itsafever

Logic, morals or meaning don't have anything to do with it.

"The stone itself is meaningless. The situation calls for something, and at this point in time it just happens to be the stone. Anton Chekhov put it best when he said, 'If a pistol appears in a story, eventually it's got to be fired.' Do you know what he meant?"

"Nope"

Colonel Sanders sighed. "I didn't think so, but I had to ask. It's the polite thing to do."

"Much Obliged"

"What Chekhov was getting at is this: necessity is an independent concept. It has a different structure from logic, morals or meaning. Its function lies entirely in the role it plays. What doesn't play a role shouldn't exist. What necessity requires does need to exist. That's what you call dramaturgy. Logic, morals or meaning don't have anything to do with it. It's all a question of relationality. Chekhov understood dramaturgy very well."

"Whoa - you're way over my head"