Catherine is shown to distrust Hal in Act 1, Scene 1.

Her distrust of Hal and

suggested paranoia of Hal stealing a notebook could be due to the fact that
she had been taking care of Robert for 4 years, resulting in her dropping
out of school, losing her friends and hence, her social skills. She repeatedly
accuses Hal of having "a notebook in that backpack". Despite Hal
reasoning out with her that he would have nothing to steal since Catherine
herself stated they were "full of bullshit", she still snatched his backpack
and rifiled through his things. What is hypocritical of Catherine is that while
she distrusts people, she expects them to trust her. When Hal did not
believe she wrote the proof in Act 2, Scene 2, she told him that "[she]
trusted [him]" and asking whether she was wrong to trust him. In Act 2,
Scene 5, she berates Hal, telling him nothing would prove that she wrote
the proof and that he "should have trusted [her]". While she takes a long
time to open up her true emotions and feelings to others (ie trusting them),
she expects others to trust her immediately.

Hal himself did not trust Catherine's capability in Math in the beginning of
the play as while Hal has a PhD, Catherine had only taken a few classes in
Northwestern. In Act 1, Scenes 1 and 3, he constantly attempts to explain
Math terms (explaining i means imaginary number and what Germain
Primes were) to her, despite her already stating that she understands. He
openly tells her what he thinks of her capabilities, stating that there was no
way she could understand any Math (if any) in Robert's notebooks. In
Scene 3, both open up to each other. At this time, Hal begins to trust
Catherine, believing her to be a strong and independent woman. In Act 2,
Scene 2, Hal again does not trust Catherine. He does not believe that
Catherine could write the proof, stating that it was in Robert's handwriting,
that it was impossible for Catherine to come up with such Math and that it is
too advanced. In Scene 5 however, Hal has renewed his trust in Catherine,
having respect for her capabilities in Math as well as her independence.

Unlike Hal, Claire does not even trust Catherine at all. She treats her as a
little girl, viewing her as fragile and unstable. She feels that Catherine is in
need of professional help and care. Claire does not believe that Catherine
can look after herself, stating that "[Catherine] couldn't even take care
of [herself] for 5 days" (Act 2, Scene 5) even though Catherine has looked
after Robert for 4 years! Claire refused to believe that Catherine wrote the
proof, suspecting that she had passed off Robert's work as her own. She
constantly cut Catherine off, believing Hal, a complete stranger, rather than
her own sister about the proof. Throughout the play, Claire's view and lack
of trust for Catherine does not change at all and at times, she distrusts
Catherine even more.

Robert has always trusted Catherine and believes in her capability in Math.
In Act 1, Scene 1, her vision of Robert is shown to see potential in
Catherine and tells Catherine not to "waste [her] talent". In Act 2, Scene 1,
Robert is shown to believe in Catherine's ability, supporting her descision to
enroll in Nothwestern. In Act 2, Scene 4, Robert again shows his trust in
Catherine's capabilities. He offers to collaborate with her, viewing her as his
equal in Math.

Because the play deals with intellectual brilliance particularly as it relates to mathematics
the most obvious meaning of Proof is literally a scientific proof or theorem. But on the more
personal level, its also about people looking for proof of other things, such as trust and love.

The idea of being able to prove anything is fascinating, says Cochran. That becomes
especially tricky when its not a clear-cut math problem in question, but a humans
perspective.

Proof portrays how situations can be understood in very different ways by different
people.

Director Moore explains how each character thinks to himself or herself, I

understand it this way and so should you; its so obvious to me. He says, Its a very
normal, very natural thing to expect people to side with you, agree with you. And
when that doesnt happen, it leads to a sense of betrayal.

And its that betrayal that is so difficult for Catherine to reconcile. Wettlin explains,
She doesnt know if shes overanalyzing or if shes actually losing her mind.

Young actress feels the chemistry

Playing the part of Catherine has been a journey of discovery for Wettlin. She says she
and her fellow actors are continually finding in the script the subtle connections that
Catherine makes. We say to each other, Shes saying this because of that. She can
take something another character said and pull it into another conversation later,
Wettlin says.

She has a real intellect Ive thought how great it would be to have that trait, says
Wettlin. But its also a pitfall, as she explains: All of us say things without thinking, but
Catherine remembers it she vividly remembers the way it was said, but she twists it
around or reads into it too much.