Death and the Maiden Ariel Dorfman

In Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman each of the three characters is extended to serve as a an allegorical concept that Dorfman uses to comment on the relation of past, present and truth in Chile and anywhere that a grave injustice that has occurred in the past still affects the present. The communication and interaction of these characters relates Dorfman’s views about healing past injustice and what role truth plays in this process.

One way to view Death and the Maiden is as an allegory for the situation in Dorfman’s home country, Chile, after the displacement of the dictator Pinochet. The situation presented in the story of a victim and her husband trying to deal with her torture and rape under a previous dictatorship unsure of where the guilty lie is one that would be common in Chile at the time that the story was written. This situation can be extended to include the struggles that the characters undergo throughout the story as they reflect the struggles that Chile itself is undergoing: trying to acknowledge and come to terms with the past, while trying to work to a good future, unsure where the guilty lie, unsure how past hurts can be healed. Each of the character

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Some common words found in the essay are:
Death Maiden, Act Scene, Paulina Gerardo, Chile Dorfman, Gerardo Paulinas, Paulina Robertos, Silly Silly, Ariel Dorfman, Chile Victim, Stripped Youd, past gerardo, death maiden, paulina gerardo, robertos guilt, past chile, past alive, gerardo treats paulina, guilty lie, unsure guilty, paulina thats, trying deal, unsure guilty lie,
Approximate Word count = 1698
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)