The Impacts of the Haunting Past on the Present in Martin Mcdonagh’s The Pillowman

The Irish playwright Martin McDonagh’s play, The Pillowman (2003) portrays a family that undergoes numerous difficulties under the strong influence of childhood traumas, violence, torture and the lack of communication. In his portrayal, McDonagh is not limited to the illustration of such issues peculiar to one place, but he, rather, presents a universal picture with its setting and the names of the characters that are not Irish. The psychological condition of the characters plays a pivotal role in communicating the implicit and explicit feelings and issues in the play. The aim of this study is, therefore, to discuss the effects of this problematic past and to demonstrate how the past strongly influences the present psychologies of the characters in The Pillowman with specific references to the primary source and the relevant secondary sources.