How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue. We used Donald M. Allen's translation.
Quote #10
Old Man: "Your Majesty!... Oh! what a sublime honor...it's all a marvelous dream." (401)
This moment when the invisible Emperor makes his entrance reminds us a lot of another of Ionesco's plays, The Leader. In that play, characters go on and on about how great an unseen leader is. When the Leader finally appears, he has no head and seems completely useless. This theme of incompetent rulers could very well have been inspired by the devastation of World War II. Many felt that the leaders of the world had dragged their people into horrible, massive violence for no good reason. The Theater of the Absurd took shape in the wake of the war and is often interpreted as expressing frustration with the apparent meaninglessness of it all.