Claire Zachanassian In 'D�rrenmatt'

How does Dürrenmatt present Claire Zachanassian in Act 1 of “The Visit”? How do you think he intends the audience to react to her?

From the very entrance Claire Zachanassian makes she is presented as a very powerful character, for whom “[pulling] the Emergency Brake” to stop an express train, even though “no one ever pulls the Emergency Brake”, is nothing out of ordinary. “Clara loved justice” and moreover, is depicted as a vindictive&menacing individual. Dürrenmatt intends to present Claire Zachanassian as a demonic, evil creature, arbuably causing the audience to have a negative disposition towards her. However, despite that he also tries to explain to the audience why exactly Claire has become herself and intending her also to be perceived

a psychologically real character, hence persuade the audience to try and empathize with her.

As Madam Zachanassian arrives in Güllen, it is evident that she is a potent woman, whose power lies in her wealth. Her pulling the emergency brake shows her refusal to follow the rules upon others rely which is the expression for her sense of power. The rationale behind her actions is rooted in her being “a millionairess”, as she feels that she has every right to pull the brake – as long as she can pay for it. “Boby, give him a thousand” shows how easily Claire can dispose of a thousand, since she is so wealthy. Moreover, as soon as the ticket officer finds out that the woman that stopped the express is Claire Zachanassian, he situation becomes “ different in that case”. Claire’s wealth and status renders her the power to control people around her, much like she is planning to manipulate the citizens of Güllen into murdering Ill. She uses the power given to her by the money to subvert the society’s rules in order to achieve personal gain. For that reason, she has saved to gangsters “on the way to Sing Sing”, as she simply wanted two bodyguards. And again, her power is inextricably tied to her wealth as they cost her “a million dollars per petition”. The fact that Madam Zachanassian “only [goes} about on sedan-chairs” is meant to further accentuate her superior position and the power she posses, as she constantly moves around in a position much higher than everyone else around her. She is almost like a goddess in Güllen, in which people are placing hopes in the magical revival of their town into her hands. This idea is supported by the schoolmaster’s allusion to her as a “Greek goddess”. Moreover, Claire’s false limb, her tendency to be “ostentatiously dressed” combined with her statement “I’m unkillable” create an impression of her having an almost surreal power over nature. The line “I’m unkillable” shows Claire’s belief in that she is omnipotent, yet at the same time, when placed into the context of her being the sole survivor of a plane crash hints at the fact that she could be immortal, highlighting the power that she possesses in the play.

Claire Zachanassian is described as justice-loving, yet she has a distorted perception of justice.

Her views on justice are affected by the power she has due to her wealth, as she feels she could “[buy herself] justice”. Moreover, over the course of her lifetime she has turned into a vengeful person, as she has been planning to come back to Güllen for a long time simply to avenge Ill. Her own wealth and her life experience has led her to believe that “everything can be bought” to the extent of altering the legal system, so that she can get the justice she feels she deserves, even if it will involve killing Ill. Because of Ill’s crime against her, she has turned into a menacing person. Her “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”-kind-of justice is deep seethed in vengeance and anger, as she was “forced” into her own life, arguably had the freedom of choice stolen from her. She therefore feels that she can have “accounts between [Ill and her] settled” by a similarly unfair way, just as Ill had unfairly bribed the witnesses. The fact that she wants “the accounts… settled” shows how for clire it all resembles a business transaction, something that isn’t out of ordinary, despite the horrific deal she offers to the people of Güllen. The world for he became the trading zone, in which she pursuits her selfish interests despite the consequences they might have on others. In this instance, her pursuit is her vision of justice and as a vindictive and powerful person she will not

settle.

As Claire has grown into a cold and “sinister” person, Dürrenmatt often presents her in as a devil incarnate in Act 1. Despite fondly remembering her, Ill calls her a “devilish … witch” and the Madam Zachanassian’s ginger hair is a notable characteristic that would strike the audience as “monstrous” The Schoolmaster refers to her “conspicuous consumption of husbands” inferring that she literally consumes them, an action only a truly evil person would perpetrate. Moreover, Dürrenmatt gives Claire a deformed physical appearance, as she lost a left limb in an “automobile accident”. That too is used to show the audience the evil nature of Madam Zachanassian, that her life led her on to develop. Furthermore, her physical distortion extends into her inner, emotional desensitization. As a result of Ill’s maltreatment her thinking and judgments have become distorted, as she became more “artificial” than human, losing compassion. This is shown by Claire’s indifference while discussing death. She is very frank and casual when she asks whether the policeman can “wink a blind eye to things from time to time”. This further displays her powers, as she trying control the minds and actions of others around her, by telling the policeman to “start learning to wink them both. The manner in which she tells the priest that the death penalty “may be introduced” and how she orders the doctor to diagnose a heart attack the next time somebody dies just highlight her senselessness. Claire states that she “has grown into hell itself”, which not only supports the way Dürrenmatt intends the audience to perceive her as evil and her moral degradation, but also infers the her emotional disintegration (as she ceased being human), which is why her perception of justice is corrupted.

As Claire Zachanassian is introduced in Act 1 of “The Visit”, she immediately becomes an interesting character to observe. Her rich backstory and her eccentricity make the audience wonder how she came to be such a person. Dürrenmatt paints Madam Zachanassian to be a powerful and vengeful woman, that would stop at nothing to get what she wants. And the way she wants to acquire the object of her desire, leads the audience to believe that she is an evil character. Although Dürrenmatt does clearly show the evil, dark side of Claire to the audience, he might not be necessarily trying to make the audience dislike her. He rather shows how Claire was forced to leave her hometown labeled a prostitute and eventually forced to become one, explaining the sense of deep anger and the betrayal she has after being mistreated by Ill, which in its turn explains to the audience how she has been corrupted by the realities of the world. This ultimately reaches Dürrenmatt’s goal of making a believable evil character, through whom he is trying to explore deeper themes within the text.