Character Analysis: The Bald Prima Donna

1. Eugene Ionesco’s The Bald Prima Donna, also known as, The Bald Soprano begins in Mr and Mrs Smith’s living room. They are a middle-class English couple who, fill their time and space with dull meaningless conversations. For some time the Smiths continue discussing insignificant details of the night so far, along with other trivial matters until Mary, their maid, interrupts to let them know that Mr and Mrs Martin have arrived. As the Smith’s go up stairs to change their clothing the Martin’s entertain themselves downstairs by discussing the nature of their relationship. They cannot seem to remember each other despite the fact that they live together and share a daughter named Alice. The two conclude that they must be married to each other

Gestus is used in the shaping of the character and it’s attitudes as well as in the development of the scene as a whole. Mrs Smith is a one dimensional character, and this is further conveyed by the use of gestus in the way that it reestablishes the heightened attitudes of the character. The character type links closely to this as it reiterates that Mrs Smith is not meant to convey a real life person but instead a reflection of the meaninglessness of humanity that we all

In this scene, the fear of silence is clearly expressed by the characters through their desperate attempts to fill it. They are fearful of this silence because once they no longer have conversation to distract them they will we left alone with themselves. Also the meaninglessness and futility of their conversations echoes that desperation they feel when confronted with themselves and their loneliness. By placing the audience in these uncomfortable silences they too get a chance to consider and reflect their own feelings toward it. By presenting completely uninteresting mundane stories as remarkable the audience is confronted with the sheer ridiculousness of conversation in its