The Killer (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Eugene Ionesco
- First Published: 1958
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Absurdist
- Time of Work: The twentieth century
- Setting: A large city in France
- Genres: Drama, Absurdist literature
- Subjects: France or French people, Twentieth century, City life, Death or dying, Bureaucracy or bureaucrats, Fascism, Joy or sorrow, Isolation
- Locales: France
Characters Discussed
Bèrenger, an average, middle-aged citizen. Usually dressed in a gray overcoat, hat, and scarf, Bèrenger is a Chaplinesque figure, muffled to reality. He yearns to live in the Radiant City. When he learns that all of its residents wish to leave because of an unknown killer, he pluckily vows to pursue him. At the end, however, Bèrenger submits to the killer because of the “vacuity of his commonplace morality, which collapses like a leaking balloon.”
The Architect, the designer of the Radiant City, also police superintendent of the district and...
[The entire page is 552 words long]
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