Dec 27, 2009

A Thousand Clowns | Themes

Self-concept and Selfishness
When Sandra discovers that Murray has been offered two jobs but has not accepted either of them, she expresses her disappointment in a line that expresses the play’s central question: ‘‘Maybe you’re wonderfully independent, Murray, or maybe, maybe you’re the most extraordinarily selfish person I’ve ever met.’’ The line between self-awareness and self-centeredness is the line that Murray must establish as he moves through the play, and it is this line that determines whether other characters find Murray enchanting or exasperating....