Contrariwise, the Characters, who are not "real" people, i.e. they have been "created" by some unknown Author; have a story, a life, that is much more "real" than those of the Company. Conflict ensues when the "reality" that is created by the Company does not acceptably conform to the exacting standards of the Characters. The problem is that the Company must conform to the physical and temporal limitations inherent in stage productions, and sometimes they do not fully grasp the nature of the Character that they are portraying. This bothers the Characters, as they feel that it affects the "reality" of their story, to have it altered. "But that's not the way it really happened," seems to be their continual complaint.
The question that Pirandello presents to us, and leaves us to ponder at the end of the play, is: "Which is more real, the "true" reality of the "fictional" Characters, or the "fictional" reality of the "real" Company? Being a non-dualist, I would personally argue that they are both real, however that is only my opinion. One final item that I will present for consideration is the religious connotation of the creator-deity figure, the Author. It is interesting to note, than when the Author of the Characters' work is referred to, it is always Author, not author. The Characters are searching for an author to help them bring to life the story that was created by the Author. …
