Existential Anxiety, Freedom, and Authenticity: Rollo May's Reading of Annie Baker's Infinite Life
Keywords:
Anxiety, Authenticity, Existential Psychology, FreedomAbstract
The present research paper seeks to analyze Annie Baker's Infinite Life (2023) as a well-known contemporary play in light of Rollo May's significant existential perceptions. The chosen play revolves around five women, four of whom are in their 60s and one is 47. They are staying at a health care center in northern California. The play takes place in May, 2019 and displays their reactions throughout numerous treatments. By using May's existential notions, this study explores how the main characters' inner struggles echo their mental brawls caused by the anxiety of nothingness, the weight of choice, and the longing to live authentically in spite of the restrictions enforced by pain. This investigation claims that Infinite Life depicts existential anxiety not only as a merely adverse dynamism but as a possible promoter for self-awareness and alteration, reverberating May's view that anxiety can guide human beings towards grander freedom and individual accountability. Also, this examination discloses that Baker's play represents a captivating modern expression of May's existential psychology, revealing how modern human beings deal with the challenges of discomfort, indecision, and the search for sincere selfhood.
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