Sémione is a petty, egotistical, everyman who is transformed by the successive trials he undergoes. It's the rule of vaudeville that sets the wheels in motion: small causes have big effects. An absurd misunderstanding convinces the other characters that Semione is about to commit suicide. Their sudden interest in him makes the prospect alluring. But as he is about to commit suicide, he sinks body and soul into the Hamlétian vertigo of being and nothingness.