About the work
So ist es (Italian 'Così è (se vi pare)', known in English as 'Right You Are (If You Think So)') is a three-act comedy by Luigi Pirandello, developed from his 1914 short story 'La signora Frola e il signor Ponza, suo genero'. It premiered on 18 June 1917 at the Teatro Olimpia in Milan, directed by Virgilio Talli.
Plot
In a small town, two contradictory explanations circulate for the strange behaviour of the Ponza couple and Ponza's mother-in-law, Signora Frola: Ponza claims she went mad after her daughter's death, while she in turn claims he failed to recognise his recovered wife after a stay in a clinic. The curious townspeople try to establish the truth, but which version is correct remains unresolved – the woman herself answers only that she is whoever people believe her to be.
Cultural significance
The play became Pirandello's first lasting stage success and one of the most concise expressions of his central theme: the unknowability of reality and the coexistence of multiple possible truths.