Act 1, The Prologue Summary

The chorus enters Constance's office by walking through the wall. The chorus lights a cigarette and delivers a monologue. The chorus states that a unified soul can be constructed from shards, just as gold can be derived from base metal through the utilization of the Philosopher's Stone. The chorus plucks the discarded Gustav Manuscript from the trash, sets it on the desk, and notes that the manuscript is Constance's Philosopher's Stone. The chorus stubs out the cigarette and exits.

Act 1, The Prologue Analysis

Act 1, The Prologue, introduces the Chorus. The chorus, who also appears briefly in Act 1, Scene 1; and Act 3, Epilogue, opens the dialogue of the play by inferring that Constance suffers from a divided mind which will shortly be made whole by the action of the Gustav Manuscript retrieved from the wastebasket. It will be remembered that Constance...