The Chairs Essay Questions

How is the relationship between the old man and woman characterized?

The relationship is characterized as one primarily based on need and parenthood. It lacks much of the romantic feeling of a marriage, despite the fact that they are husband and wife. In fact, they really only display romantic and sexual feelings towards Madam Belle and her husband, which suggests their relationship is entirely focused on caretaking and assistance, with very little basis in love.

What best describes the genre of the play?

Ionesco was viewed as part of the "Theatre of the Absurd" literary movement. His play shares many of the thematic concerns and stylistic aspects of works by Tom Stoppard, Samuel Beckett, and Edward Albee. The character inhabits a strangely empty space, governed by paradoxical, inexplicable rules. They speak in an odd language, unmoored from reality and seemingly unable to share any meaningful communication. The tone and mood move between surreal comedy and existential tragedy.

What do the empty chairs symbolize in the play?

The chairs symbolize the man's lack of a tangible audience for his message. As the play's title suggests, the chairs are the centerpiece of the plot. They are arranged to accommodate the supposedly growing crowd. The man and woman carry on extensive conversations directed at the empty chairs. They manage to function as a representation of what should be there but is not: a real group of people to receive the man's message.

Why is the man so frustrated throughout the play?

The man is frustrated by his lack of status. From the very beginning of the play, he complains about how he has not been given his due and has only achieved very middling success as a general factotum. He complains about the slights that were made against him and the people who have held him back because of their grievances against him. This anger and resentment motivates him to condense all of his thoughts into one essential message to be delivered to the people in his social world.

What is the significance of the play's conclusion?

At the end of the play, the orator attempts to speak, giving the long-awaited message that the man had claimed to have for such a long time. However, as he opens his mouth, only guttural sounds come out. It becomes clear that he is a deaf-mute and is unable to actually communicate. As such, his conveyance of the man's message is rendered null and void. This conclusion is a largely despairing one, as it reveals the man's efforts to be entirely futile. He entrusted his most important speech to someone who was completely incapable of sharing it.