Understanding the Complex Characters in Dionysus
Paula: Paula is presented as a counterpoint to Dionysus, representing joy and the provisional. She is firm and pulls Dionysus into situations that are unthinkable: the game, fantasy, and love. However, her performance is not consistent. Dionysus discovers a new world, which pushes him to continue his gray and conventional life. In fact, she is also a victim of her own situation. She spends her life in a way that she does not like, living with a man who exploits her and feeling marginalized by society. Dionysus cannot break free because he is not truly free. Yet, though he admits his impotence, he does not resign and maintains his lust for life and his struggle for happiness and innocence. The final moment of the play is a good example of this.
Other Characters: They lack individuality, representing stereotypical social ideas and reminding the characters of the world they inhabit.
Objects: The objects have specific value, thereby giving the action symbolic significance and reflecting the characters' attitudes through absurdity: the cornet, the ratchet, and three hats.
Telephone: The phone is the only form of communication between Dionysus and his beloved, bridging the bourgeois world with the world of entertainment.
Three Hats: One hat is given by the father, another represents the absurd world of the circus, and the third is the one that juggles, ultimately belonging to the bride, Margarita.
Route 2: The structure of the work consists of two planes. One is the apparent, conventional one that we see first. The other is deeper, revealing Mihura as a master of theatrical construction (the real plane and the fantastic flat).
Time, Place, and Action: The work adheres to the three classical unities: the action (the last night of bachelorhood for Dionysus), the time (less than twelve hours), and the place (the hotel room hosting Dionysus).
Dionysus: A shy, immature, and boring boy who has spent his whole life doing what was expected of him. Now, he is about to marry. His shattered conformist attitude is challenged by meeting Paula and her world. The change that occurs in Dionysus is spectacular, but only that night; at dawn, he returns to reality, and the jump has no lasting value.