Death and the Maiden: theme and literary significance

Death and the Maiden, by Ariel Dorfman can be considered as an ethical thriller based in a nation which recently regained democratic power. This was possibly Chile towards the end of the 70's. It marked the end of a dominant establishment. Gerardo Escobar was elected to lead the commission which dealt with crimes. He gets saved by a stranger named Robert Miranda when his car stopped working in the middle of a storm. As a way to appreciate his help, Gerardo lets him spend the night. His wife, Paulina, overhears him make an offensive reference to a quote by Nietzsche. She recognizes the voice of someone who made similar quotes before sexually abusing and torturing her several years back. This was when she was at a military detention facility and had blindfolds over her eyes. The title of the play on which the book is based was borrowed from the musical composition of Franz Schubert. Paulina went on to hate those tunes as it had associations with those torture sessions. She wanted revenge so she ends up stealing Miranda's car and throwing it off a cliff. She finds a gun and binds the intoxicated doctor to a chair.

The story begins at an isolated beach house at a late hour of the night. An unknown car motor startles Paulina making her arm herself with a gun. Gerardo, her husband, gets into an argument about how his spare tire was flat and had Paulina not lent it to her mother, he would have reached home without any help. Gerardo's connections with the commission dealing with human rights did not change Paulina's views towards its restrictions in delegating power. She had been subjected to torture while attending medical school during the dictatorship. She suppressed her pain and fear but stayed wary of anything that might be mentally or physically harmful.

Roberto Miranda had given Gerardo a ride home. As they sit down to talk, Paulina tracks their conversation. Miranda wanted to leave and help with the car later but Gerardo makes him stay. As they continue talking (about the commission), his voice seemed to have a disturbing effect on Paulina. As Gerardo leaves for bed, she manages to conclude how she remembered that voice. The story goes a few hours ahead as Paulina takes advantage of Miranda's unconsciousness and ties him to a chair. Using her own underwear to gag him, she makes sure he cannot escape. She gets rid of his car and returns back, controlling his every move with her gun. Gerardo is shocked at his wife's behavior and makes an attempt to release Miranda. Paulina opposes by shooting wildly. Gerardo recovers his car and comes back to try and make Paulina let Miranda go. He tries to explain how she is just as bad as the cruel military dictatorship if Miranda is not allowed any defense. Paulina says how she would let him make a statement and he (Gerardo) could play the part of the lawyer.

On taking the gag off, Miranda calls her mentally ill and that he had never met her before. Paulina asks her husband if he would still let him go, if she could prove her stand. Gerardo sticks to his principles and tries to convince her that letting experienced authorities deal with his case is the right approach. Paulina argues that any criminal proceedings conducted by the current government not do any good. A majority of officers who belonged to the dictatorship have continued their working in their positions. This would imply Miranda would have internal support and get a release regardless of what he might have done. Paulina tells Gerardo that all she demands and deserves is the truth. She was willing to let him go if he confesses to his sins. Gerardo talks to Miranda and tries to focus on how his only chance of escaping his wife's gun was to make a confession. Miranda expresses his regret about trying to help Gerardo, which landed him in this mess. He thinks that they have divided roles as the good and bad person, motivated towards making him confess his supposed wrongdoings.

However, considering Paulina's scary behavior, they agree on constructing a lie. Gerardo requests Paulina to narrate her side of the story as he records it. She tells them how she met the doctor the first time and his voice back then matched what she heard last night in the darkness when they were talking inside. Miranda goes on to make his confession and register it on tape. He tells how the music Paulina had heard during in the past and on the cassette was a way to ease the pain that the prisoners had to experience. He describes how a psychotic brutal mindset had come over his life which made him enjoy torturing others and observe their reactions in a part -- gruesome part-scientific manner. After everything is on tape, Miranda is allowed to leave as Paulina said she was satisfied with what he had said.

"Power and the abuse of power" can be considered one of the central themes of Death and the Maiden. The person in control or power varies. The story of Paulina's abuse indicates how the doctor used his power to take advantage of medical students. They were violated and tortured just to please the doctor who was obviously abusing his power. They were forced to suppress their sufferings. In the later part of the story, as Paulina identifies his voice, Paulina takes advantage of his drunken stupor to regain the power she had lost several years ago. She had her culprit right where she wanted. However all she ends up asking was a confession rather than shooting him right away. This demonstrates how she does not abuse power, which could have convicted her with a murder charge. Gerardo who was elected head of the commission is supposed to be in control of his wife, but succumbs to the power of the gun.

The plot steadily unfolds over the course of time. The author addresses the social issue about how people manage to patch things up after going experiencing violence in the past. There are quite a few other themes which guide the storyline. Even though the use of violence cannot be justified, Paulina believes in forgiveness. She agrees to let Miranda go on the condition that he pleads guilty for raping and torturing her in the past. The story does not show him actually ask for mercy. Paulina decides against killing Miranda which did not imply that she forgave him. The book indicates how within the context of political oppression, one cannot do any tangible deed which essentially nullifies past wrongdoings.

The musical quartlet by Schubert "Death and the Maiden" constitutes a theme in itself. Paulina finds a cassette with the music in Miranda's car. This form of music is usually associated with folk tunes ('death and the lady' for instance). The nature of the song can be to be replicated by the characters in the story, like the dark image of the doctor whose past abuse continues to linger in Paulina's head like the fear of death. The story touches over related themes and brings forth a situation where Paulina (the maiden) seems to be in command of life over death (considering she has found the right culprit).

On sensing who Robert Miranda might actually be, Paulina does not waste time doubting how much he deserved to get punished for abusive behavior in the past. She is certain that considering she was on the receiving end of Miranda's actions, she is the only person who can decide on a punishment severe enough for his crime. This can be associated with the ambiguity which hovers over a society trying to fight the consequences of a violent past. Issues regarding whether the person being punished is the right one and whether the form of punishment being delivered is strict enough, do show up. The story analyses the effects of such actions on the individual convicted of the crime and the person accusing him.

"Death and the maiden" presents a contrast between the current situation and the oppressive military administration in the past. Its end signifies a turning point where the political condition transitions significantly. The effects of what happened in the past continue to haunt the victims making it hard to regain their mental peace. Paulina addresses the significance of freedom in a society which has attained a democratic status in the recent past. The concept of freedom deviates from its literal meaning and covers its emotional aspect. This is demonstrated when Gerardo tries to persuade Paulina to free herself from the mental shackles of past happenings. This proves to be somewhat offensive to her. She cannot accept the option of simply forgetting her pain as the best way of dealing with Miranda. Proper punishment was only the solution which could satisfy her need to seek revenge. Stepping back from actually killing Miranda restricts her mind from eliminating the pain completely.