Student Question
Why does the Stepdaughter leave the others at the end of Pirandello's play, Six Characters in Search of an Author?
Quick answer:
The Stepdaughter leaves at the end of Pirandello's play because she feels compelled to do so after the events have unfolded. She believes the Son is bound to remain with the others due to an invisible force, while she is driven to leave out of hatred and an inability to tolerate their presence any longer. Her departure signifies her emotional separation from the family and the unresolved tensions among them.
The stepdaughter feels that she has to leave. The events of the play have transpired in a way that for her to stay would make no sense. At first, it seems that the Son should be the one to go, but when he tries, he is held back by some invisible force.
In half-agony, half hysteria, the Stepdaughter cries out:
"He can't, you see? He can't! he's got to stay here! He must. he's chained to us for ever! No, I'm the one who goes, when what must happen does happen, and I run away because I hate him, because I can't bear the sight of him any longer. Do you think it's possible for him to runaway? He has to stay here with that wonderful father of his and his mother there."
For more on character analysis of the Stepdaughter, Mother, Son, and Father, please visit the link listed below.
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