Stories (Symbol)
Katurian cares about his stories more than anything else and they are what give him a sense of self. Even when he and his brother Michal are threatened with execution, his main priority is that his stories survive. The stories are a symbol for Katurian, a symbol of his primary way of making sense of the world, and his only legacy for after his death. He makes bargains with the detectives to make sure that they look out for and preserve his stories. The stories symbolize Katurian's legacy and his desire to have some part of himself outlive his body. Even though he insists that the stories do not have any kind of moral or meaning, he still values them as representative of his identity.
Pillowman (Allegory)
The story of "The Pillowman" is an allegory about child suicide, and can also be interpreted as symbolic of Katurian's relationship to his brother, Michal. In the story, the Pillowman helps depressive, suicidal adults go back in time to convince their child selves to commit suicide early in life and thus spare themselves the misery of their life. It is an allegory about the horrors of life and the ways that some people suffer terribly. It is also symbolic of Katurian's eventual murder of his brother Michal with a pillow. Michal has suffered terribly in his life, and Katurian opts to kill him in order to spare him execution for the crimes he has committed. In both "The Pillowman" and Katurian's murder of Michal, death is seen as a relief from the horrors of life, an escape from a worse fate.
Torture (Motif)
Torture is a motif in this play. It shows up in the lives of three of the main four characters in the story. Torture is perpetrated physically and psychologically on Katurian and Michal as children, as well as physically during their interrogation with Ariel and his partner. Additionally, Katurian's stories often involve the torture of children. Torture recurs throughout the plot and is symbolic of the unspoken and horrific capacity for violence that humans have.
Stories (Motif)
The literal stories that Katurian writes are a symbol for his legacy in the play, but the enactment of those stories is also a motif throughout the play as well. Katurian narrates his own stories at various points throughout the play, while actors perform their plots. This motivic use of storytelling shows us just how important Katurian's stories are to him—how they are his way of making sense of the world, even if they are more confounding than anything.
Tupolski's Story (Allegory)
Tupolski tells a story of an eccentric mathematician who absentmindedly throws a paper airplane that manages to save the life of a mentally disabled deaf boy, as a way of trying to impress Katurian with his own narrative abilities. He then tells Tupolski that his story is an allegory for how he sees his job as a cop, his obligation to protect children and make sure they survive the danger of living.
