Accidental Death Of An Anarchist

The malleability of truth is a theme closely intertwined the themes of Corruption and Abuse of Power and Scandal. In the world of the play, truth is determined not by evidence but by consensus, and political actors work behind the scenes to shape that consensus by twisting public perception in ways that benefit their own agendas.

The Police and The Fool spend the majority of Acts I and II rewriting the report of the anarchist’s death. The Fool reads out the report like a play, directing each officer to reenact his role in the interrogation and subsequent violence. The first version of the report states that the anarchist was prodded and harassed by the police until he reached a state of “raptus” and threw himself out of the window. What really happened is obvious to everyone in the room: The police beat the anarchist within an inch of his life, and when he did not cooperate, The Chief threw him out the window. By the time The Fool reads out the report, another version has already been written, altering the timeline of the events.

CHIEF. No, no, your honor; there’s been a misunderstanding...the officer was referring to the first version. We’re talking about the second one.

FOOL. Ah, that’s right...because at a later stage, there was a sort of retraction.

CHIEF. Well, I wouldn’t say exactly a retraction. A simple correction... (44).

The police have already changed what happened in the written report, effectively changing the narrative of the night the anarchist died. As they change what is recorded about the events, the police present the changes as if they were the truth. The Fool takes advantage of their willingness to manipulate the truth, pushing them to do more and more ridiculous things. For example, Act I ends and Act II begins with the police singing an anarchist’s hymn. None of the police officers in these scenes hold anarchist views; however, The Fool edits the report to show The Captain stating that the anarchist movement is not dead and its adherents have hope. Eventually, as the play progresses, the police begin to regard their fiction as fact.

The Fool himself has a particularly interesting relationship with truth. He often manipulates the truth to suit his needs. He changes his whole identity from moment to moment, going from a psychiatrist to a judge, a forensic expert to a bishop. He claims to have a compulsion to act, and his acting takes place in the real world instead of on stage. The Fool is rarely, if ever, himself, instead preferring to play various roles, many of which give him power and control over others. As an actor, The Fool avoids responsibility by using technicalities to justify the many times he has impersonated others.

FOOL. Don’t you know anything about syntax and punctuation? Look carefully: Professor Antonio A. Antonio. Period. There there’s a capital P. Psychiatrist. Now, you’ll admit it isn’t acting under false pretenses to say: ‘I’m a psychiatrist.’ It’s like saying, ‘I’m a psychologist, botanist, vegetarian, arthritic.’ Do you have knowledge of Italian grammar and language? You do? Well, then you should know that if someone describes himself as an archaeologist, it’s as though he had written ‘Milanese.’ It doesn’t mean he has a degree in it! (13).

The Fool bogs the other characters down in fast-paced, jargon-riddled speeches to avoid being caught. As he shifts his identity, he manipulates others into following his lead, letting him direct events the way he wants them to go. He changes the report about the anarchist’s death, rips up files that detail random people’s charges, and becomes a new person each time he encounters an obstacle. He does all of this to catch the police in their own lies, manipulating them and how they present the truth. In this way, The Fool uses their own tactics against them, proving a far more skillful manipulator of truth than his antagonists.

Accidental Death of an Anarchist illustrates the malleable nature of truth. The police manipulate the truth to cover up their corrupt actions, The Fool manipulates the truth to expose corruption, and The Reporter manipulates the truth to tell the story that she believes will benefit her career. Fo argues that those in power can change what is considered the ‘official’ truth on a whim, for them, the truth can become whatever they want it to be. Truth changes depending on how it is presented and perceived.