Unseen character

Not to be confused withGhost characteror aControl character.

Anunseen characterin theatre, comics, film, or television, orsilent characterin radio or literature, is acharacterthat is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and whose absence enhances their effect on the plot.

History

Unseen characters have been used since the beginning of theatre with theancient Greektragedians,such asLaiusinSophocles'Oedipus RexandJason's bride inEuripides'Medea,and continued into Elizabethan theatre with examples such asRosalineinShakespeare'sRomeo and Juliet.However, it was the early twentieth-century European playwrightsStrindberg,Ibsen,andChekhovwho fully developed the dramatic potential of the unseen character.Eugene O'Neillwas influenced by his European contemporaries and established the absent character as an aspect of character, narrative, and stagecraft inAmerican theatre.

Purpose and characteristics

Unseen characters are causal figures included in dramatic works to motivate the onstage characters to a certain course of action and advance the plot, but their presence is unnecessary. Indeed, their absence makes them appear more powerful because they are only known by inference.The use of an unseen character "take[s] advantage of one of the simplest but most powerful theatrical devices: the manner in which verbal references can make an offstage character extraordinarily real [...] to an audience," exploiting the audience's tendency to create visual images of imaginary characters in their mind.

In a study of 18th-century French comedy, F. C. Green suggests that an "invisible character" can be defined as one who, though not seen, "influences the action of the play".This definition, according to Green, would rule out a character like Laurent (Lawrence),Tartuffe's unseen valet, whose sole function is merely to give the playwright an opportunity to introduce Tartuffe.

Unseen characters can develop organically even when their creators initially did not expect to keep them as unseen, especially in episodic works like television series. For instance, the producers ofFrasierinitially did not want to make the characterNiles Crane's wifeMarisan unseen character because they did not want to draw parallels to Vera,Norm Peterson's wife onCheers,of whichFrasierwas a spin off. They originally intended that Maris would appear after several episodes, but were enjoying writing excuses for her absence so eventually it was decided she would remain unseen, and after the increasingly eccentric characteristics ascribed to her, no real actress could realistically portray her.

Examples

Literature

• Sauron,the eponymous arch-villain ofThe Lord of the Rings,remains within his fortress of Barad-Dûr and does not speak or make any physical appearance during the trilogy. His presence in the story is thus effectively more like that of a force of nature than that of an individualised personality, giving him a gravitas that inspires awe and dread both in the reader and in the characters, even when they are physically far away from Barad-Dûr. For example, as Frodo approaches the gates of Mordor, Sauron's spiritual presence and power is described as follows: "Frodo knew just where the present habitation and heart of that will now was: as certainly as a man can tell the direction of the sun with his eyes shut. He was facing it, and its potency beat upon his brow".

Comics

• Al CappintroducedLena the Hyenain June 1946 as an invisible character in theLi'l Abnernewspaper strip. She was described as "the world's ugliest woman". Characters always reacted in fright when they saw her or an image of her but readers couldn't see her because she was hidden behind objects or out of frame. Eventually Capp organized a contest in which readers could send in their own graphic interpretations of what she might look like. The winner was cartoonistBasil Wolverton,whose design was first shown in the 21 October 1946 strip.
• InMerho's comics seriesDe KiekeboesMevrouw Stokvis, a friend of Moemoe Kiekeboe, is always mentioned or referred to, but has never actually been seen in the series.

Theatre

Unseen characters occur elsewhere in drama, including the plays ofEugene O'Neill,Tennessee Williams,andEdward Albee.Author Marie A. Wellington notes that in the 18th-century,Voltaireincluded unseen characters in a few of his plays, includingLe Duc d’AlençonandL’Orphelin de la Chine.

• RosalineinWilliam Shakespeare'sRomeo and Julietis never seen, but is only described.
• InAlain-René Lesage's 1707 playCrispinan unseen character called Damis with his forced secret marriage is essential to the plot.
• Mrs Grundy,an unseen character inThomas Morton's 1798 playSpeed the Plough,has become a byword for disapproving propriety.
• InClare Boothe Luce's 1936 playThe Womenand the1939 filmbased on it, male characters are discussed but never shown, even in photographs.
• Godot inSamuel Beckett'sWaiting for Godotis never seen. The play's two main characters spend the entire play waiting for Godot to arrive.
• InAnton Chekhov's playThree Sisters,Protopopov, who is cuckolding his employee Andrei and having a torrid and far from secret affair with Natasha, is unseen but plays a central role. Some sources suggest Protopopov, not Andrei, is the real father of Natasha's daughter.
• The titular character inMike Leigh's playAbigail's Party,the 15-year-old daughter of Susan Lawson, is attending a party next door to the events portrayed in the play, and is never seen.

UK television and radio

• Dad's Army:Mrs Elizabeth Mainwaring, the wife ofCaptain Mainwaring,is never seen with the exception of the episode "A Soldier's Farewell"when her great weight in the bunk above Captain Mainwaring's causes her mattress to sag into camera shot.She appears in the2016 movie.
• Minder:Arthur Daley's wife, referred to only as "'Er Indoors", is never seen or heard, but often quoted.
• Hi-de-Hi!:Joe Maplin, the tyrannical and philandering owner of holiday camps, remains unseen (other than a statue of Maplin near the camp entrance). He communicated with his staff via hectoring, semi-literate letters that are read aloud by the character Jeffrey Fairbrother.The acting role was intended for Bob Monkhouse but he was unavailable for filming.
• Keeping Up Appearances:Hyacinth Bucket has a phone conversation in each episode with her son Sheridan, who has moved out and is attending university.
• Only Fools and Horses:Monkey Harris, Ugandan Morris, Sunglasses Ron and Paddy the Greek,Del Boy’s business associates. Paddy the Greek and Monkey Harris are mentioned in many episodes, often sourcing Del’s shoddy merchandise, yet are never seen. They are often described in discussions about wild nights down The Nag's Head. On one occasion Del Boy is beaten up onRodney’sbehalf. Rather than admit the truth of his injuries he claims to have fallen down the stairs at Monkey Harris’ house. It transpires Harris lives in a bungalow.
• The Archers:In this long-running British radio soap opera, a number of permanent inhabitants of the village in which the story is set are frequently referred to but are never heard in their own voices. Fans of the programme often refer to these characters as "the silents".
• Heartbeat:Throughout its entire 18-year run, PC Alf Ventress refers to his wife Mrs. Ventress, but she is neither seen nor is her first name ever revealed.

US television

• On the sitcomDiff'rent Strokes,"The Gooch" is a recurring bully who terrorises Arnold. He returns a few seasons later to bully Sam and is finally defeated by a foreign exchange student, Carmella, but is never seen.
• On the mystery dramaColumbo,Lieutenant Columbo often describes his wife in detail but she is never seen, heard, or otherwise portrayed in the series.A short-lived, unsuccessful spin-off seriesMrs. Columbo,featuringKate Mulgrew,was created in 1979 afterColumbohad ended its run. Lieutenant Columbo himself never appeared in the spinoff show, which was quickly retconned (and the title character renamed) to remove all associations with the original program.
• OnThe Mary Tyler Moore Show,Phyllis Lindstrom's husband, Dr. Lars Lindstrom, is often referenced but never seen.
• OnRhoda,Carlton, the doorman inRhoda Morgenstern's apartment building, is often heard on the intercom (voiced byLorenzo Music) but almost never seen – only his arm would occasionally appear from doors and he was once shown dancing and conversing while wearing a gorilla mask. AfterRhodaended its run, Carlton was featured as an animated character in the 1980 spin-off specialCarlton Your Doorman.Once again voiced by Music, Carlton is shown as a young man with shoulder-length blond hair and mustache.
• On teen drama seriesMy So-Called Life,the character Tino is mentioned in a majority of episodes by one or more of the main characters, and is descriptively developed into an edgy, cool persona. Despite apparently being a role-model to Jordan Catalano, singing in Catalano's band, and helping to drive the plot by actions such as throwing parties, Tino is never actually seen onscreen.
• OnSeinfeld,Bob Sacamano, Lomez, and "Cousin Jeffrey" are often mentioned but never seen.The first two are friends ofCosmo Kramer,and the last is the cousin ofJerry Seinfeld.Jeffrey works for the New York City Parks Department, as Jerry is toldad nauseamby hisUncle Leo.
• OnThe Andy Griffith Show,Juanita Beasley, for whomBarney Fifeoccasionally expresses affection, is unseen but often referenced and telephoned by the lovestruck Fife.
• InCharlie's Angels,the titular Charlie Townsend, the owner of the detective agency that employed the series leads, was never seen, and was portrayed solely as a voice (provided by actorJohn Forsythe) heard on a speakerphone.
• Vera PetersonfromCheersandMaris Cranefrom its spin-offFrasierare two of the most widely recognized unseen characters of American television,though Vera's body (with her face obscured by a pie)is seen in one episode, and her voice is heard in other episodes. Her voice was provided by Bernadette Birkett, the real-life wife ofGeorge Wendtwho portrayed Norm Peterson, leading Wendt to comment that he never personally wondered what Vera looked like.Maris is also seen as a silhouette.and as a figure covered in a full body cast.
• Stan Walker, the wealthy husband of Karen Walker onWill & Grace,has been depicted on screen only as hands and feet.Karen and Stan have divorced twice over the show's run, once after Stan faked his own death, leading the websiteCollegeHumorto label him as the one unseen character who "arguably drives the plot more than any other unseen character on a TV show."
• On theNetflixanimated television seriesBoJack Horseman,Mr. Peanutbutteroften shouts to an off-screen, implicitly outlandish character known as "Erica".