In this instance, she is referring to Gerardo’s strength over her, both emotional and physical. Just then, Roberto enters cast in a ghostly, “phantasmagoric” light, staring at Paulina. (including. She even has command over her husband, Gerardo, ordering him to take “the gag off Roberto” and not letting Gerardo release Roberto (31). Roberto chastises Gerardo for letting his “extremely ill, almost prototypically schizoid” wife behave this way. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”, LitCharts uses cookies to personalize our services. Gerardo has the cassette recorder on his lap and is asking Paulina to tell him everything about the terrible events she suffered. Paulina Escobar is a political activist whose husband is a prominent lawyer in an unnamed South American country just out of a dictatorship. In addition, Paulina resents the fact that the Commission is limited to handling cases that “ended in death or the presumption of death” [pg 9], and she sarcastically refers to these cases as being “irreparable” [pg. "Death and the Maiden Study Guide". Dorfman intends to use this juxtaposition to convey ambiguity in the theme of justice because the concept was what questioned Chile when it moved from totalitarian to democracy. Gerardo’s constant fluctuations between being deceitful and being a heroic savior makes him an enigma that confounds the reader and Paulina herself. The motif of the gun Paulina carries throughout the play to keep Roberto as hostage challenges the Paulina’s definition of justice. When Paulina questions whether or not her husband’s Commission only investigates cases that end in death, Gerardo responds with this, “The idea is that if we can throw light on the worst crimes, other abuses will also come to light” (Dorfman 9), attempting to explain to her that their legal processes are just, however patience is required to see that. As such, it raises questions that probe and provoke rather than offer any answers that comfort. Trying to make Paulina see how blind she was, Gerardo asks, “Are you going to kidnap them and bring them her and tie them up…” (Dorfman 34), however Paulina only replies as if the question was asked in a serious manner. This scene is very powerful in developing the ambiguity in justice because the audience witnesses the reaction of different characters on what is meant by justice for the first time. However, if they find her abuse out of control, and she is driven by lunacy, then they may not fully capture the horrors of rape. Gerardo is directly acting as Paulina’s conscience now and employs the idea that it is not moral to commit an immoral act solely because it was committed against the individual. A rather infamous artistic motif that has lasted since the Renaissance and maybe before that, Death and the Maiden has been popular in mediums ranging from visual art to plays, music and even film.. For her, it represents the beauty in society that was stripped from her by the cruelty of her torturers. While the images of Paulina’s abduction flashback through her mind, she digs up the buried skeleton of Gerardo’s betrayal as well. This is shown throughout the extract when Gerardo insists Paulina ‘really listen’ to him, and she ‘must talk to him’ before he even lets her explain.

At the end of the scene when Gerardo suggests that they should release Roberto even if he is guilty, Dorfman illustrates that Gerardo realizes his own wife is in the wrong by the way she treats Roberto and should put a stop to the behavior. Allegro, in D minor and common time 2. Just before they retire to bed, though, it becomes clear that Gerardo had already said yes to the president.

Starting in the beginning of the play, Dorfman illustrates how calm Gerardo is in nature by comparing him to Paulina, who is undeniably nervous. Overall, Gerardo has his faults and is wishfully thinking, just as the idea of equality and justice for the people is wishful thinking in this society. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!”, “This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. As the lights go down, she turns her head and faces the mirror while the music plays on. Gerardo and Paulina use sarcasm as a means to communicate with each other. Dorfman uses the symbolism of the characters to illustrate this struggle. She wishes to earn a confession from Roberto proving that he was responsible for raping her fifteen years ago. It turns out to be Roberto Miranda, the good Samaritan who had stopped to help Gerardo earlier.

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