The Bald Soprano Versions of Reality Quotes

Right from the beginning the play starts questioning reality. The clock strikes seventeen times, which is already weird because it would seem to indicate that it's 17 o'clock. Then Mrs. Smith declares that it's, in fact, 9 o'clock. We talk about this more in our section on the theme of "Time," but we thought it was important to point out here because it's the first hint in the play that reality is distorted. Before this clock incident, everything seems pretty normal in the Smiths' living room. As soon as the crazy clock gets going, however, we're clued in to the fact that we're going to be in for a pretty weird evening.

The Smiths seem to be really confused about reality in general. They're completely convinced at one moment that the Watsons will soon be married, and in the next moment they think that Mr. Watson is already dead. It seems that in the world of The Bald Soprano reality is steadily shifting.

Here's more reality bending centered around those pesky Watsons. So, do they/did they have children or not? Once again, the Smiths' banter seems to warp the reality of the world outside their comfy living room.

It's a good thing the Martins don't hear Mary say this or their reality would be totally blown away. After all the lengthy deductions that the Martins go through to try and remember each other, Mary lets us in on the secret that they really aren't who they think they are at all. Of course, how do we know for sure that Mary knows what she's talking about? All this confusion over what to believe forces us to ask ourselves, "Are any of us who we think we are?"

This information proves to be highly suspicious. As you'll see in the next quote, the Fire Chief launches into several stories which seem pretty impossible. He even calls his first story "an experimental fable" (251). A story that is a fable means that is fictional. So, once again, Ionesco is messing with reality. The characters tell us one thing and do the exact opposite. We never know quite what to believe.

Notice how much reality shifts in the Fire Chief's "experimental fable." It's almost impossible to tell what's real and what's not. He describes the animals as "another cow" and "another dog." The use of the word "another" throws into question whether each animal is either a cow or a dog. Then we're forced to wonder if the dog is actually an elephant. The bending of reality found in this little story is reminiscent of the reality bending that's going on in the play itself.

As we discuss in "Philosophical Viewpoints: The Absurd," the Fire Chief could be seen as expressing a pretty Absurdist view of reality right now. You could interpret this line as meaning that the Fire Chief thinks that reality itself is subjective, meaning that it's "subject" to the viewpoint of each individual. Basically, whatever you think is real is real.

Reality really starts coming apart at the seams by the end of the play. Before, there was at least some semblance of "realistic" interactions. Sure it was really weird before too, but at least the characters would say things to each other and reply with comments that almost made sense. Now, though, the characters only spout a lot of nonsense. It seems that communication and reality itself is swiftly breaking down.

In the play's last lines, we see that reality has totally degenerated. The characters just scream these lines over and over again in the dark. What do you think the "it" is that they're talking about? Could it possibly be reality itself? If so, then you could see this moment as representing the Absurdist view of the human condition. In a way, we're all desperately trying to come to grips with reality amidst a great unknowable darkness.

The reality of the play seems to morph and reset in its final moments. Now the Martins begin the play in place of the Smiths. This makes everything we've seen suspect. Are the Martins the Smiths? Are the Smiths the Martins? Does it matter? Is anything real at all? How do we know for sure?