The Coronation (Le Couronnement) by Fernando Arrabal — Symbols and Motifs

 

The Coronation (Le Couronnement) by Fernando Arrabal — Symbols and Motifs

 

One of the most important symbols in The Coronation (Le Couronnement) is the coronation itself. A coronation traditionally represents authority, achievement, order, and the beginning of a new stage of life. In the play, however, this idea is transformed into something strange and unsettling. The ceremonial character of the title contrasts with the disturbing events experienced by the characters. The coronation therefore becomes a symbol of the distorted world of the play, where dignity and humiliation, celebration and suffering, and order and disorder exist together.

The room is another important symbol. Much of the action takes place within an enclosed and restrictive environment, making the room resemble a psychological prison. It separates the characters from ordinary society and creates an atmosphere of isolation. For Giafar, the enclosed space becomes associated with captivity and loss of control. At the same time, the room functions like a theatrical world of its own, governed by rules different from those of ordinary reality.

The recurring imagery of chains and imprisonment represents domination and the loss of freedom. Giafar's physical restriction reflects his inability to control the circumstances surrounding him. The chains can also be understood as a representation of emotional and psychological captivity. Although the characters are connected through relationships of love and dependence, these connections do not necessarily provide freedom. Instead, they can become forms of confinement.

Death and awakening form another significant motif. Sylda's apparent death followed by her return to life immediately establishes the play's rejection of ordinary boundaries. Death becomes something reversible and theatrical rather than an absolute conclusion. The repeated movement between states of life, death, disappearance, and transformation contributes to the dreamlike atmosphere and suggests that nothing in the world of the play remains permanently fixed.

The kiss also carries symbolic importance. It begins as an expression of love and becomes connected with Sylda's return to life. The gesture therefore joins love with resurrection and transformation. At the same time, the events that follow prevent the kiss from remaining a simple romantic symbol. Its consequences lead Giafar into a world of imprisonment and suffering, reflecting the play's recurring tendency to transform apparently positive actions into disturbing experiences.

The game or playful activity is a recurring motif throughout the drama. Characters frequently behave as though serious events are part of a game. Violence, humiliation, and domination can be treated with an almost childish sense of amusement. This mixture of play and cruelty creates an unsettling atmosphere and suggests a world in which the normal distinction between innocence and brutality has collapsed.

Disguise and changing identity constitute another important motif. The connection between Sylda and Arlys makes identity uncertain and prevents the audience from treating appearance as a reliable indication of reality. The motif of transformation reinforces the idea that people may not possess a single stable identity. Characters can occupy different roles, and the boundaries separating one person from another can become blurred.

The recurring presence of ceremonial behaviour is closely connected with the symbolism of the title. Ritual normally provides structure and meaning, but here ritual becomes mysterious and disturbing. Repeated actions and formal situations give the play the feeling of a ceremony whose purpose is never completely explained. This creates an atmosphere in which the characters appear to be following an invisible set of rules.

The motif of violence mixed with affection is particularly significant. Acts of love can lead to suffering, while moments of cruelty may be accompanied by humour or emotional attachment. This recurring combination prevents the audience from separating the characters neatly into lovers, victims, and aggressors. Relationships remain unstable, and emotional opposites continually overlap.

Finally, the recurring movement between reality and dream functions as a broad motif that unites the other symbols. The strange transformations, uncertain identities, unusual rituals, imprisonment, death imagery, and grotesque games all contribute to a world that resembles a nightmare. The play does not provide a secure boundary between what is objectively happening and what might belong to an imagined or psychological reality.

Taken together, these symbols and motifs create the distinctive atmosphere of The Coronation. The coronation, room, chains, kiss, death and resurrection, games, disguises, rituals, and dreamlike transformations all contribute to a theatrical world in which familiar meanings are repeatedly reversed. They reinforce the play's central concern with unstable identity, distorted relationships, loss of freedom, and the collapse of ordinary distinctions between love and violence, reality and illusion, and order and chaos.