Ready Reference Treatise: Death and the Maiden

By Raja Sharma

“Death and the Maiden” by Ariel Dorfman was first published in 1990. Its world premiere was held on 9th of July, 1991, at the Royal Court Theatre in London.

The first production of the play was directed by Lindsay Posner. Before the play was launched, there was one reading and one workshop production of the play.

“Death and the Maiden” is considered to be the playwright’s most renowned and influential play. The play deals with several significant themes such as politics, war, democracy, political and social stability, etc.

Ready Reference Treatise: Death and the Maiden
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Act One
Act Two
Act Three
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Mar 11, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310427435

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

Book preview

Ready Reference Treatise: Death and the Maiden

Copyright

Ready Reference Treatise: Death and the Maiden

Raja Sharma

Copyright@2015 Raja Sharma

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved

Chapter One: Introduction

Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman was first published in 1990. Its world premiere was held on 9th of July, 1991, at the Royal Court Theatre in London.

The first production of the play was directed by Lindsay Posner. Before the play was launched, there was one reading and one workshop production of the play.

Death and the Maiden is considered to be the playwright’s most renowned and influential play. The play deals with several significant themes such as politics, war, democracy, political and social stability, etc.

The play basically explores the challenges which the country had to face while restoring democracy and stability. Chile had been under the excessively oppressive military dictatorship before the restoration of democracy.

Dorfman had been exiled from Chile after General Augusto Pinochet captured the power. The playwright came back to Chile after the removal of Pinochet from office in 1990. During that period the playwright was inspired to write this play.

The play does not mention Chile as its setting, but it is obvious that the playwright is trying to present all that Chile went through.

The play has its first workshop in 1990 and then the following year it was launched in London.

Dorfman is said to have started thinking about writing this play in 1980, about a decade before the premiere of the play. In those days he was on exile. Pinochet was still the dictator of Chile.

The play has three major characters, and according to the playwright he had a lot of trouble binding them together in the play.

After Pinochet was removed from power, Dorfman began to think seriously what form his play would eventually take.

Democracy was restored in Chile in 1990. Likewise in the world of the present play a new democracy has been established. The investigation of the government crimes begins. A husband is ordered to serve on a Commission that is going to investigate the crimes committed by the dictatorial government. His wife knows that her husband has certain limitations and he won’t be able to give complete justice. She kidnaps a stranger. She forces her husband to join her