Some Questions/Observations on Dorfman's Death and the Maiden  Flores

 

1. What formal/structural, genre features are peculiar to or particularly important in drama and dramatic performance? What makes a play different from prose narrative or poetry, and how would you illustrate such differences via Dorfman's play?

 

2. This play explores the nature of "truth," and perhaps the relationship between truth and lies. For example, the first scene ends with Paulina’s assertion: "I need the truth" (11) and the immediate revelation that Gerardo has already lied about agreeing to serve on the Investigating Commission. How are such interests developed as the play proceeds? What is the "real real truth"--or what is the effect and function of this phrase in the play?

 

3. The play also seems rife with, pervaded by, sexual or gender-inflected discourse and relationships. What do such references and relations represent? How important are they? What, for example, do you make of Roberto’s comment: “Of the two things you never share, my friend, one is your toothbrush” (18). Or the repeated references to “screwing” and equivalent terms? Besides heterosexual tensions or conflict, how might homosexual or homosocial relations figure in the play’s concerns?

 

4. Gerardo tries to persuade Paulina to be "reasonable." Do you agree? Is there a "reasonable" perspective or course of action in these circumstances?

 

5. Is Paulina "mad?" Are others "mad" or insane?

 

6. Gerardo states: "If he’s guilty, more reason to set him free" (38). Explore the play’s consideration of guilt, punishment, freedom, and justice. Do you agree with G's assertion?

 

7. Analyze what’s happening on pp.47-48, when Roberto’s comments on what a "real man" would do seems to set Gerardo off into a tirade.

 

8. Analyze Roberto’s "confession" (pp. 58-61). What do you find compelling, intriguing? What questions seem answered or presented by his "testimony?"

 

9. Comment on the significance of the way Act 3 Scene 1 concludes, and what difference does the play’s final scene make?

 

10. Compare and contrast the play text with the film version. What differences seem most significant? How did seeing the film affect your perspective on the play, and your understanding and response?

 

11. How might a New Historicist, Cultural Materialist, or "ideological" critique of the play proceed? What do you know about the play’s historical and political context (see also Dorfman’s afterword): how does such "information" shape your response to the work?