Unseen character

Not to be confused with ghost character.

An unseen character is a fictional character that is never directly observed by the audience but is only described by other characters. They are characters that are "heard of, but never heard from". Unseen characters are a common device in drama and have been called "triumphs of theatrical invention". They are continuing characters—characters who frequently interact with the other characters and who influence current story events. Films, television shows, and stage plays make use of characters who are not seen or heard, but who have an effect on the events portrayed.

Radio shows also feature "unheard" characters who never speak. A notable example is the long-running British radio soap The Archers which has featured several such silent characters. Sometimes the script plays with audience knowledge that the characters never speak. The silence of the character Pru Forrest became a long-running joke "with scriptwriters competing to invent more outlandish excuses for her failure to speak". She was eventually given a dramatic eruption of speech when Terry Wogan appeared on the soap.

Books can feature characters who are referenced by others, but whose actions and dialogue are never directly described. The work of Voltaire, for example, included the "unseen character".

Illustrative examples

In plays, the two protagonists of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett are waiting for the never seen Godot to arrive. Doubt: A Parable is about the question of whether a Catholic priest at a church school is sexually abusing Donald Muller, who is never seen on stage. Rosaline in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is never seen, but is crucial to how the title characters meet. In Clare Booth Luce's The Women, husbands and lovers are referred to but don't appear at all, even in the form of photographs, and the cast (from stars to extras) is all female.

In novels, the title character in Don Quixote is in love with Dulcinea, a simple peasant who Quixote imagines to be the most beautiful of all women. He has seen her only fleetingly and has never spoken with her and while she is frequently referred to and often motivates his actions, she does not ever appear. Emma by Jane Austen has a few characters who are mentioned frequently and never seen, most notably Mrs. Churchill, the presumed-hypochondriac aunt and adoptive mother of Frank Churchill. An unseen character is even honoured in the title of Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca.

On television, in the British series Minder, Arthur Daley's wife referred to as Er Indoors, is never seen or heard, but often quoted. In the American detective series Columbo, Mrs. Columbo is never seen, and has been the subject of much speculation.

On UK radio, in the comedy series The Clitheroe Kid, Jimmy Clitheroe often talked about his unseen friend "Ozzie".

In American television, in the sitcom Cheers, Norm Peterson's wife Vera is frequently the topic of jokes or discussion, but is never seen on screen. The Cheers spinoff Frasier includes Frasier Crane's brother Niles, whose wife Maris is often discussed but never seen.