The Visit (play)

Act I

The story opens with the town of Güllen preparing for the arrival of famed billionaire Claire Zachanassian, who grew up there. Güllen has fallen on hard times, and the townspeople hope that Claire will provide them with much-needed funds. Anton Schill (Alfred Ill in the German language version) is the owner of Güllen's general store and the most popular man in town. He was Claire's lover when they were young, and agrees with the mayor that the task of convincing her to make a donation should fall to him.

After settling into the hotel, Claire joins the rest of the town, who have gathered outside for a homecoming celebration. Claire takes the opportunity to announce that she will make a huge donation: one Billion (presumably Swiss francs), half for the town and half to be shared among the families. The townspeople are overjoyed, but their happiness is dampened when Claire's butler steps forward to reveal her condition for the donation. The butler was once the Lord Chief Justice of Güllen, and had heard the paternity suit that Claire had brought against Ill. In the suit, Ill produced two false witnesses (who have since been transformed into Claire's eunuchs), and the court ruled in his favor. Her donation is conditional on someone killing Ill. The mayor refuses and the town seems aghast, but Claire says that she will wait.

Act II

As time passes, Ill becomes increasingly paranoid as he sees everyone purchasing especially costly items on credit in his shop. Ill visits the police officer and the mayor, who have also bought new expensive items, and they dismiss his concerns. He then visits the priest, who attempts to calm him, but finally admits they have been paid off, and advises Ill to flee.

Ill heads to the railway station to escape, but finds that the entire town is gathered there. They ask him where he is going, and he says that he is planning to move to Australia. They wish him well, again assuring him that he has nothing to fear in Güllen, but Ill grows increasingly nervous nonetheless. The train arrives, but he decides not to board, believing that someone will stop him anyway. Paralyzed, he collapses in the crowd, crying, “I’m lost!”

Act III

Claire weds a new husband in the Güllen cathedral. The doctor and the schoolmaster go to see her and explain that the townspeople have run up considerable debt since her arrival. The schoolmaster begs her to abandon her desire for vengeance and help the town out of the goodness of her heart.

In the meantime, Ill has been pacing the room above the general store, his terror growing as the townspeople buy more and more expensive products on credit. Having received word of Claire's wedding, reporters are everywhere, and they enter the store to interview Ill. The schoolmaster, drunk, tries to inform the press about Claire's proposal, but the townspeople stop him. After the confusion has cleared, the schoolmaster and Ill have an honest discussion. The schoolmaster explains that he is certain that Ill will be killed and admits that he will ultimately join the ranks of the murderers. Ill calmly states that he has accepted his guilt and acknowledges that the town's suffering is his fault. The schoolmaster leaves, and Ill is confronted by the mayor, who asks whether Ill will accept the town's judgment at that evening's meeting. Ill says that he will.

Ill goes for a ride in his son's newly purchased car. Ill says that he is going for a walk in the woods before heading to the town meeting. In the woods, Ill comes across Claire, who is walking with her newest husband. Claire tells Ill that she never stopped loving him, but that over time her love has grown into something monstrous.

When Ill arrives at the town meeting, it is flooded with press, and the town publicly announces acceptance of Claire's donation. The inhabitants then go through the formality of a vote, which is unanimous, and the mayor states that they have Ill to thank for their newfound wealth. The doors are locked and the lights dimmed. Ill is killed by a townsman. Just as a reporter reappears in the auditorium, the doctor announces that Ill has died of a heart attack. The reporters gather and declare that Ill has died of joy. Claire examines the body, gives the mayor his cheque, and leaves the town with Ill's body in the casket that she brought with her when she arrived.

Main theme

The author often emphasized that The Visit is intended first and foremost as a comedy. However, it is difficult to ignore the serious, dark points being made about human nature throughout the play. The use of unsettling humor was popular among German-language authors of this period as a method of pointing out concerns they considered important. The main theme is that money corrupts even the most morally strong people.

Women's Rights

Women did not achieve full suffrage in Switzerland until 1971^[1] (in one canton until 1990), along with neighboring Liechtenstein, the only European country to limit women's voting rights at the time. Women still lacked voting rights when the author refashioned the play as an opera libretto for Gottfried von Einem (premiered 1971). The sham vote at the end, where Claire has no say, followed by the false ascription of the town's new wealth to Ill, highlights this injustice in Swiss society. Symbolically, Claire lacks a hand and foot – tools to control her destiny. She has been thrown by men into prostitution against her will.

European Art and History

In the play, Dürrenmatt uses the sold out museum in the city as a way to satirize the art and history of Europe. The Güllen museum talked about in the story sold everything it had to other museums located in America. This satirizes the idea that to learn about the history of Europe, one must travel to America.

Democracy

Democracy in The Visit can be seen satirized in Act III, where the townsfolk gather to vote on the issue of whether or not to kill Ill. This event also brings up the fact that everyone thinks that somebody will kill Ill, but it won't be them. In the end, the vote goes against Ill and he is killed for the reward. This gives readers an example of how a democracy can indeed be worse than other forms of government.

Human Bodies as Objects/Human Labor

A few examples of this subject arise in the play. One is Claire's prostitution, another is Ill's worth of a billion dollars. In Claire's case, Dürrenmatt pokes at the idea of selling one's body. He describes the prostitution as almost the same as labor jobs. He asks if there is a difference between those two occupations in terms of giving your body away for money. Alfred Ill's situation brings up another subject with the same kind of subject. Ill's body is priced at a billion dollars. This suggests that his body can be bought, sold, and consumed just like things in the economy. Ill's body is made into an object once Claire puts a price on him.