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Summary and Analysis of Act 1
The play opens at the railway station of a small town named Guellen, which literally means "excrement". This ramshackle town is the very picture of poverty. It is autumn, and four men from the town are gathered near a painter, who is making a banner that reads: "Welcome Claire..." The express trains pass noisily by, and the four men discuss the fact that even the commuter trains no longer stop in Guellen. The factory is dead, and the town lies in ruin. The town was once a place of extraordinary culture and artistry: Goethe once spent a night there, and Brahms composed a quartet within its borders. The painter chimes in to say that he was once a brilliant student at the Ecole des Beaux Art, and has now been reduced to sign-making. Another man notes that the town is "rotting", and they begin to discuss the impending arrival of a millionairess who has donated extraordinary amounts of money to villages all over the country. The Schoolmaster, the Mayor, the Priest, and Mr. Alfred Ill, the most popular man in town, arrive at the railway station. These four prominent townspeople discuss their preparations for the millionairess' arrival. The famous Claire Zachanassian (previously Claire Wascher) was born in Guellen. Her father was a builder in the town, and, long ago, Ill and Claire were lovers. In a burst of nostalgia, Ill describes his fond memories of their liaisons in Petersen's Barn and Konrad's Village Wood: her "red hair streaming out, slim and supple as a willow, and tender, ah, what a devilish beautiful little witch. Life tore us apart. Life" (205). As the Mayor prepares his speech, Ill tells him that in their youth, Claire was a great lover of justice, and was always a generous woman. The Mayor then informs Ill that he is to be named the successor to his office. Ill is elated by the announcement of this honor. Suddenly, the express train comes to a stop: Claire Zachanassian is early. Claire is 63; her hair is still flaming red, and she is ostentatiously dressed. The overall effect of her appearance is both graceful and grotesque. Apparently, Claire had pulled the emergency brake on the express train, casting everything into disarray. The townspeople are thrown into a frenzy, not being fully prepared for her arrival. Claire argues with the ticket master, who chastises her for having pulled the brake. She attempts to demonstrate the power of wealth by offering him a large sum of money, but he refuses her bribe. Claire's husband (Husband VII) or "Moby", as she refers to him, appears. Alfred and Claire meet face-to-face for the first time in years, and are quick to exchange endearments. Alfred refers to Claire as his "little wildcat" or "sorceress", and she remembers that she had called him her "black panther" when they were young lovers. Claire, who has grown old and fat, shows off her prosthetic limb, received after a terrible car accident. Her husband's real name, she explains, is Pedro, but she calls him "Moby" because the moniker rhymes with "Boby", her butler. The celebration begins on an awkward note, as the singing of the choir and the Youth Club is drowned out by the rumbling of the express train. Claire, upon meeting the Policeman, cryptically asks him whether he'll turn both of his eyes blind, and then laughs. She then asks the Priest whether he comforts the dying and the condemned, and ignores the Priest when he replies that there is no longer a death penalty in Switzerland. Claire declares that she wants to go to town, and explains that ever since the accident she has traveled by sedan-chair. Her attendants Roby and Toby, who are described as a Herculean, gum-chewing pair, lift her sedan-chair into the air. Roby and Toby, it is explained, were once Manhattan gangsters facing death by electric chair, but were saved when Claire paid a million dollars for each man's life. The sedan-chair, she notes, was a gift from the French President, and at one time resided in the Louvre. Seated atop her sedan-chair, Claire declares that she wishes to see Petersen's Barn and Konrad's Village Wood. The townspeople notice that she has come with a great deal of luggage and - oddly enough - a coffin. Her entourage also includes a pair of old, fat, neatly-dressed men. The men are named "Koby" and "Loby", and they are both blind. Claire has also brought with her a cage containing a black panther. Seeing this, the Schoolmaster begins to feel fearful. He states that Claire is a terrifying sight, and that she gives him the impression of "an avenging Greek goddess...spinning destiny's webs herself" (216). Claire plans to stay at the Golden Apostle, but first wishes to revisit the places where she spent the most important moments of her youth. In Konrad's Village Wood, the four men from the station are transformed into trees as Claire recalls how deeply she and Ill were in love when she was seventeen and he was twenty. When she became pregnant, he betrayed her by denying her paternity claim and marrying Matilda Bluhard, the daughter of the owner of the general store. Claire, in disgrace, fled to a brothel, and eventually married an old Armenian millionaire named Zachanassian. Standing with Ill in the wood, she points out the irony of it all: now she is the one with the money, and it is Ill who leads "a laughable life" (220). Claire warns Ill of her malicious nature by saying, "I've grown into hell itself" (219). When Ill tenderly kisses Claire's hand, she explains that it is made of ivory; she lost her real hand in a plane crash. "Clara, are you artificial?" Ill asks (221). She responds by telling him that she is "unkillable". As they approach the Golden Apostle, the trees become men once again. The gathering outside the hotel is lively: among those in attendance are a gymnastic team, the town band, the Mayor and his wife, and Ill's wife, Matilda. Claire asks the doctor whether he makes death certificates, and she advises him that the next time someone dies, he ought to declare that the cause of death was a heart attack. The townspeople all seem to find her a little disturbing, but Ill laughs joyfully and says that she is "delicious" (222). To add to the confusion, Claire announces that she is getting a divorce, and that her future husband (Husband VIII) is a German film star. She plans to marry him in Guellen Cathedral - something that had always been a childhood dream of hers. The Mayor, prompted by Ill, then gives a long speech that concludes with the words "three cheers for the prodigal returned" (225). Claire happily announces that she will give Guellen one million dollars: half for the town, and half to be shared amongst the families. She states that her gift is conditional, but before she can explain the condition, the crowd bursts into a euphoric roar. The Mayor asks Claire what the condition of her gift is, and she replies, "I'm buying myself justice" (226). The Mayor responds that "Justice can't be bought" (226), but Claire says that everything can be brought. She then brings Boby the Butler forward to prove her point. The Schoolmaster identifies Boby as Chief Justice Courtly: he was once the Lord Chief Justice of Guellen, and then assumed a position with the Kaffigen Court of Appeal. Twenty-five years ago, the Butler explains, Claire offered him an astounding sum of money to enter into her service, and he accepted. The Butler then goes on to explain why Claire feels that she is owed "justice". In 1910, when he was Lord Chief Justice of Guellen, he arbitrated a paternity claim in which Clara Wascher (now Claire Zachanassian) claimed that Alfred Ill was the father of her child. Ill denied her claim, and called in two witnesses. Koby and Loby come forward, holding hands, and say that their real names are Jacob Chicken and Louis Perch. It was they who had falsely "confessed" to sleeping with Claire in exchange for a pint of brandy. Years later, Claire tracked down the two men at the ends of the earth: Jacob in Canada, Louis in Australia. She handed them over to Toby and Roby, who castrated and blinded them, and then took them into her service. The result of this "miscarriage of justice" was tragic: Claire gave birth to a baby that lived for only one year (228), and became a prostitute in Hamburg. Now, she tells the townspeople, she wants someone to avenge her by killing Ill. She turns to the man that she loved in her youth and says, "You decrepit, and me cut to bits by the surgeon's knives. And now I want accounts between us settled. You chose your life, but you forced me into mine" (229). The Mayor steps in and says, "You forget, we are not savages...I reject your offer; and I reject it in the name of humanity. We would rather have poverty than blood on our hands" (229). The assembled crowd applauds loudly, but Claire ominously declares, "I'll wait" (229). AnalysisThe opening of Act 1 is ominous and dramatic, and effectively foreshadows the tragedy to come. Beginning the play at the train station gives the audience a wide view of the town of Guellen, and reveals how its humanist, cultured history sharply contrasts with its present state of impoverishment. The tragic state of the town forces the audience to question how this has come to be. The figure of the painter is particularly notable against the barren city landscape, in part because Duerrenmatt was once a painter, but also because the painter in the play was a brilliant student of art, and has now been reduced to fashioning a welcome sign at the train station. The painter is clearly intended to serve as a meter for the town's cultural prosperity or poverty. Additionally, the very fact that the painter is talented yet unable to express his ability indicates the "waste" that is stifling the city. The image of a factory no longer in use also underscores this "wasted potential." In other words, the town and its citizens are not without potential or skill; their artistic proclivities and talents have merely been crushed by circumstance. The name "Guellen" refers directly to liquid excrement, and while the allusion may appear overt to the point of being grotesque, it also successfully enhances the tone of the play, assaulting the sensibilities of the audience on a number of levels: the characters are comic, grotesque, and macabre, and the idea of "justice" has been sullied almost beyond repair. However, this strategy forces the audience to question the world in which they themselves live, a world which, while not necessarily as grim as Guellen, may share with the town a number of disconcerting qualities. The scene at the train station also introduces several of the town's key figures. The townspeople are all in a state of excited anticipation, and discuss the fact that the approaching visitor, Claire, is their only hope for survival. Here, the audience learns several key facts: (1) Claire is the richest woman in the world; (2) Claire is a native of Guellen; and (3) Claire and Ill were lovers in their youth. Ill nostalgically describes her as a delicious young girl, "slim and supple as a willow." This description is set against a pastoral vision marked by the landmarks of Petersen's Barn and Konrad's Village Wood. Claire's physical arrival at the station, however, sharply contrasts with the idyllic image that Ill has painted: she is, of course, older - 63 - and though her red hair is still a notable characteristic, everything else about her strikes the audience as "monstrous" and "artificial". She is "ostentatiously dressed," and her false limb, combined with her odd declaration that she is "unkillable", create an impression of surreal, almost grotesque power over the natural order. Through Ill, the audience learns that Claire used to be fresh, alluring, and innocent, and was most likely a good-hearted girl, but it is implied that over time something has caused her to grow into a monster. At the very least, she is virtually unrecognizable. As Claire and Ill revisit the pastoral sites of their youthful liaisons, the four men from the train station metamorphose into trees. Over the course of the play, these four men repeatedly metamorphose into trees, and then back into humans, suggesting the transitory nature of their environment. This device alludes to the pastoral innocence upon which society is built; also, Claire, whose father was a "builder" in Guellen, has a history rooted in the town's birth. It is implied that modernity and urbanity "corrupt" nature, just as Ill corrupted Claire. It is, however, suggested that this metamorphosis did not have to be so tragic: something that is "built" can also be "just" and in harmony with nature. The play suggests that an idyllic human existence transpires at that unseen point where nature and society meet. Ill's unjust act, however, disturbed that delicate balance and thrust Guellen into its current state of disrepair. Claire's early arrival signals that something unexpected is about to happen to the town. The manner in which she arrives is especially telling: she pulls the emergency brake on an express train. In other words, her refusal to follow the rules upon which others rely is an expression of her inflated sense of power, and her belief that her needs take precedence over the dictates of society. In her view, she has every right to pull the emergency brake - not because it is an emergency, but merely because doing so is easy and convenient. The rationale behind this action is rooted in Claire's status as the richest woman in the world. The characters of Roby and Toby, whom Claire saved from the electric chair, reveal that Claire is not afraid to use the power of her purse to subvert society's rules, even in situations where the "goodness" of her actions can be called into question. It seems likely that Claire did not rescue Roby and Toby because she felt that they were being slain unjustly, but rather because she simply desired a strong pair of bodyguards. In the past, her money has given her the power to make her own rules; however, at this point in the play it remains unclear whether Claire is a benevolent "goddess" who assists the troubled and poor with her magnanimous donations, or is a monster who gleefully engages in the blatant abuse of her power. Claire's numerous husbands suggest her willingness to abuse the social institution of marriage, and also imply that Claire's ability to love has been "corrupted" by Ill. She renames each of her husbands so that their monikers rhyme with the rest of her entourage in a manner that is reminiscent of Adam renaming the animals in the Bible. In other words, Claire believes that she exists on an entirely different plane from those whom she employs - a category that includes her husbands. (It is important to note here that her first husband has retained his full name in her memory: he is a kind of creator-figure whom she has come to emulate and almost deify. Along these lines, Claire's decision to dehumanize each of her subsequent husbands through the process of re-naming can be thought of almost as a homage to her deceased husband). Claire developed her understanding of marriage based on Ill's example: he chose money over love, disregarding the welfare of others. Ill used marriage as a ladder to climb up in the world; Claire, who at the outset of the play has already climbed as high as she can go, cycles through husbands as though they are mere consumer goods. Overall, the corruption of the town, Claire's literal artificiality, and the grotesque tone of the play combine to suggest that Claire is not the benevolent "goddess" that the townspeople are hoping to meet. Act 1 culminates in a celebratory gathering in honor of Claire. At the celebration, Claire announces to the townspeople that she is ready to offer them a generous gift, on one condition. She declares that she wishes to buy herself "justice". The Mayor's reply that justice cannot be bought is the crux around which the rest of the play revolves. We know from Ill's previous statement to the Mayor that Claire "loved" justice when they were young; but, like her ability to love, her reverence of justice has evolved into a monstrous obsession. Her butler, Boby, and the blind eunuchs Koby and Loby also underscore Claire's perverse sense of justice. She bought justice by offering Boby the Butler a large salary to become one of her employees, thereby forcing him to sacrifice his authentic position in a high court (though the infallibility of the judicial system is, at the same time, brought into question, since it seems possible for the average citizen to fool a judge, as Ill did in the paternity suit). In the case of Koby and Loby, Claire exacted justice in the manner of the Old Testament by tracking them down to the far corners of the earth and blinding and castrating both of them. The irony in Koby and Loby's characters is twofold: (a) they are eunuchs, who are traditionally considered to be protectors of a woman's chastity, while here the two men were bribed to claim that they had slept with Claire; and (b) they are blind, and the traditions of Ancient Greek drama (from which Duerrenmatt draws many of his symbols and plot devices) hold that the blind are "seers", in the sense that they "see" the truth. Koby and Loby "see" the truth, ironically, only because they were the ones who lied in the first place. In keeping with the theme of "seeing," the Schoolmaster is the only one who "sees" Boby the Butler's true identity. As the drama unfolds, the Schoolmaster assumes a distinctive role as a "seer" of truth. The question that Duerrenmatt proposes is whether a humanist education and strong sense of values is enough to enable the Schoolmaster - or, indeed, anyone - to resist temptation. In this play, Duerrenmatt grapples with the very nature of justice: he critiques its corruptibility, and studies the relationship between "justice" (which is impersonal), and "revenge" (which is personal). In Claire's mind, "justice" past wrongs: Claire believes in "an eye for an eye." In their youth, Ill "forced" Claire into her circumstances by contaminating the justice system with false witnesses and lies, thereby revealing the system's inability to discern the truth. While her lifestyle, at the time of her visit, may appear enviable, she is furious because she was not permitted to choose it for herself. Her life has been wholly determined by the actions of another. Seeking retribution, Claire returns to the town and offers the townspeople a conditional gift. Over time, her fury has been magnified, and she has come to view the town itself as complicit in Ill's unjust act. To that end, the townspeople must repay her debt by sacrificing their values. Her version of justice virtually discards the system that has been developed over time: in Claire's world, justice is meted out in pure accordance with her will. This power causes Claire to take on the status of a mythical, omnipotent god or goddess. In fact, Duerrenmatt explicitly stated that readers ought to consider The Visit in the context of Medea; he intended the work to be a contemporary manifestation of the angry, sorrowful woman who was betrayed by her lover.
Summary and Analysis of Act 2
Act 2 opens with a view of the balcony of the Golden Apostle Hotel and Alfred Ill's general store. The scene is ominous: the town is clearly a grimy place, and Roby and Toby are passing by, carrying funereal flowers. Ill, feeling relatively confident that the townspeople are on his side, speaks briefly with his son and daughter, asking them where they are going. His son, he learns, is headed to the railway station, and his daughter is going to the Labour Exchange. They are both seeking jobs. Claire stands on the balcony of the hotel, looking for her prosthetic leg. A townsman enters Ill's store to buy cigarettes, and the audience learns that Ill frequently allows the townspeople to purchase anything that they need on credit. From the balcony, Claire asks Roby to play an Armenian folk-song, and comments that her husband Zachanassian had been "a great teacher, and a great dancer; a real devil. I've copied him completely" (232). More women from the town enter Ill's store to buy milk, butter, bread, and chocolate - all on credit. Some men, watching as Claire smokes an expensive cigar on the balcony, vocally criticize her extravagance. The men also reinforce the idea that Ill is the most popular man in town, and discuss the fact that he will be elected mayor in the spring. Suddenly, a half-naked girl, Louisa, rushes across the stage, chased by Toby. Husband VIII (or "Hoby," as Claire calls him), joins Claire on the balcony. He is a film star: tall and slender, with a red moustache. Suddenly, Ill notices that the townspeople in his shop are all wearing new yellow shoes. Shocked by this unexpected display of wealth, he begins to feel fearful and goes to the Policeman, demanding that he arrest Claire for the incitement of his murder. The Policeman, however, says that no one is taking her offer seriously, and that there is no real threat. Ill looks down, and sees that the Policeman himself is wearing new yellow shoes. He exclaims that the town is running itself into debt, and that the standard of living is rising. Soon, there will be an even greater need to kill him. The Policeman begins to protest, and Ill notices a gold tooth flashing in his mouth. Ill rushes to the Mayor, who sets a revolver down upon Ill's entrance. In response to Ill's visible dismay, the Mayor explains that he has armed himself because Claire's black panther is on the loose. The Mayor is smoking expensive cigarettes, and Ill again expresses his nervousness about the rising standard of living. He complains that the Policeman wouldn't do anything about his concern. The Mayor chides Ill: "You're forgetting you're in Guellen. A city of Humanist traditions. Goethe spent a night here. Brahms composed a quartet here. We owe allegiance to our lofty heritage" (243). He continues: "If you're unable to place any trust in our community, I regret it for your sake. I didn't expect such a nihilistic attitude from you. After all, we live under the rule of law" (244). The Mayor then adds that there is no way that Ill can expect to be voted into his office in the coming election: "The post of Mayor requires certain guarantees of good moral character which you can no longer furnish" (244). Additionally, the Mayor has decided that the matter of Claire's gift should be kept out of the press. Alfred responds: "For me, silence is too dangerous" (245). As Claire discusses her coming wedding with her new fiance, he declares that Guellen is boring: "And nothing else is happening at all, either to the landscape or to the people, it's all a picture of deep, carefree peace and contentment and cosy comfort. No grandeur, no tragedy. Not a trace of the spiritual dedication of a great age" (246). Ill goes to the Priest and alerts him to the "rise in the standard of living." The Priest answers enigmatically: "It's the spectre of your conscience rising" (247). The Priest goes on to declare: "You are your own Hell. You are older than I am, and you think you know people, but in the end one only knows oneself...You impute your own nature to others. All too naturally. The cause of our fear and our sin lies in our own hearts. Once you have acknowledged that, you will have conquered your torment and acquired a weapon whereby to master it" (247). When Ill expresses his fear about the fact that the townspeople are buying new washing machines and radios that they can scarcely afford, the sound of a new bell tolls. The Priest ignores Ill's alarm and declares the bell "rich and powerful. Just affirming life" (248). Ill realizes that even the Priest is complicit in his slaughter. Gunshots ring out, and the Butler informs Claire that the black panther has been killed. She commands Roby to play a funeral march on his guitar, and the balcony disappears from the stage. The scene then shifts to the railway station, where there is a new poster that reads "Travel South" and is decorated with a sun. Ill appears with his suitcase. Strangely enough, the Mayor and the townspeople are also gathered there. The Mayor greets him amiably, and asks him where he is going. Ill says that he's planning to go to Australia. Everyone seems confused. Ill explains that he wrote a letter to the Chief Constable in Kaffigen, and that the Post Office refused to send the letter. The Mayor again tells Ill that no one wants to kill him, and the townspeople echo the Mayor's sentiment. Ill, however, notices that they are all wearing new trousers. The train pulls into the station, and everyone flocks around him to wish him a good trip ("Long life and prosperity!"). However, Ill doesn't seem to be able to board the train. He is convinced that someone will stop him, and wonders who it will be. In the end, he cannot bring himself to leave, and collapses in the crowd, crying: "I am lost!" (252). AnalysisAct 2 opens with a scene reminiscent of the balcony scene in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. However, whereas in Romeo and Juliet the love scene is romantic and idyllic, [The Visit] offers a darkly comedic, grotesque interpretation: the lovers are old and ugly, and their youthful love affair ended in a sordid manner that invalidates the romantic notions espoused by Shakespeare's work. Duerrenmatt destroys idealistic notions of romantic love by revealing the grotesque monstrosity that it can be transformed into. At the opening of Act 2, Claire sits on the balcony of her hotel room, looking down on the town below and watching as Ill and his wife manage the everyday doings of the general store. The audience learns that Ill, the most popular man in town and the likely successor to the Mayor of Guellen, has won the hearts of the townspeople largely because he facilitates their survival by permitting them to purchase goods and supplies from his store on credit. This relationship has given him a sense of solidarity with the town, and he feels confident that they will reject Claire's proposition in return for his history of generosity. Act 2 also offers the audience a glimpse of Ill's son and daughter, both of whom are leaving in search of employment. In Act 1, Ill complained to Claire that his children had no ideals. Duerrenmatt uses the children to illustrate his belief that ideals become weak in the face of poverty; indeed, in impoverished children it is near-impossible to breed any sense of idealism whatsoever: their key concern is survival. Impoverished children search for work and worry about money; education and ideals are only a secondary concern. The condition of Ill's children hints at the more general status of the town of Guellen. At the end of Act 1, the Mayor rejected Claire's proposal with a grand declaration of idealism, asserting that the town would rather be poor than have blood on its hands. However, Duerrenmatt forces the audience to consider how strong this idealistic commitment really is. As Act 2 progresses, Ill begins to notice a disturbing pattern in the behavior of the townspeople. When he vocalizes his worries, however, everyone else around him refuses to "see" the truth, denying that anything is amiss. Ill worries about the fact that the townspeople are wearing new shoes, and that they are purchasing increasingly expensive items on credit, while at the same time hypocritically denouncing Claire's extravagance and Louisa's debauchery. The contrast between Louisa and Claire serves as a visual and symbolic arc depicting Claire's life. The townspeople criticize both figures, but in a manner that suggests unconscious envy: they wish to be sexual and free in their youth, and then wealthy and famous in their old age. Ill, seeing the rise in the standard of living, suspects that the townspeople are spending beyond their means in subconscious anticipation of Claire's gift. The townspeople are purchasing more and more items in the expectation that they will soon be given the money needed to pay off the debts and to generally live a far more comfortable life. The changes in the townspeople's behavior allow Ill to "see" the possibility of his own death. Ill seeks help from three prominent townspeople: the Policeman, the Mayor, and the Priest. These three characters represent the law, the government, and the Church, social bodies that have traditionally functioned to protect the weak and to prevent injustice. Each of the men, however, fails Ill. Duerrenmatt clearly believes that these institutions are just as susceptible to corruption as the "average" person. The Policeman, like the rest of the townspeople, wears new yellow shoes and has a new gold tooth in his mouth, but insists to Ill that there is nothing to fear, because no one is taking Claire's proposition seriously. Indeed, the Policeman even rejects Ill's request that he arrest Claire, thereby underscoring the fact that Claire is, indeed, above the law. Claire's plan for vengeance, it seems, is a clever one, because she has merely made a "suggestion" that the townspeople can easily pretend is not real. The Mayor, while not wearing new yellow shoes, is smoking more expensive cigarettes than usual when Ill comes to see him. He essentially tells Ill that he ought to have faith in the town and its citizens, and that Guellen's humanist history would never allow the townspeople to accept Claire's conditional gift. At the same time, however, the Mayor is holding a gun, and tradition holds that whenever a gun is seen in a play, it must eventually be fired. It is implied that the gun will be pointed, either literally or figuratively, at Ill. In other words, the appearance of the gun renders Ill's death even more probable. From the Mayor, Ill receives three crucial pieces of information. First, he learns that Claire's black panther is on the loose and is a danger to society (hence the Mayor's possession of a gun). "Black panther," however, was the term of endearment that Claire used for Ill when they were lovers; the town's reaction to the panther therefore suggests their attitude towards Ill himself. Second, the Mayor informs Ill that, because of his past indiscretions, he no longer has a future in politics. In other words, his past has destroyed any possibility that he will rise to a position of power in the town. While this is of course a characteristic of modern politics, the irony lies in the fact that even though the Mayor faults Ill for his misdeeds, he (and by extension, the political system) is just as corrupt. The Mayor's expensive cigarettes and the fact that the townspeople are considering murdering one of their own (with the Mayor's approval) both stand as evidence of the corruptibility of the political system. Finally, the Mayor tells Ill that news of Claire's proposition will not be published in the newspapers. This, Ill quickly realizes, is a dangerous development: such secrecy ensures that he will be unable to gather support from outside of the town. Silence, in other words, isolates Ill, locking him into a figurative "cage". The Priest's garments have not been visibly altered, so Ill entertains the brief hope that he has found help at last. The Priest, however, simply offers Ill a speech that sounds profound, but at core is vague and wholly unhelpful. Duerrenmatt uses the character of the Priest to suggest that the Church is just as corruptible as its secular cousins, and is in fact an institution that espouses empty rhetoric and is slow to take action. When Ill hears the tolling of a new bell, he realizes that even the Church has been spending money in expectation of his death and Claire's resulting gift. The Priest's words, "Rich and powerful. Just affirming life," overtly refer to the sound of the bell, but in fact is a rationalization of Claire's conditional gift. Claire is rich and powerful, and her gift will "reaffirm life" by saving the townspeople of Guellen from their impoverishment and misery. Ill realizes that he will not find help even in the Church, a place that ought to have offered him solace and served as a check on the power of the government and the law. While it is perhaps unsurprising when institutions fashioned by men to govern society suffer from corruption, Duerrenmatt expresses the belief that the Church is just as susceptible to the temptations of wealth. By the end of Act 2, Ill is the very picture of a condemned man: isolated, bereft of sympathy and aid. The news of the black panther's death cements the inevitability of Ill's fate. While Ill has spent the entirety of Act 2 toying with the possibility of his imminent death, the slaughter of the black panther makes his demise a certainty. In the final scene Ill, propelled by fear, appears at the train station where he had previously awaited Claire's arrival. He hopes to flee the town, but finds a surreal scene awaiting him: all of the townspeople are gathered at the station to "see him off". He attempts to leave, but recognizes that his efforts are futile: although the townspeople bid him farewell, he is convinced that someone will prevent him from boarding the train, and also realizes that escape will bring him only temporary relief, given the breadth of Claire's power (recall that she was able to locate Koby and Loby at the very ends of the earth). In the end, he can do nothing; he is rendered utterly powerless. The effect is not unlike the powerlessness created by poverty; an impoverished individual, though autonomous in the ideal sense, is boxed in by his or her circumstances. The only hope for release and redemption lies in forgiveness, but Ill recognizes that he is beyond help. The townspeople have gone too far: they have tasted wealth, and are unwilling to surrender the joys of plenty.
Summary and Analysis of Act 3
The third act opens in Petersens' Barn, where Claire stands wearing her wedding gown and veil. The visual effect is of a spider lying in wait amidst her webs. The wedding has just concluded, and the Doctor and the Schoolmaster approach Claire. She announces that she has sent her new husband, "Hoby", away, and that her lawyers are already filing for divorce. The Doctor and the Schoolmaster tell her that they want to talk about Ill. She asks, "O, has he died?" and they reply that they are loyal to their values, but that the town has gone into debt. The Schoolmaster takes the initiative, telling her how much they have sacrificed in an effort to restore Guellen to its former glory: "Madam, we are not poor; we are merely forgotten. We need credit, confidence, contracts, then our economy and culture will boom" (255). Claire takes this opportunity to reveal to them that she already owns everything in the town, and that she is the one who has orchestrated Guellen's downfall to avenge the injustice committed against her. In other words, she is implying that Ill himself is the root cause of their misery. The Schoolmaster pleads with her to cast away her desire for revenge and implores her, "Let your feeling for humanity prevail!" (257). She responds coolly: "Feeling for humanity, gentlemen, is cut for the purse of an ordinary millionaire; with financial resources like mine you can afford a new world order. The world turned me into a whore. I shall turn the world into a brothel" (257). The scene then cuts to a view of Ill's store, which now boasts a new sign, a new counter, and new stock. The townspeople discuss Claire's wedding, and marvel about the journalists and film starlets who were present at the grand affair. Everyone is purchasing more expensive cigarettes - still on credit. Louisa passes across the stage wearing stylish clothing, and Mrs. Ill remarks, "She's got her head full of dreams dressing up like that. She must imagine we'd murder Ill" (258). Mrs. Ill tells the gathered company that Ill is upstairs, and has been there for days. The townspeople comment on his guilty conscience and - in a marked reversal from the previous act - express their sympathy for Claire for all that she has endured. They also express their hope that Ill won't say anything to the press. The painter arrives wearing colorful clothing and a black beret, and announces that "art's beginning to boom in Guellen" (260). He then presents Mrs. Ill with a portrait of her husband. Reporters begin to arrive at the store, asking the townspeople questions about Guellen's reaction to Claire's visit. Having gotten wind of the story of Claire and Ill from the blind eunuchs, they bombard Mrs. Ill with questions. Mrs. Ill lies, telling them that she and Ill married for love. She also declares that "money alone makes no one happy" (262), to which a reporter responds, "that's a truth we in this modern world ought to write up in the sky of our hearts" (262). The Schoolmaster arrives, drunk, and tries to tell the press the truth about what is transpiring in Guellen, but the painter stops him by hitting him over the head with Ill's portrait. Ill comes downstairs, and the store is thrown into shocked silence. The Schoolmaster tries to explain that he is trying to tell the reporters the truth "because I'm a humanist, a lover of the ancient Greeks, an admirer of Plato" (263), but the reporters are distracted by Ill's arrival. Someone calls from outside, crying out that Claire already has a new husband, and that they are at this very moment walking through Konrad's Village Wood. The reporters rush off, and the townspeople scatter. The Schoolmaster tells Ill that he tried to help him: "That infamous million is burning up our hearts" (266), but Ill replies that he refuses to fight any longer, and that he recognizes that he is responsible for the town's downfall. The Schoolmaster says to Ill, "They will kill you. I've known it from the beginning, and you've known it too for a long time, even if no one else in Guellen wants to admit it. The temptation is too great and our poverty is too wretched. But I know something else. I shall take part in it. I can feel myself slowly becoming a murderer. My faith in humanity is powerless to stop it" (267). With that, the Schoolteacher exits. Ill goes to speak with his family, only to find that his daughter now owns a tennis racket, his son has a new car, and Mrs. Ill has a new fur coat. Ill suggests that they all go for a drive together in the new car. As his family scatters to prepare for the trip, the Mayor arrives at the store. He enters carrying a rifle, and tells Ill that there is to be a public meeting that evening in the auditorium of the Golden Apostle to discuss his case and the pressure that Claire is placing on the town. He asks Ill whether he will submit to their judgment, and Ill says that he will. The Mayor then suggests that Ill would make it easier for everyone if he just turned the gun on himself, but Ill refuses, stating, "I have been through Hell. I've watched you all getting into debt, and I've felt death creeping towards me, nearer and nearer with every sign of prosperity...There is no turning back. You must judge me, now. I shall accept your judgment, whatever it may be. For me, it will be justice; what it will be for you, I do not know" (217). He goes on to add, "You may kill me, I will not complain and I will not protest, nor will I defend myself. But I cannot spare you the task of the trial" (271). Ill then goes for a drive in the new car with his family. Karl, Ill's son, makes a wrong turn; to get back to town, they must drive through Konrad's Village Wood. In the forest, the four townsmen turn into trees, emphasizing the autumn season. Ill notes that "the leaves on the ground are like layers of gold" (274). The family decides to go see a film, but Ill says that he'll stay behind and walk back into town for the meeting. On the way to the meeting, Ill runs into Claire and her new husband (Husband IX), a Nobel Prize-winner. She is now the owner of the wood, and tells Ill that she has sent the two eunuchs to Hong Kong to visit an opium den. Claire asks her new husband to leave them alone for a while, and Ill and Claire walk together, reminiscing about the times that they spent in the wood, smoking together, deeply in love. Ill asks Claire about the child that she had claimed was his, and Claire says that it was a black-haired girl, whom she named Genevieve. Claire tells Ill that the girl's eyes never opened, and that she died of meningitis a year after she was born. Claire then asks Ill to talk to her about how she was when she was seventeen, when he loved her. Instead, Ill tells her that he accepts whatever punishment she has in store for him: "I only know that my meaningless life will end" (278). Claire says that she will take him to Capri in the coffin that she brought with her, and place his body in a mausoleum overlooking the Mediterranean. He asks her to describe the location to him. She does, and then says: "You will remain there. A dead man beside a stone idol. Your love died many years ago. But my love could not die. Neither could it live. It grew into an evil thing, like me, like the pallid mushrooms in this wood, and the blind, twisted features of the roots, all overgrown by my golden millions. Their tentacles sought you out, to take your life, because your life belonged to me, forever. You are in their toils now, and you are lost. You will soon be no more than a dead love in my memory, a gentle ghost haunting the wreckage of a house" (278-9). When Claire finishes speaking, Ill leaves. The scene then shifts to the town meeting in the auditorium of the Golden Apostle, where the press has gathered for the event. An awestruck radio commentator narrates the events that are transpiring. First, the Mayor announces that Claire has offered to donate one million pounds, half for the town and half to be shared by the families. The Schoolmaster then asks, "What is her aim? Is it her aim to make us happy with money?...Her aim is to have the spirit of this community transformed - transformed to the spirit of justice. We, staggered by this demand, ask: have we not always been a just community?" (281). The townspeople respond to this by stating that a crime has been committed - perjury - and that they plan to rectify the situation. The Mayor calls Ill forward, and declares that it is because of him that they are receiving such a generous gift. He asks Ill whether he will accept the gift or refuse it, and Ill answers that he will respect whatever decision is made. The Mayor asks the assembled people whether there are any questions. Representatives from the Church, the medical community, the police force, and the opposition party are all silent. There is a vote to accept Claire's gift - unanimous save for Ill. The Mayor then leads the citizens in an almost religious chant, stating that they accept the money not for the sake of wealth, but in the name of justice. Ill screams, "My God!" The cameraman asks the assembled townspeople whether they can repeat everything that they have just done, because the news-reel is jammed. The town repeats the chant, but Ill does not repeat his "cry of joy" for the camera. The Mayor then urges the press to enjoy the refreshments in the restaurant. Ill is asked to remain, and the townspeople lock the doors of the auditorium and turn out the lights. The Priest crosses to Ill slowly, watching as he takes a last smoke. The Priest says, "I'll pray for you," to which Ill answers: "Pray for Guellen" (286). Ill turns to accept his judgment, and the townspeople kill him. A reporter appears just as the Doctor declares that Ill has died from a heart attack. The Mayor adds, "Died of joy," and the reporter declares that "Life writes the most beautiful stories" (287). Claire arrives to examine the corpse, and sees in Ill's face the boy that she had known in her youth: a "black panther." She has Ill's corpse placed in the coffin to take with her to Capri, and hands the Mayor the check. As Claire exits, the town's wealth grows at a dazzling pace. Suddenly, everyone is wearing evening gowns and dress-suits. In the style of a Greek tragedy, the townspeople form into two choruses and begin chanting. The play concludes at the railway station, where Claire waits. She is accompanied by Ill's coffin, which the townspeople refer to as a "precious charge" (291). AnalysisAct 3 brings the drama to its logical conclusion. When the Schoolteacher and the Doctor realize that Claire has been the one orchestrating Guellen's rapid decline, and that she is doing so in order to punish the town for Ill's mistreatment of her, the townspeople begin to rationalize murdering the man whom they had previously held in such high esteem. In other words, they figure out a way to justify his murder: slaughtering Ill, they decide, is the only proper punishment for a man who is guilty of a grave injustice against a woman, an injustice that has caused an untold amount of suffering. In the first act, the townspeople had viewed Claire's proposition in a negative light, believing that it was a simple exchange of a life for wealth and prosperity, but in this act the townspeople begin to believe that it is a matter of justice, not a matter of material wealth. The audience, however, realizes that the townspeople are simply fooling themselves: although they have declared Ill's death "just" in order to validate their actions, it is clear that they have decided that the material comfort of many justifies the sacrifice of a single life. Act 3 reveals that Claire's power and wealth do indeed, as she has claimed, entitle her to alter the very foundation of the legal system. The audience has seen her "buying" justice several times throughout the play (such as when she pulls the emergency brake on the express train and escapes punishment), but it is only here that the true scope of her power is revealed. She is even able to sway officers of the law to abandon their posts: the Policeman flat-out refuses to arrest Claire on Ill's behalf, thereby directly contributing to his death. Even though the audience learned from the Priest that there is no death penalty in Switzerland, Claire's power is so all-encompassing that she is able to make her gift conditional upon a total overhaul of the legal system. The entire town becomes complicit in an extra-judicial proceeding; an extreme punishment that is meted out in blatant disregard of the established legal system. Additionally, Claire's unique rule of law is driven by a "personal" sense of justice based on revenge; indeed, throughout the play Claire repeatedly appears to confuse "justice" with "revenge". She announces to the Schoolteacher and the Doctor that the world has turned her into a whore, and that she, in turn, intends to turn the world into a brothel. Motivated by the maxim of "an eye for an eye," Claire views justice as a kind of personal service that can be purchased as easily as a pair of shoes. The allusions to sexual services ("whore", "brothel") are direct references to Claire's personal history: she has suffered because the fact that she gave birth to a child out of wedlock and then became a prostitute has rendered her unsuitable for inclusion in "normal" society. Her clients, however, were free to satisfy their own desires - however "perverse" they might have been - because their wealth gave them the ability to do as they pleased. Even her first husband, from whom she inherited her wealth, was rich enough to purchase a beautiful young wife even though he was old and decrepit. Claire's real-world education proved to her that anything can be bought: marriage, justice (or revenge), personal services, and life itself. The only things that money cannot buy (and arguably the things that Claire wants most in the world) are a way to erase the past (although Claire certainly attempts to do this to the best of her abilities), and romantic love. Duerrenmatt appears to believe that it is romantic love that breeds true happiness; in a notable moment of irony, Ill's wife tells the reporters that "Money alone makes no one happy" - although she, along with the rest of the town, clearly equates wealth with happiness. Since Claire is not powerful enough to literally turn back the hands of time or to restore herself and Ill to their previous state of youthful bliss, she finds solace in "justice", believing that revenge will sate the anger that has burned inside her for decades. By the end of the play, Claire has achieved the purpose of her visit, and the final moments of the play see Claire carrying away Ill's body to a mausoleum in the Mediterranean. The townspeople - including Ill's family - have also achieved their goals: they have all succeeded in finding happiness due to their improved economic status. While both Claire and the townspeople of Guellen might have preferred the love and wealth that they, respectively, enjoyed in the past to their present situation, they nevertheless prefer tainted happiness to no happiness at all. Claire cannot have Ill's love, but she can have his body, in the bleakest sense (yet another allusion to Claire's life as a prostitute). The town of Guellen cannot be restored to its former cultural and humanist glory, but it can enjoy a newfound - albeit ill-gotten - prosperity. Duerrenmatt appears to be arguing that it is market demand that generates culture and fine art; art is no more an expression of the soul than the justice system is an expression of the truth. Interestingly, Act 3 casts Ill himself as the "victim" of Claire's "plot". He achieves an almost martyr-like status through his willingness to submit to the punishment that Claire has meted out for him. In this context, it is important to consider Ill's name (and particularly important given the emphasis that Duerrenmatt places on monikers throughout the play): the French pronoun "il" is a reference to the "everyman", and in the English language "ill" brings to mind an "illness" or "disease". Ill is thus a representation of the malaise that afflicts ordinary workingmen, who have little to no agency in the face of extraordinary wealth and power. The implication is that the "everyman" stands a better chance of living a "good" life and earning the respect of his neighbors, despite the hardships that accompany a lower social standing. However, Ill's very name is a reference to the slight that he committed against Claire, and the maladies - both private and public - that arose in the wake of his misdeed. Ill may be a victim, but he is also a criminal. Claire's wedding brings the attention of the international community to the small town of Guellen. The townspeople's determination to keep the facts of Claire's gift a secret even though the town is swarming with journalists reveals the inevitability of Ill's death. Over the course of the third act, the townspeople's sympathy for Claire grows, although they continue to hypocritically criticize Louisa. Louisa represents who Claire was in her youth, and the fact that the townspeople overtly "sympathize" with Claire while rejecting her doppelganger reveals the disingenuous nature of their beliefs. Matilda, Ill's wife, declares that Louisa must expect them to actually kill Ill; ironically, however, Matilda herself has purchased an extravagant new fur coat in unconscious anticipation of her husband's death. The ease with which Matilda lies about the nature of her relationship with Ill stands as evidence of her solidarity with the townspeople: even Ill's own wife has fallen victim to the temptations of material wealth. The journalists symbolize the outside world, which turns a blind eye to the truth about what is transpiring in Guellen, preferring to believe that people are inherently "just" and "good". Duerrenmatt clearly believes that almost anyone, if placed in the same situation, would behave like the residents of Guellen, and by emphasizing the journalists' blindness, he reveals the hypocrisy inherent in modern society. The journalists are far more preoccupied with Claire's celebrity, wealth, and string of marriages than they are with exposing injustice. In Act 3, the painter reappears: he is now a flourishing artist, and has painted a portrait of Ill for Ill's wife. The portrait - almost a memorial - ominously foreshadows Ill's imminent death. Moments later, the painter destroys his own work by breaking the portrait over the head of the Schoolteacher in an effort to prevent the Schoolteacher from telling the press about Claire's conditional gift. Not only does the destruction of the painting hint at the violence to come, but it reveals the painter's true attitude towards art: he is more concerned with maintaining his livelihood than he is with genuine artistic expression. The portrait, it seems, is no different from the welcoming sign that he was painting at the beginning of the first act: both works were created solely for financial gain. Even though the quality of his work has improved, his attitude is no different; he is simply being paid more. The Schoolteacher is a key figure in the play, because, like Ill, he "sees" the reality of what is taking place in the town. However, even though the Schoolteacher has strong humanist ideals, he is incapable of acting on Ill's behalf or convincing the townspeople to reflect upon what is happening in Guellen. Though his attempt to alert the press is overtly noble, he nevertheless confides to Ill that he will also have a hand in his death. This pessimism is warranted: the Schoolteacher does, indeed, join the conspirators in the end, proving that ideals are no match for market forces and the power of wealth and prosperity. The Schoolteacher sacrifices his ideals as easily as he sacrifices Ill. By the time the meeting begins, Ill has come to terms with his fate. The townspeople - including Ill's own family - have come to view Ill as a guilty man, and in the end even Ill himself arrives at the same conclusion. He recognizes that it was he who brought such misery to the town, and accepts his punishment. However, when the Mayor arrives with a rifle and suggests that Ill might make it easier on everyone if he would just turn the rifle on himself, Ill insists on a trial, believing that a public spectacle is the only way to reveal the truth about what is taking place. If he shot himself, the conspiracy could be easily covered up and denied. By forcing the townspeople to physically kill him, he cements his place in Guellen's collective conscience. Ill also exhibits remarkable courage during his final moments, thus heightening the emotional and moral conflict at the center of the story. While Act 2 ended with Ill literally paralyzed by fear, unable to board the train because he was terrified of the possible repercussions, Act 3 ends with Ill to a certain extent orchestrating his own demise. He faces death unflinchingly; he arrives at the town meeting of his own free will, and smokes a cigarette, knowing full well that it will be his last. Ill ultimately dies fully cognizant of the seriousness of the wrong that he committed against Claire, but also aware that the townspeople are not actually achieving true "justice". There are a number of clear parallels between Ill and Christ. Ill, like Christ, meets his death calmly, only crying out for a moment, "Oh, God!" (recalling Christ's cry of "Father, why hast thou forsaken me?"). Ill's cry, however, is mistaken for a cry of joy by the reporters, who use it as support for their contention that he suffered a heart attack because he was so overcome by happiness. The ritualistic nature of Ill's murder is enhanced by the emphasis placed on the color gold: the townspeople wear yellow shoes; the policeman has a new gold tooth; layers of gold cover the floor of the forest; the name of Claire's hotel is the Golden Apostle. This excessive usage of the color gold is a clear allusion to the Biblical sacrifice to the golden idol: a calf. Here, Claire, the richest woman in the world, appears to represent the golden idol; the sacrifice that she requires, however, is a human one. In order to be "saved", the town must surrender one of its own, and by extension relinquish its very humanity. By the conclusion of the drama, Ill has been transformed from a predator into a victim. At the very least, he has achieved redemption, and can even be viewed as a martyr. By acknowledging his guilt and bravely facing the punishment meted out to him by the town, he achieves an almost spiritual transcendence: the man that we see at the end of Act 3 is a very different person from the man who awaited Claire's arrival at the train station. The final scene appears to purge the guilt that has plagued Ill from the moment that he committed his unjust act. Ill is spiritually reborn at the very same moment that the town undergoes a spiritual death. By the end of The Visit, Claire has successfully proven that money can, indeed, purchase "justice". While Claire can never recapture her youthful innocence, she has achieved her goal: total control over the man whose actions dictated the course of her entire life. For Claire, this is perhaps the only kind of happiness that she can ever know. She has truly become a monster, someone who can find peace only when inflicting pain upon others.
ClassicNote on The Visit
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