The Significance of the Title

The title 'On the Face of It' is a common English expression that means 'judging by appearances' or 'as it seems at first glance.' Something that is true only 'on the face of it' looks a certain way on the surface, but the deeper reality may be quite different. Susan Hill chooses this phrase with care, because appearance versus inner reality is exactly what her play is about.

The title also carries a pointed second meaning through the word 'face.' Derry's whole tragedy begins with his face — the side disfigured by an acid burn — and with the way people react to it. He believes his face defines him and that everyone judges him by it. So the title plays on the idea of the face in two senses at once: the literal scarred face that Derry cannot forget, and the figurative sense of a surface impression that misleads.