Charles Chaplin [1889–1977]

Abstract

Charlie is a mythical figure who rises above every adventure in which he becomes involved. For the general public, Charlie exists as a person before and after, say, Easy Street [1917] and The Pilgrim [1923]. For hundreds of millions of people on this planet he is a hero like Ulysses or Roland in other civilizations—but with the difference that we know the heroes of old through literary works that are complete and have defined, once and for all, their adventures and their various manifestations.