Disappearance of the Author: A Foucauldian Study of Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author

Abstract

Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author was an innovative juncture in theatre with its avant-garde dramatic devices. Pirandello has presented the idea of the relation between the author and his creation and highlighted the disappearance of the subject in the narrative. The present study employs Foucault's idea of the author function in the play to explore the effort of the characters to present their narrative while the author has disappeared. The unexpected entry of six self-conscious characters illustrates and emphasizes the creative process and the continuity of the artistic works. The study finds that Pirandello has skillfully handled the theatricality resulting in a novel perspective of the theatre and shed light on the freedom of the characters that symbolizes the text, and drafted their story as they like. It, further, pinpoints their quest and success in mastering authority over their discourse in the absence of their creator.