The Public and Private Self

The theme of the public and the private self, and the gap which exists in between these two things for most of the characters, is used to explore the nature of truth and morality. The exploration of this theme on a philosophical level is symbolized by the physical location in which the action of the play occurs: the street (symbolizing the public self) and the apartment building (symbolizing the private self). Who the characters are when they are on the street is not necessarily the same as who they are behind the closed doors of the apartment building. Further to this, only some of the rooms of the apartment building are visible to the audience, reflecting the limitations that exist when it comes to ever knowing the entirety of the private self of other human beings.

Most of the characters in the...