Love as the root of all evil
Love is portrayed in a positive image in neither of the two plays. This influence is seen as the root of all evil, the reason why so many people fight with one another and why no one can grow to their full potential. Love keeps everyone back in the play and is seen as something to be avoided at all costs if possible. Still, despite the way it is portrayed, it is still strange to see how love is seen as indispensable to human life and how the characters search for it even though they have been hurt time and time again.
Men as predators and liars
The ratio between females and males on the stage is almost equal and the author portrayed each gender as having certain characteristics that are universal. For their part, the men are first imagined as being interested only in sexual intercourse and because of this, they try to do everything they can to convince the women around them to give them what they want. The men are cunning and are not afraid to put their own honor on the line if it means getting what they want from life. Because of these characteristics, the men are seen as predatory and dangerous, especially in their relationship with the women around them.
Women as manipulators and untrustworthy
While the men in the play are portrayed as being sexually driven, the women are motivated by their desire to have financial stability. The women in this play are portrayed as being manipulative and cunning, always thinking of new ways through which they can achieve their goals. Because of their cunningness, they are also seen as being untrustworthy and always changing, thus making the male characters always question their real motives.
The cast trapped under the curtain
The play ends with a comic and also a suggestive image. At the end of the third act, the characters are on stage, in a complete state of confusion and unable to perform the play "Nothing On" properly when the heavy stage curtain falls on them. The play ends with the characters being described under the heavy curtain, trying to free themselves. This image, apart from being a comical one, has the purpose of transmitting the idea that in life, the truth will always come to light and that those who lived their whole life as a lie will be inevitably caught and have to suffer the consequences.
