Death and the Maiden: Art and Music
Essential Question: How and why does Dorfman use the classical artistic motif (Death and the Maiden) in his play? Task: Choose one topic to investigate. Research the topic, take notes, and apply the meaning to our play. Take notes on this document and then write up your findings below in paragraph form. Refer to this PPT for guiding questions and research
19 Comments
Michelle
3/7/2019 12:19:27
In Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden, Paulina represents the Maiden, and Roberto represents Death, this is clear because in many of the Death and the Maiden artworks there is always a sexual relationship between the two and Paulina and Roberto are no exception as they had sexual history (rape). Also in almost all the Death and the Maiden pieces the women is usually naked which helps emphasises the similarities of the artwork and Paulina and Roberto. In Hans Baldung artwork, the maiden is forcefully being pushed down to her tomb and is teary eyed and sad. She is also naked, all of which shows a direct correlation as Paulina was forcefully abused and Roberto was the one to commit that act. However, in Edvard Munch the Maiden is the dominant one and is controlling the sexual relationship. This is also reflective of Paulina as in Act 1 Scene 3 Paulina is controlling the situation by putting her panties in Roberto’s mouth, shifting the relationship as she has the power now.
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michelle
3/7/2019 12:23:38
(+) In the article is that the maiden "deserves death as punishment for tempting men with her body" and continues to mention "rape". This satanic way of thinking was similar to how Roberto was thinking since in Act 3 he mentioned how he felt like it was a 'waste of meat' if he did not rape Paulina.
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Ms Post
3/11/2019 08:24:53
Great observation about the shift in power and how it is also reflected in the artworks.
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Kohsei Yashiro
3/10/2019 20:52:22
The concept of the "death and the maiden" and memento mori is a concept that deeply relates to the book. This eroticism and the connection between death is displayed in the relationship between Roberto and Paulina. This relationship can be seen in two situations which are both reflected in the artworks. One is Paulina's inability to recover from the past experiences. She is traumatized from her past experiences and cannot listen to "Schubert" like she did before because of the rapist. This rejection towards death can be seen in Hans Holbein's "Dance of Death" where the maiden is being abducted by the personification of death. However, a shift happens when Paulina confronts and ties up Roberto. As stated in lamortdanslart there was a preponderance of artworks portraying the maiden as accepting death with the addition of eroticism. This can be directly correlated with the scene where Paulina takes control of her destiny and relishes her power by stuffing her panties in Roberto's mouth.
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Ms Post
3/11/2019 17:29:55
Thanks for your comments, Kohsei. It's interesting that you bring up Hans Holbein's art piece. What, specifically, about this piece applies to our text? I agree with you that Paulina takes pack control, similar to the way the artwork portrays the Maiden in control, at times. Thanks for your observations.
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Leonie
3/10/2019 21:36:49
In the play Death and the Maiden, Paulina attempts to seek justice for the torture she endured by taking action into her own hands. She sees this as necessary, as the commission created to formally investigate the tortures, has obvious gaps in their investigation and fails to address all crimes at a fair and appropriate level. As Gerardo is head of the commission, he attempts to reassure Paulina of the capabilities of the commission, making her course of action seem unreasonable and inappropriate to the audience. However, within the play as well as statistically speaking, it becomes clear that the commission does in fact not face all crimes with adequate devotion. As head of the commission, Gerardo can be assumed to be aware of this fact, however instead of admitting this and showing compassion, he tries to overpower Paulinas opinion about the commission. This is also represented in the title and referenced composition by Franz Schubert, Death and the maiden. The piece is arranged in 4 movements, juxtaposing the terror and comfort brought by death. In 1817, Schubert wrote the poem Death and the maiden, which the composition is based on. The poem depicts a conversation between the maiden, who fears death and resents it, and death, who lies to her, claiming to be her friend, making his arms sound safe and desirable. In the first movement of Schubert’s composition, the struggle with death and “the andante dwells on death's words.” (Cobbett) In unison D played fortissimo, shifting between D minor and D major throughout, tension is created. The second movement characterizes the movement and dynamic of a death march, in G-minor. This sets up the “demonic, fast-paced scherzo” of movement 3, which Cobbett describes as the “dance of the demon fiddler”. This is based on the syncopations and dramatic leaps from fortissimo to pianissimo in the movement. The composition ends with a Tarantella dance in the 4th movement. Created by off-beat accents and loud to soft triplets, a hectic and limbing dance starts. As we know from A Doll’s House, the Tarantella is Nora’s death dance, symbolising her end as a conforming housewife, thus the end of this composition could symbolize Paulinas desire for change. Gerardo can be seen to lie to Paulina about the commission's intention and capabilities, like Death lied to the maiden about his arms being safe. Paulina resists but is aware of the lack of power she has in the system and the little she can do to seek more justice, like the maiden could not resist Death’s demand.
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Ms Post
3/11/2019 08:34:35
Great observations about the tarantella and its connection to Death and the Maiden/A Doll's House. Your final discussion of Death lying to the Maiden just as Gerardo lies to Paulina is particularly interesting.
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Ayano
3/11/2019 01:18:29
In the play the Death and the Maiden, the motif of art used as it has a strong similarity of the use and symbolism of power and erotism. In the art “Death and the Maiden” by Hans Sebald Beham, the maiden which is represented as Paulina, is being threatened by death, which is represented as Roberto in the book. The maiden is not looking pleased with the sexual relationship which is forced by death, which relates to how Paulina had a sexual relationship with Roberto without consent (rape). The sand clock by the foot of the maiden represents the flow of time, and in this case there is a lot of sand left in the top of the sand clock. This can represent two things in the play. In the play, although Gerardo wants to move on and forget about the past, Paulina is "stuck in the past" and can not move on, showing how the rape would affect the victim. The amount of sand would also symbolize how the victim feels about the torture. The maiden would feel like the torture (rape) would continue forever. The relationship between death and the maiden is similar to the relationship and the mentality of Paulina and Roberto in the play.
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Ms Post
3/11/2019 08:36:26
Thanks for your insights, Ayano. The symbolism of the sand clock is particularly relevant to our text. Great connection to the way these representative characters view the past and future.
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Kaori
3/11/2019 10:59:36
Perhaps Dorfman uses the artistic motif Death and the Maiden in his work as a nod to the fascist Pinochet regime. Paulina would be the Maiden that was violated by the Death, who is Roberto responsible for the killing of her peace. In a larger context, Death could be the criminals responsible for the atrocious torture and rape committed to the innocent maidens of Chile.
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Ms Post
3/11/2019 17:32:22
I agree that it is unsettling to portray intimacy and eroticism in this way. Perhaps that is Dorfman's point? Paulina was violated - for her there was no intimacy or eroticism, but perhaps for her captor is was quite erotic. As I mentioned in class, it's interesting to think about how the motif may be so embedded in our world that it perpetuates the notion of women 'asking for it' or being sexually available just because they are women. Bodies are highly eroticised in these pieces of art.
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Kaori
3/12/2019 13:07:46
Yes, I feel as though the motif (in art) romanticizes rape. It seems like Death holds some sort of sadistic motivation; he finds excitement in knowingly punishing innocent women and putting the blame on them. Perhaps it's because it grants him taboo entitlement to the woman's body, or maybe because it allows himself to feel superior, almost godly, since he gets to commit a crime without any repercussions. Maybe this is how fascist regimes feel - like Death does. The knowledge that one can get away with criminality while others can't is what creates some sort of sick obsession with power. I think emotions like that are grotesque and so unforgivably inhumane. But they are also humane, because humans can be sick at times.
Kaori
3/12/2019 13:10:41
Humane isn't the correct word. What I meant was that it's very human-like. If anyone was capable of being so sadistic, it would be us, I think. I think the motif could lead into some sort of deeper psychological study. It's very interesting.
Aitor
3/11/2019 17:17:43
For Paulina, Schubert's death and the maiden is a symbol of Justice. Roberto wakes up for the first time to face his captor Paulina, she initiates a monologue that spans three paragraphs. During her exposition, she elaborates on her connection to Schubert's music: "But I always promised myself a time would come to recover him, bring him back from the grave so to speak, and just sitting here listening to him with you I know that I was right..." Before she captures her torturer, Paulina turned ill whenever she heard Schubert's music because it reminded her of the time she was raped. Not only this, but also because the torturers were never caught. This observation is supported by, "bringing him back from the grave", she listens to Schubert in order to remind the Doctor, Roberto Miranda, of the acts he committed and to bring justice and a resolution to her past. She also brings up another idea: "...so many things
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Ms Post
3/11/2019 17:28:17
Great observations about the text, Aitor. Thanks for applying this motif carefully to the text.
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Satoki
3/12/2019 07:06:02
Dorfman’s play, “Death and the Maiden” (1990) references to Schubert’s String Quartet in D Minor, composed March of 1824. The piece was written when Schubert was suffering from a serious illness and thought that he was dying with tertiary stage syphilis. He was also suffering from lack of money, due to a failed deal with Diabelli to publish his works, receiving little to no money. During this time however, he started to go back to writing string quartets, which he hadn’t touched from his teenage years. He understood how his earlier works had “nothing” in them that was expressed, meaning that he understood that they were not good works. His later works however, became a “vehicle for conveying to the world his inner struggles.” (Cobbett)
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Anda
3/12/2019 17:44:03
Passage: Act 1 Scene 1 (p. 10)
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Kent Ichikawa
3/12/2019 21:33:19
Munch and Beham both revolve their drawings and paintings around the idea of opposites, especially in both pieces named "Death and the Maiden". The name immediately draws attention to the juxtaposition of the extreme aspects of humanity. That is, life and death. More specifically, the sexuality and fertility of life as opposed to the demonic horrors of death. The intimacy between the two figures also helps to further contrast the two different characters. It could be said that the play takes inspiration from this contrast between innocence and horror, as the Pinochet regime caused innocent death and horror. The characters portrayed in Holbein's works are almost parallel with what occurred during the dictatorship, when those who did not want to believe in the morals of the new government were taken and posed violence upon regardless of who they were. The skeletons who represent some sort of a deathly presence, pulls the people away when they clearly do not want to be pulled away.
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Mirei
3/12/2019 22:31:21
In the play the Death and the Maiden, Schubertʻs string quartet, “Death and the Maiden” is used as a reoccurring motif. Dorfman incorporates both the symbolistic meaning behind the musical piece into the play, but also to show the power one character has over the other.
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