Acta Universitatis Danubius. Communicatio, Vol 5, No 1 (2011)

Abstract

“Children on their Birthdays” was published at the end of the 1940’s, at a time that was seeing the rise of the theater of the absurd. The short story is about the unexpected arrival of an extraordinary young girl, Miss Bobbit, in a small place in Alabama. Her strange ways quickly cause quite a stir in the whole community. This paper aims to show that Miss Bobbit’s witch-like characteristics make her an absurdist character capable of revealing fundamental American truths that carry universal significance. Her witchcraft echoes the author’s in his creation of a theatrical approach to social delusions in a context of metaphysical and cosmic absurdity.