Identifying Character Arcs

One thing that it is important to look at is the over reaching arc of the character throughout the play. This is to answer the question of "How was Tupolski effected by the events?" Or "How is he different at the end of the story?"

I think, that with all the characters, the audience expects to see some obvious change in the characters between the start and the end of the play.  In some ways this is true- Katurian becomes accepting of her death, Ariel makes a connection with Katurian and does not burn his stories. But mostly for the characters left alive, in particular Tupolski, the change is not so clear.

I believe that in order to get a true sense of the character change you have to understand the super objective of the character and analyse how this is disrupted or impacted upon by others. Throughout my study of the play, I've come to the decision that Tupolski's super objective is to stay in control. This is why he acts in the way he does. Tupolski flits from one thing to another so that Katurian isn't able to ground himself in the conversation and take that control from him. It's also why, I believe Tupolski hides the effect the interrogation has on him so well.

At the beginning, Tupolski appears to be in control. He jumps from one topic to another, purposely leaving Katurian in the dark about the accusations till the end of the first act- this prevents Katurian from being able to take that control away from him. Even in moments when Katurian does burst out, Tupolski refuses to let that have authority over himself.

But even so, eventually Katurian does have an affect on Tupolski's control. The most obvious example of this is right at the very end, where Ariel reveals that he didn't actually kill the children. This throws Tupolski of balance, he tries to find understanding in the story so that he gain control. However, because it was Michal and not Katurian that carried out the story, there is no sense to be found in it.

I think this is why he chooses to burn the stories. Because Katurian is going to be executed, he has nothing left of any worth except from the stories he has written. By burning them, Tupolski is establishing his control over Katurian. This is also why, perhaps, he chooses to shoot on four instead of ten seconds. After this, Katurian is dead and there is no chance of her taking that control from Tupolski again.

Maybe he also just wants the investigation to be over. Maybe he leaves the work to Ariel at the end because he's had enough of the case and doesn't want to be reminded of a moment when he lost control within a place where he was assured of it.

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