Accidental Death Of An Anarchist

Act II, Scene 1 begins where Act II ended, with The Fool, The Chief, Captain Pissani, and The Officer singing. The Fool applauds the song, exclaiming that the anarchist could not possibly have been “depressed” enough to die by suicide after such a performance. The Fool continues his direction of the police officers‘ transcript, prompting The Chief to claim that he was not at Police Headquarters; only Captain Pissani and lower ranking officers were present for the interrogation. Captain Pissani claims that he was joking around with the anarchist, and The Officer attests to the comedy. The Fool chastens Captain Pissani for playing around, claiming that Captain Pissani and officers like him are the reason Rome is changing the police motto to “the police is at the service of the citizens, to entertain them!” (56). The Chief doubts The Fool. The Fool claims that he was present during the “Monday League” interrogation, an event similarly cloaked with secrecy and allegations of police corruption. The Fool says, ironically, that people probably turn themselves in for crimes they haven’t just because Police Headquarters is such a fun place.