An Analysis of the Visit

In The Visit by Friedrich Duerrenmat, Claire Zachanassian visits the small allegorical town of

Guellen to exact revenge on you childhood friend, Ill. Claire uses her vast wealth to persuade the small

poverty stricken town to turn against Ill, the previously most popular man in town. Duerrenmat uses

symbolism and diction to negatively connote Claire Zachanassian because of her oppression of the

proletariat, and the place she represents in Guellen's society. Claire represents the greed, hatred,

wastefulness, and envy in Guellen, and has no place in a left-wing society.

Duerrenmat depicts Claire physically as a monstrosity at various places throughout the novel.

Duerrenmat writes about Claire's initial appearance "unbelievably got up to kill and yet by the same

token a Society Lady with a rare grace, in spite all the grotesquerie."(Duerrenmat 17), and he goes on

to write about her prosthetic limbs including a hand of pure ivory and a leg. This reference to her

entourage as a grotesquerie serves to galvanize the audiences thoughts of Claire as a monstrosity. The

presence of the eunuchs, the giants, and the prosthetics effectively connotes Claire as a Frankenstein,

an abnormality. The use of an ivory hand as a prosthetic cements the extravagance and ignorance of

Claire Zachanassian, since ivory is both extremely expensive and taboo. Duerrenmat also portrays

Claire Zachanassian as unethical, and corrupt through her enslavement, castration, and brainwashing

of her slaves Roby,Toby, Koby , Loby ,and Boby. Duerrenmat also displays Claire as an evil character

by depicting her as a "succubus" who steals the property of every man she marries, and divorces. This

overall image Duerrenmat displays creates an alienation effect , and necessary to look at Claire with

objectivity and realize the class she represents in society and develop the schema of a monstrosity.

Claire Zachanassian exploits the people of Guellen to turn against the most beloved citizen, Ill,

for a largesse of her money. This shows how Claire spreads