“Life of Galileo” belongs to those plays, which manage to cover not only one issue, but the variety of them. Initially, it is a story about a great mind, a genius, who is involved in the world of science to such an extent that he fails to understand that some of his ideas might be perceived rather negatively. Galileo often behaves rather naively and – ironically enough – unwisely. He is blinded with the prospect of future discoveries and firmly believes that the whole mankind craves the truth as much as he does personally. He gets a chance to prove that all those dogmas the Church has been always operating are absolutely incorrect. Fascinated with the idea of changing the world the scientist forget that human’s mind is a tricky thing, for no matter how many proofs one can give them, they can easily stay mute to the truth.
Although the play has its fare share of historical inaccuracies, it manages to preserve an atmosphere of that time. The time portrayed in it depicts the last decades of the Inquisition’s rage. Due to the constant discoveries and the quick technological progress, the Church’s influence is jeopardized. Not only the Church, but the whole way of life could be changed! No wonder that the Inquisition starts terrorizing everyone, who dares to raise a voice against the traditional way of thinking. The situation like this demands serious actions. A scientist is made to deal with complete absence of choice. To recant and be remembered as a coward or fainthearted or go on and end on a bonfire are equally unattractive options. Although Galileo manages to escape tenacious hands of death, he is morally and emotionally exhausted. To understand how his life changes, imagine an eagle, which used to be free, but now has his wings cut.
People usually remember geniuses and their great inventions and discoveries – and that is completely understandable – but they often forget that almost all of those great minds have helpers, who stand silently behind their backs, serving their masters for science’s sake without any complain. Andrea embodies all those nameless, forever forgotten apprentices, whose loyalty to work should be praised and remembered. He is just like a loyal dog, which stays near his master no matter what. The fact that Galileo always discusses the things he thinks about with his servant indicates that they have close relationships. Due to constant Andrea’s presence, Galileo is able to work better, for it always helps to have someone to discuss your thoughts with.
It could be possible that father and daughter relationships in the play are portrayed to be more dramatic than in a real life quite intentionally. Galileo’s passion is depicted as destructive one and not only for him, but for his daughter as well. However, the reality is a little bit different. Both the father and the daughter were close and supportive of each other.
This story is about people, the truth and its influence of people’s life. We all perceive it differently and there is no guarantee that people are always ready to receive and accept new information if it threats to change their lives. Galileo and his predecessors wanted people to open their eyes, but people just were not ready to do that. However, no one can say that their efforts were in vain, for their wishes were eventually fulfilled.