The Influence of Pirandello in two Plays of Manuel and Antonio Machado

dello's influence has gone without notice. Manuel and Antonio Machado, in one of their seven original plays, Las adelfas, written in 1928, give critics in search of influences an invaluable starting point by actually mentioning Pirandelismo twice, and when doing so indirectly refer to the two levels of Pirandello's chief contributions: the technique of fantasy of the theatre as opposed to reality of life, and the theme of ambiguity of personality. In Act I of Las adelfas, Salvador, the hero, introduces himself by saying he is otro.'3 Araceli, the heroine, scornfully remarks Pirandelismo, thus introducing the gamut of themes which were Pirandello's stronghold: the problem of identification, multiplicity of personality, impossibility of mutual understanding, and changing character of opinions. In Act II, when Salvador is reading a short play that he has written for Araceli in order to help her view her situation objectively, Araceli interrupts his recitation by exclaiming: Me apesta el pirandelismo,'' in this case referring to another facet of Pirandello's art: fantasy of theatre opposed to reality of life, often expressed by Pirandello by use of similar theatre within the theatre techniques. The scornful tone in both of these ex

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