The Trivialization of an Already Trivial Word: An Analytical Exploration of the Authorial Message of the Play The Bald Soprano. Svenya Braich 11th Grade

The world in which we live is one of immense complexity, and its navigation often proves difficult for the ill-fated individuals who occupy it. Society and the pressure it puts on individuals has become increasingly worrying to many intellectuals; notably, Eugene Ionesco. In his mind’s eye, the world had become abusive, manipulative and controlling, and he chose to make a statement about it in his work. In his ‘anti-play’ The Bald Soprano, Ionesco was able to make a profound comment on modern and postmodern society by dint of his employment of one-dimensional characters, the trivialization of time, and the banalization of society’s expectations for one’s behavior.

The first way in which Ionesco was able to criticize society was by way of his characters. The Smiths, Martins, Mary and the Fire Chief are all bland figures who seem to have no opinions that are their own. Rather than developing over the course of the play as traditional dynamic characters would, all of the individuals in The Bald Soprano are static. This is further complemented by the fact that none of the characters develops profound ideas on their own, rather they say things that are but the echoes of what had been previously said, as seen in the arguments that...