The Pillowman Essay Questions

What is off-putting about the figure of the "Pillowman"?

"The Pillowman" is one of Katurian's stories, and depicts a loving and kind man made entirely of pillows. He is portrayed as a comforting and loving figure, but his job as the "Pillowman" is far darker. He communicates with adults who are on the brink of suicide and then goes back in time to advise their younger selves to commit suicide as children, so that they can be spared their miserable lives. This in itself is disturbing, and is made all the more so by the fact that he is physically made up of something so comforting as pillows.

Why is Katurian so intent on Tupolski and Ariel saving his stories?

More than anything else, Katurian is worried about the preservation of his stories. He is willing to die for crimes he did not commit (plus a few that he did) in the hopes that this sacrifice will convince his captors to preserve his stories. His stories are more important than his life, and the fictions that he creates are his only legacy. While he insists that none of his stories have morals—he is irreverent towards the expectation that they must—he believes that they have value and ought to continue to exist beyond his death.

Why is the play called The Pillowman?

While it is not explicitly stated why the play itself has the same title as Katurian's story, it has some thematic similarities to the tale of the Pillowman. The story of the Pillowman is about the ways that childhood trauma ruins people's lives forever. Michal, Katurian's brother, is forever damaged by the torture his parents inflicted on him as a young person. When the play begins, he has killed three children in the style of his brother's stories, because he does not have a good barometer for the difference between fiction and reality, given the brain damage he suffered many years ago. Katurian decides that he must smother Michal with a pillow to spare him the inevitable execution that will take place. In this moment, Katurian becomes a kind of Pillowman, sparing his brother future pain in a particularly ruthless way.

What does Katurian learn about Tupolski and Ariel and the reasons they are so violent?

It does not take long for Katurian to reveal that Tupolski and Ariel were victims of abuse as children. Ariel carries the sexual abuse he suffered under his father with him as an adult, and it is his main motivator for wanting to protect children and punish their abusers. Tupolski makes vague reference to a violent alcoholic father, but refuses to attribute his work philosophy to his upbringing. All of the characters in The Pillowman are victims of violent households, and childhood trauma.

What is the twist at the very end?

While Ariel has held Katurian in contempt throughout the play, and Tupolski has ordered him to burn Katurian's stories after executing him, Ariel preserves the stories, slipping them into Katurian's file. This is a curious twist in the narrative, an unexpected moment of mercy from a policeman who seemed incapable of such a thing.