The Chairs Versions of Reality Quotes

Throughout the play, the Old Man has to define for his wife exactly what invisible things she is seeing. In the example above, she's totally unclear about what the present is. She makes all kinds of wild guesses. This seems to support the idea that this whole thing is just in the couple's heads. You could interpret the entire play as a fantasy of the Old Man's which his less imaginative wife is helping bring to life. (Side note: we'd never invite anybody to a party who gave crows as presents.)

Here the Old Man and Woman completely disagree on a pretty fundamental fact – not one that would likely slip your mind. It's impossible to know which one is telling the truth, or if either even remembers the truth anymore. This is just another example of how the play warps reality.

Here the Old Woman recounts an argument she had with her son, a disagreement over reality. He thought the sky was red and the streets were full of dead birds, whereas she thought the sky was a cheerful blue and that all the happy little birds were singing in the trees. Perhaps this disagreement over the reality of the situation is an example of a mother trying to shield her son from the harsh realities of death. Then again, maybe her kid was just really morbid. There's no way to know what really happened, or (again) whether the elderly couple even ever had a son.