Abstract

This article does not approach Pirandello's play Liolà just as a simple folkloristic comedy but it presents very different ways to interpret the play. It shows the bitter background of the story and the unsuccessful plans of the main character; then it tries to suggest a more congenial interpretation that considers the painful events in Pirandello's family at the time of writing Liolà, and the question of an ideal public that might understand the language of the play and its cultural context.