20 pages • 40 minutes read
The Balcony
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Themes
Immortality
Most of the characters in The Balcony are seeking to be memorialized in an unforgettable way. George wants to be imitated by someone who wishes to play the role of the Chief of Police. One man in the brothel recreates elaborate visions of his impending, well-attended funeral. The rebels wish to overthrow the Royal Palace, instituting reform and thereby earning themselves a place in history. The man who plays the Judge fantasizes about his edicts being recorded in eternal law books. The Bishop forgives sins that affect the eternal condition of souls. The General has the power to kill, imposing his will and orders onto existence itself. Even Chantal gives in to the need to mythologize herself when she agrees to be the face of the rebel cause.
The need to be remembered seems to be linked to the fear of death that accompanies each fantasy.
The Illusion of Reality
Reality and truth are almost indefinable in The Balcony. Much of the play takes place in an odd post-modern state where few statements can be taken at face value. Men of lowborn status masquerade as authority figures. Prostitutes serve as maids, horses, thieves, pious sinners in need of repentance, and shoe shiners. Irma calls her business a House of Illusions, and the illusions within are further diffused by the constant presence of the three mirrors that all reflect different views of the same scenes. Even when George claims that the Queen is dead, there is no way to know for sure. Until Arthur is killed, it seems that the gunfire outside could also be another facet of the fantasy.
When reality is indefinable, trust is impossible. The characters are all reduced to asking themselves not what it real, but what is real enough. The answer to that question is a depressing one: whatever momentarily satisfies an urge, or leads to the gain of money or power, is true enough.
The Cyclical Nature of Power
The Grand Balcony, and the city/society outside, both straddle the line between totalitarianism and freedom. In a totalitarian state, a central figure and its cronies seek to control the thoughts, actions, and emotions of the people under their control. Irma serves that role within the brothel by watching her clients enact their fantasies and insisting that her prostitutes not speak of their work to each other. She attempts to keep herself in power by standardizing the behavior of those in her domain. Outside, the implication is that the Queen and the officials of the Royal Palace have done the same to the citizens. Now the rebels are fighting back, but there are early signs already that their rule will simply lead to the birth of another tyranny.
Power corrupts, and power ebbs and flows in cycles. In The Balcony, any transfer of power is the beginning of a new cycle of corruption. Fantasies of power are never satisfied, and because they can never be extinguished completely, instability is inherent in any hierarchical system.
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