6 that a play can pro$ide.

Questions About Art and Culture

1. (. <. 7hat moments in the play remind the audience that it is watching a play8 7hat do you thin* the play is saying about theater in general8 7hat is the purpose of meta&theatricality, or theater that ma*es us aware that we#re watching theater8

Chew on This
!ry on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the de$ilJs ad$ocate. The Chairs presents the pessimistic $iew that the art of creating theater is itself absurd. The Chairs celebrates the theater and champions its power to re$eal new truths to audiences e$erywhere.

The Chairs Theme of %reams& Hopes& and Plans

In The Chairs, an old man longs to bring meaning to his wasted life. All his dreams ha$e come to nothing, and now he#s trapped in a boring, repetiti$e e1istence. His grand plan is to deli$er a message that will articulate the meaning of life, but as the play progresses, this dream becomes more and more absurd. 7e#re forced to as* oursel$es if there#s any point in ma*ing plans at all. ?o all dreams ultimately end in disappointment8 Af course, we might also as* if the Ald +an#s dreams would ha$e come true if only he#d ta*en responsibility for his own actions. !his idea of personal responsibility is central in the philosophy of E1istentialism, which seems to inspire the play.

Questions About Dreams !opes and Plans

1. (. Are all human dreams absurd8 7hy or why not8 Is the Ald +an#s dream of helping humanity totally selfless8 7hy or why not8

<. 5.

7hat do you thin* the Arator#s dream might be8 !he Ald 7oman#s8 How might an E1istentialist >ustify a person pursuing a goal in life8 If there#s no point, then why bother8

Chew on This
!ry on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the de$ilJs ad$ocate. 7hen the Ald +an#s dream fails to come true at the end of the play, it shows that all human ambitions are ultimately absurd. !he Ald +an#s dreams don#t come true because he refused to ta*e responsibility for his own actions.

The Chairs Theme of Isolation

!he characters in The Chairs are totally alienated. !hough the Ald +an and 7oman ha$e spent their li$es together, they both still feel alone. !hey try to come together through the creation of >oint fantasies, but e$en these ultimately fail them in the end. !he theme of isolation is seen 0uite often in the !heater of the Absurd. !his type of theater is said to be inspired by the philosophy of E1istentialism, which states that all human beings are inherently alone. According to the E1istentialists, we are all alone in an un*nowable uni$erse. !he only way we can bring meaning to our li$es is to ta*e responsibility for our own actions and to decide for oursel$es what is meaningful.

Questions About "solation

1. alone8 (. <. 7hat metaphors does the play use to e1press the characters# isolation8 In what ways do the Ald +an and 7oman attempt to con0uer their loneliness8 If the Ald +an and 7oman ha$e been together for so long, why do they feel so

Chew on This
!ry on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the de$ilJs ad$ocate. !he old couple#s isolation is a comment on the isolation of all humanity. !he fact that the old couple#s bodies will be separated in death suggests that we all die alone.

The Chairs Theme of Time

!he theme of time is an important one in The Chairs. !here are many hints in the play that time is cyclical. /haracters 0uite often end up where they began or at least are doomed to repeat the same actions o$er and o$er again until they die. :ou see this sort of thing a lot in

other Absurdist plays as well. )amuel 'ec*ett#s Waiting for Godot, which was produced the same year as The Chairs, is a typical e1ample. !he Absurdists were interested in the notion that our li$es aren#t linear progressions toward anything@ instead, they are endless loops that spiral meaninglessly toward death. B'ummer.C

Questions About Time

1. (. <. In what ways can time be seen as cyclical in the play8 7hat effect does memory ha$e on the characters# perception of time8 ?oes the play seem to suggest that time is real or an illusion8

Chew on This
!ry on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the de$ilJs ad$ocate. !he play e1presses the idea that time is an absurd illusion created by man. !he characters in the play are trapped in a time loop and are doomed to repeat the same actions o$er and o$er.

The Chairs Theme of 'ortality

!he specter of death looms large o$er the characters in The Chairs. !he Ald +an and 7oman *now that their li$es will soon be o$er. !he fact of their mortality dri$es them both to see* some sort of meaning in their li$es. In the Absurdist $iew, the ine$itability of death renders many of our actions ultimately meaningless G at least in a uni$ersal sense. !he play seems to suggest that the only way to bring meaning to our time on earth is to decide for oursel$es what is meaningful. !hroughout the play, we watch the Ald +an and 7oman scramble desperately to create meaning before the ine$itable end. %erhaps the play is pointing out that this is, to some e1tent, how we all spend our li$es. It could be that e$erything we do G wor*, marry, ha$e children, write plays G is moti$ated by our inherent fear of our own mortality.

Questions About #ortality

1. (. <. How does a fear of death moti$ate the characters in the play8 ?o you thin* the in$isible guests could be ghosts8 7hy or why not8 7hat is the larger meaning of the old couple#s double suicide8

Chew on This
!ry on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the de$ilJs ad$ocate. !he play suggests that e$erything human beings do is out of a fear of death.

!he play e1presses a negati$e $iew of suicide, showing that it is the ultimate e1ample of not ta*ing responsibility for one#s life.

The (ld 'an

/haracter Analysis :our a$erage e$eryday E1istentialist philosopher might ha$e a few criticisms of the Ald +an. In the E1istentialist $iew, our li$es ha$e no purpose, ma*ing e$erything we do ultimately absurd. !his means that people must decide for themsel$es what is meaningful G we must ta*e responsibility for our own actions and e1istences. !he Ald +an seems to ha$e ne$er really ta*en responsibility for anything and constantly blames his wasted life on other people. He whines to the in$isible Emperor, 6I wanted to climb stairways, they rotted the steps...I fell down...I wanted to tra$el, they refused me a passport...I wanted to cross the ri$er, they burnt my bridges...6 B55FC. An E1istentialist might tell him, 6!oo bad, buddy. !hat#s the way it is. :ou should#$e tried harder.6 Also notice that the Ald +an has ne$er committed to any particular profession. His wife is constantly reminding him of his wasted potential, telling him things li*e, 6:ou could ha$e been head president, head *ing, or e$en head doctor, or general, if you had wanted to, if only you#d had a little ambition in life6 B1,C. !he Ald +an#s only comebac* for this is, 6I am a general. K...L since I am a general factotum6 B1FC. A general factotum is a person who does a little bit of e$erything around a building. )o we see that rather than committing to one particular thing, the Ald +an >ust does a little of this and a little of that. His life has ne$er really amounted to anything, because he#s ne$er really tried. Af course, the Ald +an claims to be $ery committed to ha$ing his great truth&bringing message heard by all humanity. .i$en this, you could choose to see him as a good E1istentialist. !he Ald +an claims to ha$e been wor*ing on this message his entire life, so perhaps he was committed to something he thought was meaningful. Now, in the face of an absurd world full of in$isible people, the Ald +an is determined for his dream to be carried out. He#s ta*en responsibility for the fact that he#s a bad communicator and has hired a professional Arator to spea* his message for him. 7hen the message is deli$ered the Ald +an will not only bring meaning to his own life, but to the li$es of all humanity. 7hen he *ills himself after the arri$al of the Arator, it could be seen as the ultimate act of ta*ing control of his life. He#s achie$ed the goal he set out to achie$e, and now he#s ending his life in a way of his own choosing. !hat#s a pretty good argument, but there are still a few problems from an E1istential perspecti$e. Dirst off, there#s a high probability that there are no in$isible people and e$en no Arator. It could all be a fantasy. !he Ald +an could be >ust in$enting this whole scenario to a$oid ta*ing responsibility for his wasted life. E$en the message could be a fantasy. !he Ald +an says he#s hired an Arator because he#s a bad spea*er, and yet he gi$es a long speech >ust before the Arator is to deli$er the message. !hen the Ald +an *ills himself without

waiting to hear the message deli$ered. 7e thin* this is all pretty fishy. If the Ald +an really has a message why doesn#t he >ust deli$er it himself8 Is this >ust another e1ample of the Ald +an shir*ing responsibility8 ?oes the Ald +an *ill himself because he *nows that the Arator has no real message to deli$er8 His suicide could be seen as the ultimate act of cowardice. Instead of facing the hash realities of life, perhaps he chooses to run from them.

The (ld Woman

/haracter Analysis !he Ald 7oman li$es for her husband. )he supports the Ald +an in e$ery way. !hroughout the play, we see her scurrying around doing his bidding. )he greets the in$isible guests, drags chairs, and sells programs and Es*imo pies all to aid her husband in the deli$ery of his great message. Ane of the most telling moments is when the Ald 7oman literally begins to echo her husband. )he does this all through his long speech to the Emperor and when he addresses the crowd. !his echoing shows how in many ways the Ald 7oman#s whole purpose in life seems to be to support her husband. !he only time the Ald 7oman seems to $eer from her husband in any way is when she gets super flirtatious with the in$isible %hoto&engra$er. 'ut e$en this seems aimed at getting her husband#s attention as he professes his lo$e to 'elle. :es, in many ways it seems her life is >ust a re$erberation of the Ald +an#s. +uch li*e her husband, the Ald 7oman tries to escape from the boring senselessness of her e1istence through ma*e&belie$e. At the beginning of the play, she begs the Ald +an to play pretend and to entertain her with the same old story she#s heard a million times. Hater on, the Ald 7oman tells a story about her son that could be seen as 0uite re$ealing. )he says her son was disturbed one day when he thought the streets were full of dead baby birds. )he tried to reassure her son that there were no dead birds, that they were all happy and singing in the trees. :ou could interpret this whole story as the Ald 7oman trying to shield her son from the reality of death. Eather than facing its e1istence with her son, she chose to try to hide in a pleasant fantasy, which caused her son to abandon her. Notice also how eagerly the Ald 7oman ta*es part in the whole in$isible guestMgreat message scenario. If we go with the theory that the old couple is >ust ma*ing this all up, it#s a pretty massi$e e1ample of the Ald 7oman#s penchant for escapism. Not only does she spend all day dragging chairs around for imaginary people@ ultimately she gets so lost in the fantasy that she ends up ta*ing her own life. !he Ald 7oman#s suicide brings us bac* to the idea that she li$es her life only for her husband. In the end, the Ald 7oman *ills herself not because she has fulfilled her life#s dream, but because her husband has. Now that his purpose has been accomplished, she

feels hers has as well. In the end it seems that e$en in her fantasy life the Ald 7oman is totally wrapped up in her husband.

The (rator
/haracter Analysis !he Arator is a pretty mysterious figure. )tage directions tell us that he#s dressed as a typical nineteenth&century artist type and that he#s *ind of conceited. Ather than that, we *now nothing. 7e#re not e$en sure if he#s real. He may $ery well be >ust a part of the elderly couple#s fantasy. !he Ald +an and Ald 7oman both seem a little surprised that he actually shows up in the flesh. In his stage directions, Ionesco says that 6the Ald 7oman touches his Kthe Arator#sL arm in order to assure herself that he e1ists6 B544C. !he Ald +an seems >ust as surprised at first. He cries out, 6He e1ists. It#s really he. !his is not a dream96 B591C. All this seems to support the idea that both the Ald +an and Ald 7oman thought they were >ust playing ma*e&belie$e all along. !here are a couple of arguments for the idea that Arator is a real person independent of the old couple#s imaginations. Dor one, after the Ald +an and Ald 7oman both *ill themsel$es, the Arator stays on stage. If he only e1isted in their minds, wouldn#t he >ust e$aporate or something8 Also, there#s the $ery ob$ious fact that he is played by a real person. Af course, e$en though the Arator is played by a real actor, Ionesco saw fit to include the stage direction, 6the Arator must appear unreal6 B544C. Also, the Arator ne$er reacts directly to the Ald +an or Ald 7oman and instead only interacts with the in$isible people. =ery often it seems that, though, he is played by a real actor li*e the elderly couple, he is part of different world. Nltimately, it#s pretty much impossible to tell whether the Arator is real or not. 7e#re pretty sure this ambiguity wasn#t >ust la"iness or confusion on Ionesco#s part. Ane of the ma>or tenants of both E1istentialism and Absurdism is that there#s no such thing as ob>ecti$e truth. E$erything is totally sub>ecti$e; whate$er an indi$idual thin*s is real is what is real. If you thin* a giant pin* bunny is coming to eat you, then it is. )o, if the Ald +an and Ald 7oman belie$e the Arator is there, he is there. It doesn#t really matter if we belie$e in him or not. 'y forcing us to continually 0uestion the Arator#s e1istence, Ionesco in$ites us to 0uestion whether anything around us is truly real. He forces us to confront the idea that perhaps e$erything is relati$e.

Water
)ymbolism, Imagery, Allegory !he Ald +an and Ald 7oman#s house is surrounded by stagnant water. 7e detect symbolism. !he fact that the water is stagnant could represent the way in which the elderly couple#s li$es ha$e stalled. Dor years all they#$e really done is play ma*e&belie$e and tell the

same old stories. !heir li$es ha$e become >ust as stagnant as the water surrounding their house. !he fact that the house is basically an island could also be symbolic of their isolation. !hough the two ha$e been together for many years, they still feel totally alone. !he water could be symbolic of the distance between them and between all human beings. 7ater could also be seen to represent time in the play. !here are hints throughout that time is in some ways cyclical. !he old couple seems doomed to repeat the same actions o$er and o$er until their death. At one point, the couple is recounting how the Ald +an has repeatedly failed in life. !he Ald 7oman comments, 6All that#s gone down the drain, alas...down the old blac* drain6 B5,C. 7ith this image, we imagine water spiraling down into the dar*ness of the drain. It calls to mind how the Ald +an#s life has been one big repetiti$e loop, which is dragging him ine$itably towards the dar*ness of death.

Chairs
)ymbolism, Imagery, Allegory !he last image Ionesco lea$es us with is a stage full of seemingly empty chairs. 7e figure this has to be symbolic of so ething. As we mention in 67hat#s Np 7ith the !itle86 and in our section on the theme 6Art and /ulture,6 these chairs seem intended to remind us that in many ways we#re watching a play within a play. 7hen the Arator deli$ers his nonsensical message to the in$isible guests, the audience is reminded of the nonsensical play they#$e >ust watched. 7ith this in mind, it could be said that the chairs symboli"e the audience itself. Also notice that these rows of chairs are empty, at least of visiblepeople. 7e wonder if this could possibly symboli"e the emptiness of all our li$es. !his would in some ways seem to go along with the E1istentialist idea that our li$es are ultimately meaningless. 7hen the sound of the in$isible crowd rises hauntingly o$er the empty chairs at the end of the play, we are reminded of the possibility that e$erything we do may ha$e no ultimate meaning

The Chairs )uestions

'ring on the tough stuff & thereJs not >ust one right answer. 1. Are the in$isible guests are real or not8 ?oes it matter8 (. 7hat is the effect of the Arator being played by a real actor8 <. 7hat do you thin* the Ald +an#s message was8 ?id he really e$en ha$e one8 5. 7hat do you thin* the play is saying about the nature of time8 5. 7hat is the meaning of life8 BHa, good luc*9C

EN.ONE IANE)/A
$orn %latina Romania &'(' Died Paris )rance &''*
!he following biography by -erome %. /rabb was originally published on this website on Actober 15, ( ,.

Purchase Plays !y *u$ene Ionesco

Absurdist playwright Eugne Ionesco was born on November 26, !"!, in #latina, $omania. %he &ollowing year, he moved with his &amily to 'aris where he lived until !2(, at which time his parents divorced and he returned to $omania with his &ather. In !2), he began studying *rench literature at the +niversity o& ,ucharest and two years later published his &irst article in the Zodiac review. A volume o& poetry, Elegy of Miniscule Beings, &ollowed in !3 , and in !3- he published a collection o& essays entitled No. In !3), he received a &ellowship &rom the $umanian government to write a thesis on the sub.ect o& death in modern *rench poetry. /e moved to 'aris and began his research, but the 0erman invasion 1 !-"2 soon &orced him to relocate to 3arseilles. /e returned to 'aris &ive years later, a&ter its liberation &rom the 0ermans, and &ound wor4 as a proo&reader and translator. It was not until !-) that Eugne Ionesco &inally wrote his &irst play. /aving decided at the age o& -" that he ought to learn English, Ionesco ac5uired an English primer and set to wor4, conscientiously copying whole sentences &rom the te6t &or the purpose o& memori7ing them. $ereading them, he did not learn English as he had intended, but rather became aware o& some astonishing truths 8that, &or e6ample, there are seven days in the wee4, something he already 4new9 that the &loor is down, the ceiling up, things he already 4new as well, perhaps, but that he had never seriously thought about or had &orgotten, and that seemed to him, suddenly, as stupe&ying as they were indisputably true. As the lessons advanced, two characters were introduced83r. and 3rs. #mith. Ionesco was astonished when 3rs. #mith in&ormed her husband that they had several children, that they lived in the vicinity o& :ondon, that their name was #mith, that 3r. #mith was a cler4, and that they had a servant, 3ary, English, li4e themselves. ;hat he &ound remar4able about 3rs. #mith was the precise, methodical procedure she &ollowed in her 5uest &or truth. It was then, as Ionesco later e6plained, that <A strange phenomenon too4 place. I don=t 4now how8the te6t began imperceptibly to change be&ore my eyes. %he very simple, luminously clear statements I had copied so diligently into my noteboo4, le&t to themselves, &ermented a&ter a while, lost their original identity, e6panded and over&lowed. %he clich>s and truisms o& the conversation primer, which had once made sense ... gave way to pseudo?clich>s and pseudo?truisms9 these disintegrated into wild caricature and parody, and in the end language disintegrated into dis.ointed &ragments o& words.@ Ionesco set about translating his e6perience into a play, The Bald Soprano, which was staged on 3ay , !(", at the %h>Atre des Noctambules, under the direction o& Nicolas ,ataille. :i4e many o& the other <anti?plays@ which would

soon pour &orth &rom IonescoBs mind, The Bald Soprano re.ected the logical plot, character development, and thought o& traditional drama, instead creating a new anarchic brand o& comedy meant to convey the meaninglessness o& modern manBs e6istence in a universe ruled entirely by chance. IonescoBs initial o&&ering went unnoticed until 1ironically, by chance2 a &ew established writers and critics stumbled upon it and threw their combined literary weight behind the strange little play, throwing the spotlight on the now middle?aged Ionesco who soon &ound himsel& in a position o& international renown. /e &ollowed this remar4able success with a string o& critically acclaimed plays including The Lesson1 !( 2, The Chairs 1 !(22, and Jack or The Submission 1 !((2. IonescoBs comedies caused such a stir that, in the summer o& !(), dramatic critic Cenneth %ynan launched an attac4 against him in the pages o& the London Obser er, re&erring to the dramatist as the <messiah@ o& the enemies o& realism in the theatre. %he public debate which &ollowed between %ynan and Ionesco over the value o& anti?realism in the theatre &orced the writer to elucidate his dramatic theories. /e maintained that, contrary to %ynanBs assertions, he did not believe that communication through language was impossible. <%he very &act o& writing and presenting plays,@ he wrote <is surely incompatible with such a view.@ Instead, he insisted, his plays were an attempt to revitali7e a dead &orm o& communication, to renew the language by attempting to say new things in a new way. #ome congratulated Ionesco on re&uting the current theory o& <social realism.@ Dthers 5uipped that i& he could put some o& this <clarity and wisdom into his own plays, he might yet become a great playwrightE@ ,ut regardless o& which side o& the argument they too4, e eryone was tal4ing about it. Dn Fanuary 2(, !6", !hinoceros premiered at the Dd>on under the direction o& Fean?:ouis ,arrault. $e&lecting IonescoBs personal e6periences with *ascism, !hinoceros depicts the struggle o& one man to maintain his identity and integrity alone in a world where all others have succumbed to the <beauty@ o& brute &orce. It is considered by many to be IonescoBs &inest play. In !62, in what would be one o& the de&ining moments o& his career, Ionesco was identi&ied by 3artin Esslin as one o& the primary dramatists o& what he called the <%heatre o& the Absurd.@ EsslinBs terminology resonated in a world still numbed by the senseless violence o& ;orld ;ar II, and the label would a&&i6 itsel& to Ionesco until his death, &orever .oining him in the mind o& the public with other <absurdist@ writers such as #amuel ,ec4ett, Fean 0enet, Arthur Adamov, and /arold 'inter.

Eugne Ionesco died on 3arch 2!, !!-, at the age o& )-, and is buried in the Gimetire du 3ontparnasse, in 'aris, *rance. /is other plays include The "iller 1 !(!2, E#i$ $he "ing1 !622, %unger and Thirs$ 1 !662, Macbe$$ 1 !H22, and Journeys &mong $he 'ead 1 !) 2. DNE!HEE )!N?IE);