Having a disordered mind, the hallucinatory distorts an individual’s ability to separate truth from illusion, confusing dream with reality, making them almost indistinguishable. For the hallucinatory, the images seen and the voice heard are real. The characters are haunted by loss or grief, and from that loss or grief the hallucinatory figure is born. Although the hallucinatory figures are featured in some of the theatrical works, but they have gone largely unnoticed. There is no systematic study on hallucinatory figures or their purpose within the play. Nor is there any analysis of the different ways in which a playwright may choose to shape them or the affects their reveal has on the audience’s perception of the character. It is the purpose of this study to create a systematic guide to the hallucinatory figure on the stage through Mary Chase’s (1906-1981) Harvey (1945) and David Auburn’s (1969- ) Proof (2000).
Keywords: Hallucination, Truth, Illusion, Loss and grief
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