Madness devastates the lives of individuals and families every day. Throughout David Auburn's play Proof, madness can be witnessed as it progresses genetically throughout the family. Robert, the father, shows many signs and symptoms of madness and his daughter Catherine seems to follow in his footsteps. In this play, madness can be traced genetically, which is demonstrated in Robert's characterization and is implied in Catherine's characterization. Robert is a mathematician in his mid-1950s who has spent his entire life writing mathematical proofs to further his career. His madness begins to manifest itself at an early age and continues until the day of his death. Over the course of his life he begins to show signs and symptoms of madness including: confusion, inability to take care of himself, graphomania, paranoia and hallucinations. Readers can clearly see an example of Robert's madness applied to his daily life when Catherine talks to Hal about Robert and states, “I lived with him. I spent my life with him. I fed him. I talked to him. I tried to listen when he spoke. I talked to people who weren't there... I saw him shuffling around like a ghost. A very smelly ghost. It was dirty. I had to make sure he took a bath. My father” (1217). Robert's mental illness is also evident in the conversation he and Catherine had after her death. During that conversation, Robert says that crazy people don't realize they are crazy. This theory is supported when the reader discovers that Robert honestly believes he has solved a proof, but everything he has written is nonsense. Robert's new proof states: “Let X equal quantities of X. Let X equal cold. It's cold in December. The cold months are equivalent to November to February... middle of the paper... can be explained by the stress and pain in his life. His possible illnesses include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, prolonged grief disorder, and extreme stress. Catherine may have a mental disorder; however, there is no evidence in the text to officially confirm or deny this claim. The use of madness as a theme in the play is developed in the characters of Robert and Catherine. Robert's character really leaves no doubt in the reader's mind whether he is crazy or not. Only his symptoms confirm his mental illness. Catherine's madness cannot be confirmed like Robert's. The theme of madness in the play can be demonstrated and implied through the characterization of these two characters. Works Cited Auburn, David. "Trial." Read literature, react, write. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Compact 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 183-186. Press.
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