"Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore": il punto di vista ontologico

What is a character? Is it a mental construction, a creature made of paper, a set of semantic traits? In this article, with reference to one of Pirandello’s most fascinating works, the characters are considered in terms of modes of being. Their ontological status is therefore investigated starting from the classical modal categories, which are possibility, actuality and necessity, according to the version elaborated by Charles Sanders Peirce. In “Six Characters in Search of an Author” the paradox prevails. Some characters that have been rejected by the author, and that should belong to the dimension of pure possibility, burst onto the scene: outwardly, they are indistinguishable from the actors, which means, from “real” individuals (Secondness, in the language used by Peirce). Everything proceeds along the thread of this ontological misunderstanding. In this battle for existence, the possibility (Firstness) is defeated and forced to retreat, but only after leaving an indelible trace, thanks to the necessity (Thirdness) created by art.