Catherine Character Analysis in Proof by David Auburn

In the Drama Proof, by David Auburn, a young woman by the name Catherine, for the long amount of time she has been living with one purpose: to take care of her now late father, Robert, whom she inherited much of Roberts mathematical genius. However, Catherine is now left with something far, much more significant than she can imagine, or is even willing to do anything with and left with hard choices to make and even more significant challenges to overcome. All while she has to deal with her new social life that is made up of two people by the names of Hal or soon-to-be boyfriend and sister Claire.

After Catherine’s mother died, she took over the responsibility of taking care of her ill father. Over the period she took care of him, then Robert had a year of peace in which is where he was in the right mind and even taught a class again, and during this time, Catherine went to school until her father’s illness got worse again, so she took time off of school to care for him. Over this period, she was depressed that she had to drop out while locked up. Taking care of her father didn’t help either, causing it to worsen and even affect her in other ways. When her father was alive, Catherine had to endure a lot which would even drive her crazy and mad at times. “After my mother died it was just me here. I tried to keep him happy no matter what idiotic project he was doing.” (1190). Over the course, it wasn’t just the isolation that affected her. It was also the little things she did to keep her father happy in his last few years alive. As a result, Catherine endured many changes to her personality, some that were subtle and some that were significant changes.

Catherine was once a happy woman filled with ambitions and a whole future with endless possibilities in front of her. But when her mother died, she took on the burden of taking care of her ill father. This would cause her to go through many challenges, one of which her personality had taken a complete 180 degrees. She became depressed, quickly took defensive measures, and thought too much about her every move. In the article, David Auburn’s Proof: Taming Cinderella states, “Since her father revolutionized the field of mathematics several times in his youth, Catherine fears to compete with his genius. By taking herself out of the running, she eliminates herself from competition” (Schafer 2006). Thus, proving that she overthinks and doubts her abilities to be a genius like her father. Catherine even had second thoughts on wanting to share her works with Hal. But when she did, Hal asked her, “Why didn’t you tell me about it” (1209)? Then Catherine responds, “I wasn’t sure I wanted to” (1209). And it wasn’t due to her not thinking that it wasn’t good, but it goes back to her not wanting to compete with her father’s works of genius. She also had many conversations with Hal and her sister Claire where she used sarcasm as a defensive mechanism. For example, when Catherine and Claire were in a fight, it seemed as if Catherine wanted to follow Claire to New York until Catherine says, “I would like to see a doctor called Doctor Von Heimlich: Please find one. And I would like him to wear a monocle. And I’d like him to have a very soft, very well-upholstered couch, so that I’ll be perfectly comfortable while I’m blaming everything on you” (1228). She clearly stated that she used sarcasm to show that she didn’t want to go back with her. Good, but it goes back to her not wanting to compete with her father’s works of genius. She wanted to start the life she once had again. Start that life back; she would have to embrace a fear she’s been dealing with for some time now.

Catherine fears she’s too much like her late father, Robert. Due to this fear, she would have the same fate as Robert. As a result, she even shows symptoms of her having schizophrenia. Robert, in his prime, was one of the greatest mathematicians to ever lived. He raised his daughter Catherine to be the same but. He would always push her to learn prime numbers, which would foreshadow the genius abilities she has. It would also prove to Catherine that she’s much like her father than she would like. In the article, David Auburn’s Proof: Taming Cinderella “Catherine, have to question her mental stability, if not her genius. The genius for mathematics is a gift that Catherine has received but would prefer to hide”(Schafer 2006). She hides it to ignore the possibility of becoming like her father and even questions her mental stability. For example, opening scene, she imagined her father there in the present while he died a few days prior. Robert asks her, “I thought I’d check up on you. Why aren’t you in bed?”(1181). Which shows some concerns Robert had for her but never actually mentioned anything specifically wrong with her. 

Past few years, Catherine has had many challenges and even burdens caused by challenges and is now ready for what is to come. New social life with Hal, one of Roberts ex-students, and someone she has confessed feeling for and a book with the most prominent solution of the century in need of tightening up work and on its way to being published. While in a battle with herself and unsure of what her future may result in and proving to the world that a college dropout can be a genius as her father once was and that she’s not just stealing her father’s works.