Harvey, written by Mary Chase, is the story of Elwood P. Dowd and his friend Harvey. Harvey is a giant rabbit that only Elwood can see. Elwood’s sister and niece are embarrassed by him and attempt to have him committed to an insane asylum. But they realize that Elwood is happy as he is and decide to leave him be.

There are several themes explored in this play. One is the idea of reality vs. imagination and which is better to live with. Elwood has an imaginary friend and it makes him happy. His family wants him to live in the real world, but if he is happy, what is the advantage of living in the real world?

This runs into the idea of living up to social expectations. The reason Elwood’s sister and niece want him to change is because they are embarrassed by him. They want to have a good place in society and feel he is hurting that by talking about Harvey in public. Would they feel the same way if they were not concerned with their standing in society?

What is the theme behind Harvey's character?

Strangely, I find this difficult to answer.  This might be a bit obscure, but I think that part of the answer lies in Elwood's assertion that he had to choose between "being smart and being nice."  Elwood chose the latter.  The relationship that Harvey and Elwood share is one where this choice is accentuated.  We never see Harvey and Elwood sharing anything but a psychologically healthy relationship.  In a world where there is an almost insane drive to make Elwood "sane," it seems that the only psychologically fulfilling relationship present is the one that he shares with the rabbit.  This might be the theme of the play.  When Veta must choose to keep her brother's happiness with Harvey, it seems to be a statement that the relationships that make human beings better people justify themselves.