THE+VISIT

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** The Visit ** By Friedrich Durrenmatt
 * Study Guide**

1. Why do the townspeople anticipate Claire’s arrival so fervently? What does it tell us about them? 2. What is the significance of Claire’s body being largely artificial? 3. How is foreshadowing effectively used in this act?
 * Study Questions**
 * Act 1**

1. Discuss the importance and prevalence of guns in this act. 2. Discuss the importance in the increase in standard of living? What does it mean? 3. How are rhetoric and double meanings used effectively in this act? Include examples. 4. How do the actions of the townspeople contradict their words? What message might Durrenmatt be giving with this contradiction? 5. What is the importance of hearing from all of Claire's ex-husbands? 6. How are the actions of the characters used to enhance the tension in this act?
 * Act 2**

1. Discuss the importance of the Medea reference (p66). 2. Discuss Claire's quotation: "The world turned me into a whore. I shall turn the world into a brothel." 3. What is the importance of the portrait of Ill that the painter paints? 4. Discuss the relevance of Ill's family's betrayal. 5. What symbols are used in this Act and what do they mean? 6. Analyse the importance of the schoolmaster's last speech (p91). 7. Discuss the importance of all citizens chanting in unison at the climax of the play. 8. Why does Ill say "Pray for Guellen"? 9. Why do the lights get turned down?  10. Analyse the words of Chorus One and Chorus Two (p99-100).
 * Act 3**

1. Why does Claire rename her husbands, her butler, her eunuchs, and her henchmen? What might this suggest about the relationship between power and dehumanization? 2. By the end of the play, has Claire truly bought herself justice? At what price? 3. What is the reason for Guellen's impoverished state? How does this reason propel the conclusion of the play? 4. Of what crime or crimes is Ill guilty? Does he ever achieve redemption? 5. How do Claire, the townspeople, and Ill relate to "the rule of law"? Do they consider themselves "above" the law, or do they submit to its dictates? 6. What is significant about the scene at the railway station where Ill attempts to escape Guellen? 7. How does this play criticize the Church? 8. Why does Claire keep Ill's body? What might this mean for her string of marriages? 9. What is the role of the press in the play? How do they interpret the events taking place in Guellen? How does Duerrenmatt appear to view the press? @10. What is significant about the fate of the black panther that Claire has brought with her to Guellen? 11. Guellen is a "just" community. Agree or disagree? 12. Why do the Schoolmaster's humanist values ultimately fail? 13. Claire says to the Doctor and the Schoolmaster: "Feeling for humanity, gentlemen, is cut for the purse of an ordinary millionaire; with financial resources like mine you can afford a new world order. The world turned me into a whore. I shall turn the world into a brothel." Why is this speech significant, and what does it reveal about the effect of wealth? 14. What is the significance of Claire's butler, both as a symbol and as a plot device?
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