Pirandello: towards the metadrama of the divided psyche

Abstract

To find oneself is to acknowledge prior loss of self. Luigi Pirandello's play Trovarsi of 1932 presents the identity crisis of a leading actress who has lost herself in her numerous theatrical roles. While famous plays like Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, Ciascuno a suo modo, and Questa sera si recita a soggetto constitute the trilogy of the theatre-within-the-theatre, Trovarsi appears as an example of metadrama since it studies the theatre-within-life. Pirandello's protagonist Donata Genzi discovers how the theatre is a jealous lover when she feels compelled to define herself as a woman or as an actress. A drama about drama, Trovarsi mirrors the heroine's bewildered playing of roles within her main role as a celebrated artist. This play is metafictional in being self-reflective, auto-referential, and self-representational.