Genre
Drama
Language
English
Setting and Context
Chicago, near the University of Chicago, 2000
Narrator and Point of View
None
Tone and Mood
Serious, Dramatic, Comic, Realistic
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Catherine. Antagonist is Claire.
Major Conflict
Catherine is trying to piece together her life and prove that she is the author of an important proof, but her sister Claire wants to take her to New York to get special care for mental illness.
Climax
The climax occurs when Hal admits that he believes that Claire wrote the proof.
Foreshadowing
The opening scene with Catherine's dead father foreshadows that Catherine struggles with some mental health issues.
Understatement
Catherine understates the importance of the fact that she wrote the proof. She is not excited or enthusiastic about it.
Allusions
Allusions to Sophie Germain, as well as various mathematical principles.
Imagery
The play stays on the porch of the house for its entirety.
Paradox
Catherine believes that she has not made, nor will she ever make, any great contribution to mathematics. Paradoxically, she has already written a revolutionary proof. Making it all the more paradoxical is the fact that no one believes she wrote it.
Parallelism
Claire and Catherine are contrasting parallels for one another. The scene in which Robert is well is a contrasting parallel for the scene in which he is beginning to unravel again.
Personification
Use of Dramatic Devices
Auburn uses flashbacks in this play in order to deepen our understanding of the sacrifices that Catherine has made in order to be where she is. These flashbacks reveal the inner workings of her nature in the present day and help us to understand her fears to an even greater degree.
