the visit of the old lady summary

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Summary and Study Guide

The Visit , by Swiss author and playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt, premiered in 1956 at the Schauspielhaus Zürich under the German title Der Besuch der alten Dame , or The Visit of the Old Lady . Dürrenmatt’s darkly comic satiric plays are credited with helping revitalize German theatre following World War II. His writing also reveals the influence of German playwright Bertolt Brecht, notably in Dürrenmatt’s use of parables: simple stories using human characters to illustrate a lesson or moral. One of the themes Dürrenmatt explores in The Visit is the corrupting power of money.  

The play, a tragicomedy in three acts, is Dürrenmatt’s most well-known and enduring work as a dramatist. The hugely successful 1958 Broadway debut starred the famous acting married couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne and was staged by famous English director Peter Brooks. The play has been widely adapted, as a 1964 Hollywood film, a 1971 German opera, a 1992 Senegalese film Hyenas , a 2001 musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb, and a 2020 version by American playwright Tony Kushner that ran in London.

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This guide references the translation by Patrick Bowles published by Grove Press in 1990.

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The fictional small town of Guellen , located vaguely in central Europe, has fallen into poverty since the end of World War II. But fortunately for its inhabitants, famous multimillionaire Claire Zachanassian grew up in Guellen and is returning for a visit after 45 years. In hopes that Claire will share her wealth to save the town, the Mayor has planned a grand welcome. Alfred Ill , who is the most well-liked man in town and slated to become the next mayor, happens to be Claire’s long-ago lover. He is also the only person in town who knows and remembers her at all, and his help is enlisted to sweet-talk Claire into giving the town money. Claire upsets their preparations by arriving early, her seventh husband and a strange entourage in tow. She also brings, along with mountains of luggage, a coffin. Claire goes with Ill to some of the places where they trysted. She confronts Ill for ending their relationship to marry Matilda Blumhard, whose family had money and owned the town General Store. Because of Ill’s actions, Claire left Guellen and ended up working in a brothel until her first husband, a billionaire, married her. Ill claims that he did it to save Claire from staying in Guellen. Claire tells Ill that she will give the town money, and Ill excitedly accompanies her into town for a reception in her honor. After the Mayor gives an erroneous speech about her, Claire announces that she will donate a million pounds to Guellen, half of which will go to the town and the other half to be divided among the townspeople. But she has a condition, which they quiet their cheering to hear.

Claire’s butler comes forward, introducing himself as Guellen’s one-time Lord Chief Justice. Once, he arbitrated a paternity case. Claire, who was 17, was pregnant and named Ill, who was 20, as the father. But Ill paid two men to claim that they slept with her. Claire left Guellen in disgrace. The baby was taken away and died after a year. To survive, Claire was forced into sex work. She has had the two men who lied blinded and castrated, now a part of her entourage, and she wants to buy justice against Ill. She’ll give the money in exchange for someone killing Ill. The Mayor immediately rejects the offer as inhuman, but Claire says that she will wait.

Act II begins in Ill’s store, where townspeople are buying things on store credit. Although they all tell Ill that they stand with him, Ill suddenly realizes that everyone is spending extravagantly on credit, because they know that someone will follow through to get Claire’s money. Recognizing that he is being threatened, Ill goes to the Policeman , the Mayor, and then the Priest , begging each of them to help him. But they all demonstrate that they are spending money too. Terrified, Ill goes to the train station, followed by the entire town. Afraid that someone will grab him, Ill misses the train and collapses in panic. The townspeople walk away, leaving him there. In Act III, the Doctor and the Schoolmaster go to see Claire, who has just married and divorced another husband, to ask if she will invest in the town instead of giving a gift. But Claire reveals that she already owns everything in the town. She shut down the factories to create the rampant poverty.

At Ill’s store, his wife is helping customers who are still upgrading their purchases and buying on credit. Some men from town come in and decide to sit and make sure that Ill doesn’t decide to talk to the press that came to town for Claire’s wedding. The Schoolmaster, who has started drinking, nearly speaks up when reporters come into the store, but Ill, who has been hiding upstairs, stops him. After the reporters and townspeople leave, Ill comments that his family has also been buying on credit, including his son’s new car. He surprises his family by telling them to dress up to go for a drive. The Mayor comes in and tells Ill that there will be a town meeting and a vote about accepting Claire’s offer. He tries to give Ill a gun to save the town the trouble by killing himself, but Ill refuses, although he agrees to abide by the results of the vote. His family returns, and after a pleasant ride, Ill says goodbye and goes to the woods where Claire is supposed to be walking with her new husband. Ill and Claire talk about the end of their relationship and their daughter who died. Claire promises to take Ill in the coffin to a mausoleum in Capri, so he will be near her forever. Ill goes to the town meeting. The press is present, so the Mayor and Schoolmaster speak vaguely, but they finally hold a vote. Only Ill votes against taking the money. After the press leaves, the men of the town strangle Ill. The Mayor tells an errant reporter that Ill died of a heart attack from happiness. Claire gives the Mayor the check and has Ill’s body carried out and placed in the coffin. As Claire and her luggage, along with the coffin, head to the train station, the townspeople sing her praises and pray for their own good fortune.

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IB Language and Literature 2.0

Group 1 english higher and standard level, drama study: the visit by friedrich dürrenmatt, from the prl / translated work (german) / c20th / europe / switzerland.

“He considers it a part of his philosophical business to reach a mass audience through his [works] without diluting that one main idea which permeates much of his writing: justice.” William Gillis, writing in the German Quarterly, 1962

Introduction

The impoverished town of Guellen looks to multi-millionaire Claire Zachanassian for financial salvation. When she offers them a million dollars, they think their dreams have come true – but her offer comes with a condition attached. They must kill a citizen of the town, named Ill, a popular man standing for mayor – and someone who just happens to be her former lover. Initially, the townspeople refuse, but their resolve is tested by the allure of wealth. Will they hold true to their morals, or will they end up carrying out her wish?

The Visit , written in 1956, was Dürrenmatt’s third published work and is set approximately ten years after the end of the war. Famously, Switzerland remained neutral throughout the conflict, siding with neither Allied nor Axis forces. However, Switzerland had deported its Jewish citizens, refused to allow migrant Jews fleeing the Nazis to enter Switzerland, hosted Allied soldiers in prisoner of war camps, and accepted looted gold from German forces. In Dürrenmatt’s opinion, ‘neutrality’ was merely a euphemism for ‘complicity’. Therefore, his play is set in Guellen, a thinly veiled representation of Switzerland; a community forced to choose between moral convictions and material gain.

• Biography – Friedrich Dürrenmatt
• Wider Reading – from A Ranking of the Greatest Plays of All Time

IB Student Learner Profile: Thinker

“We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyse and take responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.”

If any writers on your course can be called a thinker, Friedrich Dürrenmatt must be near the top of the list. He was born in 1921 in Konolfingen, a small town just outside the Swiss capital of Bern. The son of a pastor, he developed a keen interest in philosophy and went to Berlin where he began a doctoral dissertation on the philosopher Kierkegaard. In the middle of his studies, though, he came to believe that greed and hypocrisy had polluted life in Switzerland after the second world war. He abandoned his dissertation and returned to Switzerland, becoming a playwright and crafting controversial works full of dark humour and grotesqueries, laying bare the absurdity of European politics and society. He famously said, “it is not only possible to think with the philosophy, but also with the theater stage.”

IB Lang and Lit Concept: C ommunication

Arguably the defining language feature of Dürrenmatt’s play is pervasive irony . Hardly anybody says what they really mean, and their actions contradict their words. Even the ‘hero’ of the piece is guilty of shifting the truth when it suits purposes. As you read The Visit , consider how certain uses of language can be used to conceal as well as reveal, to distort as well as illuminate, and how communication is rarely straightforward in Dürrenmatt’s play.

“Everything can be bought.”

The first act begins with several townspeople gathered at the train station. They note with regret how few trains stop in Guellen; a sign of the city’s recent economic decline. They are waiting for the arrival of Claire Zachanassian, a woman who was born in the town, but had to leave under a cloud of shame when she was seventeen years old. Claire is now a multi-millionaire and the townspeople hope that Claire will give them money so they can restore their town to its former glory.

Claire arrives – early – and disrupts the townspeople’s preparations to welcome her. Nevertheless they give her the best reception they can manage and, after she visits a few places she remembers from her youth, the mayor gives a speech in her honour at the town’s hotel, the Golden Apostle. Claire then delights the gathered townspeople by offering them a million dollars – it seems like their hopes will be granted. But she attaches a condition which they cannot yet accept: they must kill Ill, her former lover, now a popular storekeeper and the man in line to be the next town mayor.

Act 1 Scene 1

“We must drink a special toast to Ill – a man who’s doing all a man can to better our lot. To our most popular citizen: to my successor!”

The once prosperous town of Guellen is plunged into desperate poverty, even while the rest of Europe seems to be prospering. Various men of the town of Guellen are gathered at the train station. The way the people look forward to Claire’s arrival shows their fixation on money, and in fact, it seems that they put money above anything else, such as religion, when they mention that “God doesn’t pay.” Guellen is a fictional town of Dürrenmatt’s invention meant to represent any Swiss town in the decade following the second world war. Therefore, the townspeople of Guellen also represent average Swiss people – if not European people as a whole – and so their fixation on money can be seen as a criticism of post-war European materialism. Equally, the town’s mayor, who is eager to welcome Claire and writes an oily speech praising her intelligence and generosity, can be seen to represent any politician who is willing to put materialism before morality and say whatever he needs to say to secure financial rewards.

Claire arrives at the station by riding a train which normally does not stop in Guellen. She pulls the emergency brake to make sure it does, and is initially scolded by an official of the railway until he finds out who she is. Then, like everyone else in the play, he wants to slavishly fulfil her every wish – even going to the ridiculous extent of offering to keep the train and all of its passengers there waiting for days until she wants to leave.

• Act 1 Scene 1 (Discussion and Activities)

Why are Dürrenmatt’s stage directions so specific about how Guellen should look? The shoddily tiled railway station, the ripped posters on its walls, the outlines of dilapidated buildings in the background; these details visually alert the audience to the town’s dire situation even before the unemployed men say anything.

Learner Portfolio: Putting on the Play

Based on Dürrenmatt’s detailed stage directions throughout Act 1, design the staging for a new production of The Visit. You could do some research into set design by visiting this Museums of the World online collection and viewing Milan Butina’s wonderful concept drawings for a 1958 performance of the play in Ljubljana.

Annotate your work with explainers as to the effect you want your design to have on the audience. If you don’t like doing visual or graphic design work, you could submit this Learner Portfolio entry in the style of a ‘letter from the director’, communicating with your design team about your ideas and the effects you want to create for your audience.

Act 1 Scene 2

A moment ago you wanted time turned back, in that wood so full of the past. Well I’m turning it back now, and I want justice. Justice for a million.

Claire and Ill tour some of the places they trysted together when they were young: Petersen’s Barn and Konrad’s Village Wood. Claire recalls how their relationship ended: Ill married another woman and left her all alone. She wound up leaving the town and becoming a prostitute in Hamburg, where she attracted the attention of a rich Armenian, the first of many wealthy husbands. Ill insists all turned out for the best because, if she had married him, she would not have become rich. Eventually, talk comes back to the reason for Claire’s visit and she promises that she will not let her hometown continue to suffer. Elated, Ill regrets aloud that they could not have married, and admires her once more. He keeps saying how she has not changed and kisses her hand. She corrects him; her hand, like her leg, is artificial. She was the only survivor of a plane crash and needed numerous artificial limbs.

Back at the hotel, the Mayor finally delivers his fawning speech in Claire’s honour. Afterwards, she reveals that she will indeed make a contribution to the town’s economic recovery. She will donate a million dollars to the town and its residents – but she has a surprising condition attached.

• Act 1 Scene 2 (Discussion and Activities)

While the possession of excessive wealth can lead to the corruption of one’s character, there seems to be the suggestion that poverty can have negative effects, too. Ill says that the lack of money in his family has made his home unhappy. Dürrenmatt criticises extreme wealth – and simultaneously recognises the effects of poverty. Do you think his play supports the idea of wealth redistribution from the obscenely rich (people like Claire) to ordinary people like the citizens of Guellen?

Learner Portfolio: Claire’s Worldview

Throughout the play, ‘justice’ means something different to each of the central characters. To Claire, justice is the same as vengeance – it is her desire for retribution against Ill because he wronged her forty-five years ago. This kind of justice is personal, Claire feels entitled to take Ill’s life even though it is outside the laws or even religious guidelines of her community. Furthermore, Claire treats justice as a commodity to be bought or sold. When the Mayor protests that “justice can’t be bought,” Claire responds that “everything can be bought.”

Write a one-two page piece about Claire Zachanassian’s worldview based on Act One of The Visit . Include a selection of her thoughts about various topics, such as:

• Relationships
• Other topics that you think might be meaningful.

“You can get anything you want with money”

Ill’s curiosity is aroused by the behaviour of people in the town. Customers in his shop order more expensive items than usual, people ask for their purchases to be charged to expense accounts; everyone in the town seems to have new clothes and shoes. Ill gradually starts to fear that all of this debt is being taken out on the expectation that the town will receive its reward from Claire; something they can only receive if he is killed.

Things take a more sinister turn when the black panther Claire brought with her to Guellen escapes. The Mayor orders that everyone carry a gun – even the priest Ill turns to for help has a rifle strapped to his chest. The priest, like everyone else in the town, dismisses his fears, and suggests that really it is the miserable state of his soul which should trouble him, not his fear of his fellow citizens. Eventually, things get too much for Ill and he resolves to leave town. He is headed to the train station with his suitcase, but the townspeople stand in his way. Guellen, they say, is the safest place for him. Is Ill simply being paranoid – or is the lure of money starting to erode the Guelleners’ moral convictions?

Act 2, Scene 1

“The way they all rejected the offer, all the Guelleners… unanimously, that was the finest moment of my life.”

Ill is alone in his shop. His son and daughter have both made excuses to be elsewhere, and he can only watch through the window as the townspeople bring flowers to adorn the coffin Claire has had set up as a reminder of her offer – and the condition she has attached. Throughout the morning, his shop is frequented by customers who tend to be a bit more liberal in their purchases and, what’s more, he notices their nice clothes and new shoes. All his customers ask him to charge the bill to their accounts. They would not do so unless they expected to come into possession of money in the near future, and with Guellen’s otherwise slim prospects, it is obvious they must be counting on the money from Claire. Ill quickly realizes this for himself, and this scene marks the beginning of his anxiety.

Throughout this scene, Ill sees that the people are getting used to living better than they have in the past, and he does not think that they will want to return to their previous way of life. Dürrenmatt criticises Western society’s obsession with materialism: people are unable to sacrifice what they have, even for a good cause such as saving a man’s life.

• Act 2 Scene 1 (Discussion and Activities)

Learner Portfolio: Practise for Paper 1 (Literature students only)

If you are a Language A: Literature student, at the end of your course you will sit Paper 1: Guided Literary Analysis. This paper contains two previously unseen literary passages. SL students write a guided analysis of one of these passages; HL students write about both passages. The passages could be taken from any of four literary forms: prose, poetry, drama or literary non-fiction . Each of the passages will be from a different literary form.

Here are two passages taken from The Visit ; as this is a play the literary form is ‘drama’. Each passage is accompanied by a guiding question to provide a focus or ‘way in’ to your response. Choose one passage and complete this Learner Portfolio entry in the style of Paper 1: Guided Literary Analysis .

Act 2 Scene 2

“Do you believe the people will betray you now for money?”

His anxiety rising, Ill visits both the Mayor and the town Priest for reassurance. The mayor then tries to reassure him by recalling the lofty heritage of Guellen; the citizens would never stoop to murder, he says. The mayor becomes resentful when Ill demands Claire’s arrest and points out that perhaps Claire has a point and that what Ill did to Claire was a pretty bad thing to do. Because of this, the Mayor tells Ill that his chances of becoming mayor have been dashed. The priest, like the others, dismisses his fear, and also suggests that Ill’s conscience is troubling him. Finally, it all gets too much for Ill and he decides to leave town. At the train station, he is surrounded by people who prevent him from leaving.

If their words contradict their interior desires, the exterior actions of the townspeople mirror the true direction of their thoughts. Many carry around guns, ostensibly to defend themselves from the panther. But, as Ill points out, their reaction is excessive. Even the priest, who represents religion, succumbs to this ambivalence and carries with him a rifle.

• Act 2 Scene 2 (Activities and Discussion)

Learner Portfolio: A State of Denial

‘Denial, or evasion of responsibility, is what plagues the townspeople. As their subconscious minds become more focused on murdering Ill, they refuse to see the reality for what it is’.

Use an analysis of Act 2 to support this statement. Spend a few minutes deciding on the kind of work you might like to produce for your Learner Portfolio. For example, you could write a mini-essay, mind-map the theme of ‘denial’, or create a Point-Quote-Explanation chart.

“You must judge me, now. I shall accept your judgement, whatever it may be. For me, it will be justice; what it will be for you, I don’t know.”

In the third act, the Press arrives to cover Claire’s visit to her hometown. They are aware that she has offered the town money, but they don’t know anything about the condition she attached to it – and the townspeople are anxious to keep it that way! The schoolmaster, with the aid of some strong drink, gathers up his courage and tries to tell the press the town’s secret; unexpectedly, it is Ill himself who stops him. Ill has realized that he brought this situation on himself through his past actions.

The town is planning to vote later that day on whether or not to accept Claire’s proposal and Ill tells the mayor he will abide by whatever decision is made. Will the town vote in favour of Claire’s proposal and kill him? Or will their humanist ideals and morality prevail over the lure of cash?

Act 3 Scene 1

“The world turned me into a whore. I shall turn the world into a brothel.”

The next step in the psychological ‘devolution’ of the Guellen townspeople is an attempt to bargain with Claire to avoid the downsides of her offer while still getting the benefits. They appeal to her own sense of greed by pointing out that Guellen’s industry could be quite profitable to her if she invested in it. Their efforts fall on deaf ears. Whatever profit Claire could gain through investment could hardly be worth her time, if she can simply marry another rich husband – precisely what she is now planning to do.

Meanwhile, Ill returns to his shop to find his family enjoying their own new purchases, and a group of reporters asking questions about the town’s proposed windfall. Of all the townsfolk, only the schoolteacher seems at all repentant, and tries to pluck up the courage to go to the Press with the truth about Claire’s ghastly offer.

• Act 3 Scene 1 (Discussion and Activities)
• Wider Reading – Justice and Morality in The Visit

Ill’s situation seems to have prompted some powerful reflection on his part, signified by the way he is directed to pace up and down in his shop. Do you think that his remorse over his past actions is genuine? Or is he still hoping to avoid his fate by evoking the pity of the townsfolk?

Learner Portfolio: Practise for Paper 2

Write this Learner Portfolio in the style of a practice Paper 2 response. You can use one of the prompts below, or another prompt given to you by your teacher. Although Paper 2 requires you to write about two literary works, for the sake of this exercise you could focus only on your response to  The Visit , or you could try to compare your ideas to another literary work you have studied ( visit this post for more help with Paper 2 ).

Choose one of the following prompts (or use another prompt you have been given), talk with your teacher about how to approach and structure your writing, then complete your portfolio entry:

• In what ways can the term ‘artificial’ be applied to literary works you have studied?
• Works of literature can often function as social or political commentary. Discuss this idea with reference to literature you have studied.
• Consider how works of literature employ humour, and to what effect.
• It is not always easy to ‘forgive and forget.’ Illustrate this observation with reference to literary works you have studied.

Act 3 Scene 2

“Not for the sake of the money… But for justice.”

Ill finds Claire in the Village Woods which, he finds out, she owns. After they briefly recall the time they had together when they were young, Ill thanks her for the decorations to his future coffin and tells her that the city council is going to meet to decide his fate. Unrepentant and unapologetic, she says that she will intern him in a mausoleum she owns, thereby asserting absolute control over him. After his death she says she will no longer be haunted by him; he will become just another memory.

Ill returns to the Town Hall where the press has gathered to cover the town meeting, though they are still unaware of its full meaning; they are not aware of Claire’s offer. The mayor begins speaking and offers his thanks publicly to Ill for securing the donation from Claire. They will hold a vote to decide whether to accept or reject Claire’s offer. Surprisingly, Ill tells the mayor that he will respect whatever decision the city makes. Will the lure of money prove too much to resist or will the town’s morality and idealism win the day?

• Act 3 Scene 2 (Discussion and Activities)
• Research: Types of Justice: Forgiveness (The Guardian podcast)

This scene helps the audience understand Claire’s offer more fully. As a rich woman Claire always gets what she wants: if she wants to travel somewhere, buy up an entire town, buy a panther, she can. So far, however, she has not been able to shake the heartbreak Ill caused. Therefore, she uses the same tactic of throwing money at a problem to solve it. Do you think, though, that killing Ill will really make her problem go away?

Learner Portfolio: Crime and Punishment

‘The most obvious overall themes of The Visit are those of vengeance and justice. Claire’s driving force in the play is vengeance and what she believes is justice for the crime which drove her from town in humiliation – and she stops at nothing to get it.’

Write a one-two page Learner Portfolio entry about vengeance and justice as presented in The Visit . Consider the following points to help you structure and develop your response:

• What type of justice does Claire represent? What does ‘justice’ mean to her?
• What does ‘justice’ mean to the townspeople? Are they really motivated by a sense of justice for Ill’s past crimes?
• How has Ill’s notion of justice developed and changed over the course of the play? What does ‘justice’ mean to him?
• Given that Guellen is a microcosm of Europe, what, seemingly, does Durrenmatt conclude about justice in Western societies?

Towards Assessment:  Higher Level Essay

Students submit an essay on one non-literary text or a collection of non-literary texts by one same author, or a literary text or work studied during the course. The essay must be 1,200-1,500 words in length.   (20 Marks).

Please find suggestions here; but always be mindful of your own ideas and class discussions and follow the direction of your own programme of study when devising your assessment tasks.

Now you have studied the entirety of The Visit , if you are a Higher Level student, you might like to turn your thoughts to the essay that all Higher Level students must write. The Visit has been described as a ‘tragi-comedy’ and you might like to take this description as the starting point for your investigation. Begin by considering one of these angles of approach; although remember to follow your own ideas and interests where you can:

• How do the characters in The Visit present different ideas about justice?
• How are the themes of appearance, reality, and artifice developed in both the stage directions and dialogue of Durrenmatt’s The Visit?
• Is it possible for the audience to truly sympathise with Alfred Ill in Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play The Visit?
• How, and to what purposes, does Durrenmatt employ different types of irony in his play The Visit?
• What does The Visit have to say about the corrupting power of money? How does Durrenmatt convey ideas about money through elements of his play?

Towards Assessment:  Individual Oral

Supported by an extract from one non-literary text and one from a literary work (or two literary works if you are following the Literature-only course), students will offer a prepared response of 10 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of questions by the teacher, to the following prompt:  Examine the ways in which the global issue of your choice is presented through the content and form of two of the texts that you have studied (40 marks) .

Th e Visit  could be an excellent text to talk about in your oral assessment. The themes of humanism, morality, money, denial, deception, revenge and justice can be formulated into the Global Issue which will form the core of your talk. Now you have finished reading and studying the play, spend a lesson working with the  IB Fields of Inquiry : mind-map the play, include your ideas for Global Issues, make connections with other Literary Works or Body of Works that you have studied on your course and see if you can make a proposal you might use to write your Individual Oral.

Here are one or two suggestions to get you started, but consider your own programme of study before you make any firm decisions about your personal Global Issue. Whatever you choose, remember a Global Issue must have  local relevance,   wide impact  and be  trans-national :

• Field of Inquiry:  Power, Politics and Justice
• Global Issue:   types of justice
• Possible Pairings (Lit course: if you are following the Literature-only course, you must pair a text originally written in English with a translated work) :  The Merchant of Venice  by William Shakespeare; Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee.
• Possible Pairings (Lang and Lit):   I, Daniel Blake by Ken Loach; Nelson Mandela’s speeches;

The action of The Visit is motivated by Claire Zachanassian’s desire for revenge – which she calls ‘justice’ – over Alfred Ill for his treatment of her decades ago; a type of ‘eye for an eye’ justice. In fact, ‘justice’ means different things to different people throughout the play and exploring this idea could make for an excellent Individual Oral activity.

• Field of Inquiry:  Beliefs, Values and Education
• Global Issue:   money vs morality
• Possible Pairings (Lit course: if you are following the Literature-only course, you must pair a text originally written in English with a translated work) :  The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare; Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw; Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet; The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter.
• Possible Pairings (Lang and Lit): editorial cartoons by Ann Telnaes ; I, Daniel Blake by Ken Loach; The Waldo Moment by Charlie Brooker; Drop the ‘I’ Word online campaign; various artworks by Mr Brainwash .

The townspeople of Guellen are offered a Faustian bargain by Claire: a million dollars in exchange for a man’s death. Dürrenmatt’s play shows his belief that idealism is no match for the lure of money. What do other writers have to say about this conundrum?

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6 replies »

best website ever, super useful

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This is fantastic! So well organized and clear. Really useful! Thanks!

Love this, thank you!

love this so helpful but can you please share the answers to the worksheet

I haven’t made ‘answers’ – the multiple choice questions are easy enough to find in the text. The ‘understanding’ questions, I have my students write short answers or make notes and simply compare ideas. Any that are too difficult, the students listen to each other and note down ideas. Sometimes it’s interesting when students have similar or different answers. You can set these to do as prep for a class or let students do them in the first part of the lessons (15 – 20 minutes, then share answers and ideas).

very very cool

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Friedrich Dürrenmatt

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THE VISIT (Der Besuch der alten Dame )

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The Old Lady’s Visit: Summary & Analysis

That drama «The Visit of the Old Lady» by the Swiss writer Friedrich Durrenmatt was written in 1956 and premiered at the Zurich Schauspielhaus. Shortly thereafter, it became one world success . The piece is one of the most-performed German-language plays.

«The Old Lady Visits» takes place in a fictional small town called Güllen, near the Swiss-French border. The people of the small town are impoverished and cannot find work. When billionaire Claire Zachanassian comes to town, residents hope for a brighter future.

She actually offers a cash injection, but she has one condition: her ex-lover Alfred Ill should die. Although the residents initially reacted indignantly to the demand, it is becoming more and more dangerous for the doomed man in the place.

The «financial injection» is a colloquial term for financial support, mostly for companies or even a state. In this case, it means the small town of Güllen.

«The Visit of the Old Lady» – contents and summary

Act 1 – claire’s arrival and an immoral offer.

When she was young, Klara became a launderer by her then friend Alfred III pregnant . As this one denies paternity there is a court case. Alfred is able to win him over by bribing the testifying witnesses. Klara then leaves the small town of Güllen and is not only impoverished but because of the social conditions at the time dishonored.

Klara loses her child and becomes a prostitute and learn one later oil well owner know who they then marries . As a result, she inherits a huge fortune and more to come further marriages. Later, the billionaire decides to sell her change her name to Claire Zachanassian . 45 years later at an already old age, Claire decides return to Güllen . The small town is unrecognizable – polluted, impoverished and run down. Alfred, her lover from her youth, is now 70 years old.

Claire brings her seventh husband and a coffin . The residents and the mayor are very excited and excited about their visit as they hope Claire will help the small town financially. To receive them by birth, the city organizes a welcome party for her. The billionaire then promises to help Güllen with a billion. However, she expresses one condition: you wants justice and puts a bounty on Alfred III out. The mayor, horrified, refuses for moral reasons.

Act 2 – The long wait and the prospect of prosperity

Alfred is convinced that he can rely on the residents of Güllen, until he gradually notices that his neighbors and friends are increasingly buying expensive luxury goods. People also buy more frequently in his shop, with the expensive products not paid, but written to will. Alfred realizes that the Güllener can only pay if they agree to Claire’s condition and kill him.

When Alfred becomes more and more insecure and gets scared, he agrees police a visit. To his horror, he finds that the policeman, too expensive clothes carries. He assures Alfred that he has nothing to fear as he still lives in a constitutional state.

But Alfred’s fear is far from over. In desperation he goes to Mayor, which he, like the policeman, in expensive clothes finds. The mayor also assures Alfred that he is safe. Nevertheless, the mayor blames Alfred for wronging Claire.

Finally, Alfred turns to the pastor. This suggests to him the to leave town . Alfred wants to follow the priest’s advice, but he abandons this plan on the platform of the station. He fears that the people from Güllen who followed him might murder him if he escapes.

Act 3 – Claire’s Revenge and Just Murder

The teacher and the doctor try to dissuade Claire from her plan and instead propose to buy and restructure a company in the town. But Claire has the people of the town in her hands. In preparation for the murder she had the Güllener companies and land bought up in the past and gradually brought the city to ruin. The teacher and doctor’s attempts to appeal to Claire’s humanity come to nothing.

The people from Güllen now meet regularly in Alfred’s shop. They want to prevent him from telling anyone from outside the truth about what is happening in the city at all costs, fearing for their prosperity. the The mood in the city is changing rapidly. Some residents are beginning to condemn Alfred’s behavior over the past few years. Of the Doomed admits his guilt and realizes that he has wronged Claire.

The animosity and the distance between Alfred and the rest of the townsfolk is constantly growing. This culminates in the fact that mayor alfred, armed with a gun visited. He asks him to take his own life. But Alfred refuses.

The townsfolk appoint a Assembly on which Alfred’s fate is to be decided. Citizens agree that he should be punished for his crime. When Alfred arrives at the town meeting, the fellow citizens form a lane around him. However, suddenly the light goes out and when the room is lit again, lies Alfred dead on the ground. The city doctor gives as official cause of death a heart attack t on

The millionaire Claire has the dead Alfred laid in the coffin she had brought with her when she first returned. She hands it over to the mayor promised check over the agreed sum and then leaves the city. Claire travels to the Island of Capri, where Alfred is buried next to their child.

«The Visit of the Old Lady» – The most important characters

Character constellation in «The Visit of the Old Lady»

Claire Zachanassian

• Claire used to be called Klara Wäscher.
• She is 62 years old.
• She attracts attention with her grotesque appearance: her red hair, the many prostheses and her strange entourage attract attention.
• She is ruthless, selfish and remains rigid and unchanging.
• Claire is made pregnant by Alfred III in her youth and leaves town impoverished and dishonored.
• Nevertheless, she manages to become a wealthy woman.
• She has no qualms about using this money to get revenge on Alfred.
• To do this, she buys up all of Güllen’s companies and properties and gradually drives the city into ruin.
• Is a poor man from Güllen and married father of two children.
• Alfred is well-respected in town but has a dark past.
• He was able to deny the paternity of Klara’s unborn child in court through bribery.
• Claire’s offer makes him increasingly anxious. The remaining citizens distance themselves from him.
• Alfred begins to reflect on his past and admit his mistakes.
• He understands and accepts the death sentence that awaits him at the end.
• The mayor initially supports Alfred and declines Claire’s offer.
• Over time, his ideas change, and money, as well as the opinions of the residents, make him forget his moral values.
• Finally, he openly suggests that Alfred commit suicide.
• After Alfred’s death, he accepts the check from Claire.

The teacher

Is educated and has an upscale choice of words.

He is proud to be a teacher.

The mayor, the policeman and the priest are his friends.

He likes company.

He finds Claire’s offer and the Güllener’s behavior immoral and supports Alfred.

«The visit of the old lady» – analysis of structure and language

Friedrich Dürrenmatt uses this as a guide in «The Visit of the Old Lady». classic structure of a tragedy . The three Aristotelian units are partially fulfilled. The action only takes place in the small town of Güllen and extends over a few days.

There is a main plot or a conflict that is in the foreground: Claire’s demand for the death of Alfred III and how the residents of Güllen deal with it. However, the piece does not consist of just one strand, as is inherent in a tragedy. Also, the division into three acts does not correspond to the classic drama structure of five acts.

The three Aristotelian units

These are the principles laid down by the Greek philosopher Aristotle for the construction of drama. The « unit of time » means that the action does not extend over a longer period of time, but within a few days. The « unity of place » states that the action takes place in one place and there are no side scenes. The « unity of action » specifies a main plot with no subplots.

The first act – exposition

The first act provides the exposure Here, the city of Güllen and its inhabitants are introduced and Claire’s past is revealed. In addition, this sets here exciting moment when Claire makes her offer to the townspeople.

as exposure marks the beginning of a story. Characters and locations are introduced there. as exciting moment describes the action that initiates the conflict.

The second act – turning point

The second act focuses on Claire’s waiting and the change of the Güllener, who gradually throw morality to the wind and look for a justification for Alfred’s death. the Action and tension rise and fall . At the end of the second act, it becomes clear that the people of Güllen have changed their minds about Claire’s offer and Alfred realizes that he cannot escape his fate. That puts the turning point in history.

as turning point is the moment when something fundamental in history changes. From this moment on, the story takes a different course.

Third Act – Catastrophe

The third act shows how the residents of Güllen bring about Alfred’s death. There are some scenes that slow things down, so retard . These include Alfred’s departure from Claire, as well as his family. Events keep coming to a head. Morality is supplanted by the desire for prosperity, with which the catastrophe is heralded and Alfred Ill. dies.

Retard means that something is delayed. The action is interrupted by something.

Dürrenmatt cooperates premonitions and obscures statements. Therefore, the language in «The Visit of the Old Lady» is also often referred to as « double bottomed An example of this can be found at the welcoming ceremony in Claire’s honor. On the one hand there is Alfred Ill, who appeals to Claire to love justice. On the other hand, he also says that Claire’s statements were «hilarious». Only later does it become clear the meaning of these words.

ILL laughing: Klara has a golden sense of humor! Hilarious, these bon mots!

Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations are from Friedrich…

Education, resources and support for Virtual Workers

The Old Lady’s Visit: Summary & Analysis

• Study Sanctuary

The drama “The Visit of the Old Lady” by the Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt was written in 1956 and premiered at the Schauspielhaus Zurich. Shortly afterwards it became one World success . The piece is one of the most frequently performed German-language plays.

The following key points provide a brief summary of the content of “The Old Lady’s Visit”:

• The action takes place in a fictional small town, near the Swiss-French border.
• The people of the small town are impoverished and cannot find work.
• When billionaire Claire Zachanassian comes to town, the residents hope for a better future.
• Her ex-lover Alfred Ill is supposed to die.
• At first the residents react indignantly to the demand, but for Alfred it becomes more and more dangerous in the place.

You want one too characterization of the characters, one interpretation and information about the epoch of the work? Then read on now!

“The Old Lady’s Visit” – Summary

Below you will find a short summary of “The Old Lady’s Visit”. The drama is divided into three acts.

“The Old Lady’s Visit” Summary Act 1

In her youth, Klara became a laundry worker from her boyfriend at the time, Alfred III pregnant . Than this the denies paternity, there will be a court case. Alfred can win this because he bribes the witnesses who testify. Klara then leaves the small town of Güllen and is not the only one impoverished but because of the social conditions at the time dishonored.

• Klara loses her child.
• She becomes a prostitute and later meets an oil well owner, whom she marries.
• She then inherits a huge fortune and things follow more marriages.
• Later, the billionaire decides to get hers to change names and henceforth calls himself Claire Zachanassian .

45 years later at an already old age, Claire decides to to return to Güllen .

The small town is unrecognizable – polluted, impoverished and dilapidated. Alfred, her lover from her youth, is now 70 years old.

• Claire brings her seventh husband and a coffin .
• They hope that Claire will provide financial support for the small town.
• In order to welcome them natively, the city is organizing a Welcome party for her.
• The billionaire then promises to help the city of Güllen with a billion.
• She wants justice and puts a bounty on Alfred III out of.
• The mayor, horrified, rejects this for moral reasons.

“The Old Lady’s Visit” – second act plot

Alfred is convinced that he can rely on the residents of Güllen until he gradually notices that his neighbors and friends are increasingly buying expensive luxury goods. People also shop more frequently in his store, especially… More expensive products are not paid for, but written to become. Alfred realizes that… Güllener can only pay if they agree to Claire’s condition and kill him.

• When Alfred becomes more and more insecure and afraid, he goes to the police .
• To his horror, he discovers that the police officer too expensive clothes carries.
• He assures Alfred that he has nothing to fear because he still lives in a constitutional state.

But this still doesn’t eliminate Alfred’s fears. In desperation he goes to the Mayor, which he, like the police officer, in expensive clothing finds. The mayor also assures Alfred that he is safe. Nevertheless, the mayor sees Alfred as guilty because he did Claire wrong.

• Finally Alfred turns to him Pastor.
• This suggests to him the to leave town .
• Alfred wants to follow the clergyman’s advice, but he abandons this plan on the train station platform.
• He fears that the people of Güllen who followed him could murder him if he escaped.

“The Old Lady’s Visit” – content of the third act

The teacher and the doctor try to dissuade Claire from her plan and instead suggest buying up a company in the city and rehabilitating it. But Claire has the people of the city in her hands. In preparation for the murder she had it Güllen companies and properties were bought up in the past and gradually drove the city into ruin. The teacher and the doctor’s attempts to appeal to Claire’s humanity come to nothing.

• The people of Güllen now meet regularly in Alfred’s shop.
• They fear for their prosperity.
• The The mood in the city is rapidly changing.
• Some residents begin to condemn Alfred’s behavior over the past few years.
• The The doomed person acknowledges his guilt and realizes that he has wronged Claire.

The hostility and distance between Alfred and the rest of the citizens grows steadily. This culminates in the mayor Alfred armed with a rifle visited. He asks him to take his own life. But Alfred rejects this.

• The residents of the city appoint one Assembly one where Alfred’s fate is to be decided.
• Citizens agree that he should be punished for his crime.
• When Alfred arrives at the town meeting, the fellow citizens form an alley about him.
• However, the light suddenly goes out and when the room is lit again, lies Alfred dead on the ground.
• The city’s doctor acts as an official Cause of death a heart attack t on.

The millionaire Claire has the dead Alfred put in the coffin that she initially brought with her when she returned. She hands it to the mayor promised check over the agreed sum and then leaves the city. Claire travels to the Island of Capri, where Alfred is buried next to their child.

“The Old Lady’s Visit” – Characterization

For the characterization of the characters in “The Old Lady’s Visit” you should know that Claire Zachanassian and Alfred Ill are the protagonists . Furthermore, there are a few Supporting characters who live in Güllen, for example the mayor or teacher. What is striking is that she is in contrast to the main characters not mentioned by name are.

Constellation of figures – “The Old Lady’s Visit”

In this constellation of characters from “The Old Lady’s Visit” the relationships between Claire Zachanassian, Alfred Ill and the citizens of Güllen are illustrated once again.

Fig. 1 – Figure constellation in “The Old Lady’s Visit”

“The Old Lady’s Visit” – Claire Zachanassian

Claire Zachanassian is part of the plot of “The Old Lady’s Visit” as the former Klara Wascher. Other features of this figure include:

• She is 62 years old.
• She stands out because of her grotesque appearance: her red hair, the many prostheses and her strange entourage attract attention.
• She is ruthless, selfish and remains rigid and unchanging.
• Claire is impregnated by Alfred III in her youth and leaves the city impoverished and dishonored.
• Nevertheless, she manages to become a wealthy woman.
• She has no qualms about using this money to exact revenge on Alfred.
• To do this, she buys up all of Güllen’s companies and properties and gradually drives the city into ruin.

“The Old Lady’s Visit” – Alfred III

Alfred III appears in the plot as a poor man from Güllen “The Old Lady’s Visit” classified. The following characteristics also apply to him:

• He is a married father of two children.
• Alfred is well respected in the city, but has a dark past.
• He was able to deny the paternity of Klara’s unborn child in court through bribery.
• Claire’s offer makes him increasingly anxious. The remaining citizens distance themselves from him.
• Alfred begins to reflect on his past and admit his mistakes.
• He understands and accepts the death sentence that awaits him at the end.

“The Old Lady’s Visit” – The Mayor

The figure of the mayor “The Old Lady’s Visit” can be described by the following features:

• The mayor initially supports Alfred and rejects Claire’s offer.
• Over time, his ideas change and the money, as well as the opinions of the residents, make him forget his moral values.
• Ultimately, he openly suggests suicide to Alfred.
• After Alfred’s death, he accepts the check from Claire.

“The Old Lady’s Visit” – The Teacher

The teacher from “The Old Lady’s Visit” has the following features:

Is educated and has an excellent choice of words.

He is proud to be a teacher.

The mayor, the police officer and the priest are his friends.

He likes to be in company.

He finds Claire’s offer and the Gülleners’ behavior immoral and supports Alfred.

“The Old Lady’s Visit” – Analysis

Below you will find an analysis of “The Old Lady’s Visit”. This includes, among other things, the plot of the work:

Fig. 2 – Plot in “The Old Lady’s Visit”

Friedrich Dürrenmatt is based on this in “The Old Lady’s Visit”. classic structure of a tragedy . The three Aristotelian units are partially fulfilled. The action only takes place in the small town of Güllen and extends over a few days.

There is a Main plot or a conflict that is in the foreground: Claire’s demand for the death of Alfred III and the associated treatment of the residents of Güllen. However, the piece does not consist of just one strand, as is typical of a tragedy. The division into three acts also does not correspond to the classic drama structure of five acts.

The three Aristotelian unities

These are the principles laid down by the Greek philosopher Aristotle for the structure of drama. The “ unity of time ” means that the action does not take place over a longer period of time, but within a few days. The “ unity of the place “says that the action takes place in one place and there are no sideshows. The “ Unity of action ” provides a main plot without subplots.

Below you will find the content of the work “The Visit of the Old Lady” divided into the three Aristotelian units of drama: “The Old Lady’s Visit” – drama in three acts The first act – exposition

• In the first act, the town of Güllen and its residents are introduced.
• Claire’s past is revealed.
• Already in the Introduction of the drama will be the Neglect of the place describe in detail.
• The opening sentence of “The Old Lady’s Visit” announces a bell before the curtain opens.
• In addition, then that sets exciting moment when Claire makes her offer to the townspeople.

The two act – turning point

• In the second act, the focus is on Claire’s waiting and the changes in the Güllen people.
• The people of Güllen are gradually throwing morale to the wind.
• They are looking for a justification for Alfred’s death.
• The Plot and tension…

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Analysis and summary of Dürrenmatt's "Visit of the Old Lady"

Table of contents:, short biography, creative fruits, f. dürrenmatt, visit of an old lady. summary, a brief analysis of the play, staging on stage.

2024 Author : Sierra Becker | [email protected] . Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Friedrich Dürrenmatt is a well-known Swiss German-speaking playwright, prose writer and publicist. He is the winner of many literary awards: Molière, Schiller, Austrian State Prize.

This great man was born on January 5, 1921 in the village of Konolfingen, near the canton of Bern. Three years later, the youngest daughter Vronya appears in the family. Due to a financial crisis in 1935, the family was forced to move to Bern. Friedrich's father was a country pastor. In this regard, the boy was brought up very strictly, which protected him from the society of his peers. Perhaps this influenced the development of his talents: from an early age he began to draw and write. For all his works, he created illustrations with his own hand.

In 1935, Friedrich entered the Free Gymnasium in Bern, but later transferred to the Humboldtianum. Teachers often complained about his behavior, he did not have success in his studies. Friedrich himself later said that the years of study for him were the most unpleasant time in his life.

After graduating from the Humboldtianum, he entered the university inZurich, but soon transferred to the University of Bern. However, in 1943, he dropped out of school and went directly into literature.

Two years after the beginning of his creative career, the first play "For it is said" was released. It was staged at the theater in 1947, but did not make much of a splash. However, the creation of this theatrical production was fateful for Friedrich. He met actress Lottie Geissler, they soon got married and moved to Ligerz. Since the husband is the head, in a family with five children, the issue of material nature has become.

He did not stop doing creative work, and the second play "Romulus the Great" brought him a long-awaited success.

The third play "The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi" brought him fame. After staging these creations, Friedrich Dürrenmatt was recognized as a playwright on a national scale.

In addition to fame and popularity, he practically got rid of financial problems: he was still far from a beautiful life, but he did not need to count a penny to buy food for his wife and five children.

By that time, he found himself in dramaturgy, decided on his own style and issues in his works: the playwright was best able to reveal the themes of human impotence and opposition to the cruel world. His writings have never been easy to read orviewing, have always been filled with meaning and difficult for psychological perception. At that moment, the future immortal creation (no longer a summary of The Visit of the Old Lady, but a full-fledged tragicomedy) was preparing to be staged.

The play "The Visit of the Old Lady" is phenomenal (a summary is indicated in this article). The description of the main themes of mankind brought the author worldwide fame. In his creation, the author touched upon the problematic issues of all time: loy alty, honesty, revenge, power, love and passion for money.

Despite the fact that the play is psychologically difficult, many people re-read this creation more than once. I would like to note that even the brief content of "The Visit of the Old Lady" intrigues, shocks and awakens the desire to watch the play on the big stage.

The action takes place in the twentieth century in the small town of Güllen. The city decides to visit the former resident Clara Tsakhanasyan, nee - Vesher. At that time, she is an elderly millionaire. The once industrial city is now on the verge of poverty: plants and factories are standing, residents are going crazy from lack of money. Upon learning of Clara's arrival, everyone hoped that she would give money as a gift for the prosperity of the city. The grocer Ill, with whom Clara had previously had an affair, was suggested to push her towards this decision.

The spectacular appearance of Clara made all the inhabitants of Güllenflinch. Trains do not stop in this town. Therefore, in order to get out, she had to break the stopcock. Seeing her appearing surrounded by a whole retinue, the residents gasped. The once-young Clara Vescher was followed by her seventh husband, two large men carrying her train, a butler, maids, and two blind men, Kobi and Lobi. The appearance of the lady was also shocking: instead of her right arm and left leg, she had innovative prostheses. She lost her limbs in a plane and car accident. The luggage that was carried behind her consisted of countless suitcases, a coffin and a cage with a black leopard. Passing by a policeman, she asked if he knew how to turn a blind eye to what was happening in the city. Clara also asked the priest if he forgives the sins of those sentenced to death. The Holy Father, in turn, replied that the death pen alty was abolished. The main character said that she would have to be reintroduced. Witnesses of this dialogue were left in complete bewilderment.

Ill decided to take his former lover to the places of their stormy love, to resolve the issue through surging memories. Ill later married Mathilde Blumhard, a we althy dairy heiress, and Clara married Zahanassian's millions. After love memories, Ill admitted that he always dreamed of returning long-past feelings, between which he asks his beloved to help the city with money.

On her return from a nostalgic trip, at a gala dinner hosted by the local head, Clara announces that she will donate a billion to Güllen: five hundred million to rebuild the city, another five hundred will be divided among residents, but withprovided they do justice.

After this statement, she asks her butler to come out to the people. It turned out to be the former judge Güllen, whom everyone recognized. It reminds people of a lawsuit that took place 45 years ago. Then Clara Vesher was expecting a child from Ill, and he, in his defense, brought two drunkards who, for a bottle of alcohol, testified that they also slept with Clara, and paternity is not confirmed. After that, young Clara was expelled from the city in disgrace. She ended up in a brothel, and the newborn girl was sent to an orphanage, where she died a year later.

For the girl it was a great tragedy, after which she vowed to herself to return to the city and take revenge. After marriage, the first thing Clara ordered the thugs to find false witnesses in her case and blind them. Since then, Lobi and Kobi have been living near her.

After the announcement of this story, the lady said that Gullen will receive a billion if someone kills Illa. The priest replied that none of the townspeople could be the executioner, but Clara said that she had time to wait.

Ill began to notice that most of the residents began to get new things, they began to buy expensive products. He tried not to take what was happening to heart, but soon a sense of hopelessness from imminent death took possession of him.

Meanwhile, Clara plays another wedding with a young actor, the townspeople have fun at the feasts. The people gradually forget about begging, the industrial enterprises of the city resume their work one by one. The burgomaster, unable to bear everything that is happening, asksIlla commit suicide and give the city a chance to live a normal life. The elderly grocer refuses, but Illa finishes off the last event. The black leopard, which she brought with her, ran away from the millionaire. In her youth, Clara referred to Illa as "her black leopard". Soon the leopard is caught in the forests and killed. The former lover finally came to terms with his own death. At the city meeting, all residents unanimously vote for the execution of the man.

After the meeting, Clara came up to Ill and said that she still loves him, but this love is like a monster inside her. After that, the brave townspeople deprive the grocer of his life. The we althy old lady kept her promise: the money was given to the city and the people. Leaving the city, Clara takes the body in a coffin and takes it to a manor by the sea, where she places it in a mausoleum.

The essence of tragicomedy is closely connected with the people of our day. Many crimes that take place in real life are similar to a play: someone simply moves away from the problem, someone takes a "moral" point of view, and in the end everyone becomes accomplices, since no one tried to help and solve the illegal situation. The work speaks not only about the very fact of the murder, but also about secondary factors: the temptation for which the townspeople went for it. The author showed the power of money and how it can change even a priest and a policeman.

Also, Dürrenmatt made us think about our actions so that our own "old lady" does not come into everyone's life. Analysis and summary of the "Visit of the oldladies" by Dürrenmatt shows that the themes covered in the 1955 play are relevant to this day.

The summary of the content of "The Old Lady's Visit" is delightful. Undoubtedly, this is a brilliant play that touches on the pressing problems of people of that time and our days. For the first time, a summary of the play "The Visit of the Old Lady" in Moscow was presented by director Ilan Ronen. The hall of the Maly Theater was filled with countless spectators, it was possible to buy tickets only a few months before the performance. The Maly Theater has not seen such a full house for a long time. The Swiss writer Dürrenmatt, even in the summary of The Visit of the Old Lady, was able to intrigue millions of people, and the full-fledged play left the audience in wild delight.

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However, her mother Francis wants Jane to fulfill her duty as a noblewoman and get married to secure her future.

The Greys are left stranded following the death of Jane’s father as his property has been diverted to the Duke of Leicester.

Jane lives with her sisters Catherine and Margaret, and her trusted maiden, Susanna. She is to be wed to Lord Guildford Dudley but is not interested in losing her freedom.

Her cousin is King Edward VI, and she wants to ask him for help but there are more pressing matters to handle.

Edward has come down with the affliction, a terminal disease that has forced him to live a sheltered life.

That means he has not witnessed the turmoil between the two kinds of people in his kingdom, the Verity and the Ethians.

The Verity are regular people, and the Ethians are people who can switch between animal form and human form at will.

They were cast out as satan’s spawn and division laws were passed stripping Ethians of all rights.

The scheming councillors around Edward have their goals and they sway the King to achieve them.

Key among them is Lord Seymour, who is secretly having an affair with Princess Mary, Edward’s older sister.

Edward has another sister named Elizabeth, and the two princesses were passed over when their father died.

Jane finds out that Susanna is an Ethian when she plans an escape, and Edward learns that his dog Petunia is also an Ethian.

She warns him that someone is poisoning his food and that he doesn’t have the affliction. He sets about trying to figure out who is trying to kill him.

Mary is the culprit because she seeks the throne and she’s been poisoning him with Seymour’s help.

Guildford’s father Lord Dudley wants to see his son become king through his marriage to Jane and convinces Edward to name Jane the heir in his will.

Jane makes several attempts to get out of her marriage but gives in once she realizes that she has no choice.

She finds Guildford somewhat charming and bothersome in equal measure. Then she finds out that he is an Ethian who has no control over his powers.

Guildford turns into a horse every dawn and turns back every dusk, and he married Jane for her exceptional knowledge of the natural sciences.

He wants to find a cure for his condition so that he can live life peacefully. His older brother Stan is a dunce who grows a liking to Francis but she treats him as a simple toy.

Mary loses patience and attempts to drive Edward to his death and when he disappears, she assumes she was successful.

He wakes up in a monastery with his grandmother who saved him and is an Ethian herself. She wants to awaken the Ethianism within Edward and then place him on the throne.

Seymour attempts to forge a will naming Mary the queen but Edward’s original will is found and Jane is announced as the new queen.

Francis had Catherine married to the Duke of Leicester but Margaret kills the old man the next morning so that Catherine doesn’t have to suffer.

They move to the palace with Francis who is thrilled to be in a position of power. While she’s on the throne, Jane has to worry about the constant threat of Mary.

She and Guildford also have to keep his condition a secret. Edward meets another Ethian named Fitz who tries to convince him that his grandmother is no better than the rest.

Edward refuses until he hears her say that she wants to wipe out all the Verity from the kingdom once he is on the throne.

Jane wants to expose Mary as a traitor in front of a crowd so she invites the Ethians and their leader Archer to her coronation banquet.

She announces at the event that she will be abolishing division laws and Mary makes quite a public scene.

Francis learns that Guildford is an Ethian and conspires to have him killed. Jane finds a witness to testify that Mary and Seymour attempted to kill Edward.

They flee before they are caught and Jane is left to gather support when Mary returns with an army.

She makes enemies out of the nobles with her support for Ethians and Archer doesn’t want to sacrifice his people for her cause.

Mary returns eventually with a huge army and has Jane imprisoned. Edward and Guildford both try to rescue her but she says she has a plan.

Jane wins over the people and overcomes a farce trial with an acquittal but Guildford is exposed as an Ethian in front of everyone and Jane is sentenced to death for marrying him.

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by Friedrich Duerrenmatt

The visit character list, claire zachanassian.

Claire was born with the last name Wascher, meaning "washer", which may reflect her proletarian upbringing. In her youth, she was the lover of Alfred Ill, but after becoming pregnant and losing a paternity suit against Alfred, she fled to Hamburg and became a prostitute. In the brothel, she met the old Armenian oil magnate Zachanassian, who fell in love with her. They married, and she became a multi-millionairess, freely contributing to philanthropic endeavors and always creating a sensation with her many marriages. Over the course of the play, we see her wed to Husbands VII-IX.

When the play begins Claire is 63, with red hair and an artificial leg and hand. She visits Guellen, her hometown, with the intention of buying herself justice. Upon her arrival, she announces to the impoverished townspeople that she will donate one million pounds. The gift, however, will only be given in return for the death of her former lover, Alfred Ill.

Husbands VII-IX (or Moby, Hoby, and Zoby)

Throughout the play, Claire moves through three husbands. "Moby", or Husband VII, is actually named Pedro, and owns tobacco plantations. "Hoby", or Husband VIII, is a German film star she marries in Guellen Cathedral. Shortly after the wedding, Claire's lawyers arrange for a divorce, and she prepares to wed "Zoby", a Nobel Prize-winner.

The play indicates that all three husbands can be played by the same actor.

The Butler is referred to by Claire as "Boby". It is revealed at the end of Act I that he was once the Lord Chief Justice of Guellen. He left his job there to serve in the Kaffigen Court of Appeals, where Claire approached him with a request that he become her Butler, and offering him a salary that he couldn't refuse.

Roby and Toby

Roby and Toby are former Manhattan gangsters who were facing death by electric chair before Claire paid one million dollars for each petition to have them amnestied and entered into her service. The two men are brutes, and are always chewing gum. Roby and Toby bear Claire's sedan-chair and perform songs on the guitar whenever they are commanded to do so.

Koby and Loby

Koby and Loby's real names are Jacob Chicken and Louis Perch, respectively. Alfred Ill bribed the two men to commit perjury in Claire's paternity suit with pints of brandy. They falsely testify that they were her lovers. Later, Claire tracked Jacob Chicken down in Canada, and Louis Perch in Australia. Roby and Toby castrated and blinded them, and they are referred to as eunuchs. Koby and Loby tell the press gathered in Guellen for Claire's wedding to Husband VIII that Alfred Ill was once her lover. Claire responds by sending them both to one of her opium dens in Hong Kong.

Alfred Ill, who runs the general store in Guellen, is considered the most popular man in town (perhaps because he allows the townspeople to purchase items on credit). He is married to Matilda, with whom he has one son and one daughter. The Mayor tells Ill that he is to be his successor in the next election.

In his youth, Ill was the lover of Claire, the multi-millionairess. While the town awaits Claire's visit, the Mayor urges Ill to bank on nostalgia and see if he can convince her to donate funds. However, Ill quickly becomes the target of the townspeople once Claire declares that she will give a generous financial donation to the town only if Ill is murdered. She seeks revenge because he had impregnated her when they were young, but had successfully denied paternity by presenting two false witnesses. He married Matilda because she owned the general store, and Claire was forced to give birth to a child out of wedlock, to give it up for adoption, and to become a prostitute in Hamburg.

Matilda is Alfred Ill's wife and the original owner of the general store. It is implied that Ill married her for the store, not for love.

Ill's son, Karl, is initially seen going off to seek work at the railway station. By the end of the play, he is driving a new car.

Ill's daughter, Ottilie, is first seen going off to look for work at the Labour Exchange. Later in the play, however, she is seen going off to play tennis.

The Mayor of Guellen initially tells Ill that he is to become the next Mayor. As the play progresses, however, the Mayor informs Ill that the revelations about his past will prevent him from taking public office. Towards the end of the play, the Mayor offers Ill a gun, implying that everything would be easier if he would just shoot himself. During the play's conclusion, the Mayor sways the assembled audience in the auditorium of the Golden Apostle hotel to accept Claire's donation and to kill Ill.

Early in the play, the Priest is shocked when Claire asks him whether he comforts condemned men, stating that there is no longer a death penalty. Later in the play, when Ill seeks his help, the Priest draws attention to the magnificent new bell. At that moment, Ill realizes that even the Priest is playing a role in the fulfillment of Claire's condition.

Schoolmaster

The Schoolmaster goes with the Doctor to plead with Claire. The two men express their sympathy for how Ill treated her in the past, but at the same time they implore her to act out of the goodness of her heart to alleviate the town's debts. The Schoolmaster is a "humanist" and a "humanitarian", in that he seeks to work for the public good. He proclaims that he is a lover of Plato, and has apparently remained in the town because of his hope that it will one day rise again. He is the one member of the town who attempts to speak to the press about Claire's cruel proposal, but is stopped by the townspeople. In the end, he tells Ill that he knows that the townspeople are slowly becoming murderers, but that he is too weak to stop it.

Early in the play, Claire tells the Doctor that the next diagnosis he makes ought to be "heart attack". Later in the play, the Doctor, along with the Schoolmaster, implores Claire to help the town without requiring Ill's death. In the end, however, the Doctor participates in Ill's death, and pronounces him dead of a heart attack.

The Policeman refuses to arrest Claire when Ill, fearing for his life, approaches him. The Policeman claims that there is no real threat. In the end, he forces Ill to remain in the auditorium so that he can be slaughtered, and calls him "a bastard".

Townsmen 1-4

These men are seen at the railway station, and also in Ill's general store. They symbolize the townspeople of Guellen, and also transform into the trees of Konrad's Village Wood.

At the start of the play, the Painter paints a sign welcoming Claire to Guellen. He bemoans the fact that he was once a brilliant student at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. When the townspeople begin to enjoy a higher standard of living, the Painter arrives at Ill's general store with a portrait of Ill as a gift for Ill's wife. By this point, he is wearing the customary clothes of a painter: a beret and a colorful kerchief. When the Schoolmaster attempts to tell the press about Claire's cruel proposal, the Painter smashes the portrait of Ill over the Schoolmaster's head.

Louisa is a young woman who is engaged to one of the town's musicians. The audience first sees Louisa flashing across the stage half-naked. Later in the play, she crosses the stage wearing stylish clothing. In both cases, she is the subject of criticism by the townspeople.

The Visit Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Visit is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What are the actors celebrating in "The Visit"?

The actors are attending a homecoming celebration.

grandparents

Ok, so i know this is weird because this answer is 4 to 5 years from when you asked this question. But, what happened is the real grandparents were working at the asylum. and the fake grandparents broke out and went to there house, knowing they...

How do I choose the best Laravel developers?

Sorry, this is a literature site.

Study Guide for The Visit

The Visit study guide contains a biography of Friedrich Duerrenmatt, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Visit
• The Visit Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Visit

The Visit literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Visit.

• Examining Claire Zachanassian in Act One of The Visit
• An Exploration of Mob Mentality in The Visit
• The Ironic Tragicomedy
• The Effect of Dehumanization in The Visit
• Poverty and Humanistic Values in The Visit

Lesson Plan for The Visit

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Visit
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Visit Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Visit

• Introduction
• Film and television
• Literature and theatre

Screen Rant

The true story behind my lady jane (& the amazon show's startling changes to history).

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30 Best Period Dramas To Stream On Amazon Prime

Who voices the narrator in my lady jane, 13 biggest changes my lady jane makes to the book.

Custom Image by Yeider Chacon

• My Lady Jane is a historical fiction series based on the book by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows, with alternate history and creative liberties.
• The real Lady Jane Grey was a historical figure, educated and influenced by King Henry VIII's widow, Katherine Parr, but her story differs from the show's Ethian-shapeshifting elements.
• The series highlights the tragic life of Jane Grey, who faced execution, while also paying tribute to her historical significance and the era's religious tensions.

My Lady Jane is a historical fiction based on actual events in Tudor England. While My Lady Jane’s characters and royal structure are rooted in fact, the show itself takes many creative liberties. My Lady Jane describes itself as a “ radical retelling of English royal history, in which King Henry VIII’s son Edward does not die of tuberculosis, Lady Jane Grey is not beheaded, and neither is her rascal of a husband Guildford. ” The actual history or the era is recapped briefly in the introduction to the pilot episode, which then sets up the series' intrigue, which revolves around the possibility of an alternate history.

The show is based on the historical fiction book of the same name by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows. In the book and series, My Lady Jane's characters are either Ethians or Verities , with the Ethians being the humans that can transform into animals, which the regular humans, or Verities, hate. My Lady Jane ends with Jane and her husband Guildford overcoming the differences between the two breeds. But in real life, the people whose lives inspired the show were not always so lucky, especially without the presence of shape-shifting animals.

From sweeping gowns to epic battles, these are the best streamable period drama series on Amazon Prime.

Is Lady Jane Grey A Real Person? Who Amazon's My Lady Jane Is Based On

Jane grey was known as the nine days' queen.

Lady Jane Grey was a real person and was known as the Nine Days’ Queen. She was the queen of Ireland and England from July 10 through 19, 1553. As in the series, the real Jane Grey was the great-niece of King Henry VIII and took over the throne from her King Edward. Jane was chosen for the crown because of her Protestant beliefs when she was 16 years old . And, like in the show, Jane was married to Lord Guildford Dudley at that time.

She was partially educated by King Henry VIII’s widow, Katherine Parr, who helped teach her more about the cultured lifestyle.

Like her character in the show, the real Jane Grey was highly educated and spoke several languages . Through her father and tutors, Jane was exposed to Protestantism, which set her apart at the time. She was partially educated by King Henry VIII’s widow, Katherine Parr, who helped teach her more about the cultured lifestyle. Though the fictional Jane was able to maintain her independence, apart from an arranged marriage, the real Jane Grey spent much of her youth living with different upper-class families to help improve her family’s social status.

How The Real Lady Jane Grey Differs From Emily Hader's Heroine

The show's ethians are one main difference.

The main difference between the world of My Lady Jane and the real-life story of Jane Grey is the presence of the shapeshifting Ethians, who did not exist in real life. In the series, it is her advocacy for Ethian rights that alienates Jane . In real life, her religious stance made her Edward’s prime candidate for the heir and eventually led to her downfall under the Catholic Queen Mary. The show creates new lore rather than diving into the real religious differences of the period. Also according to the show, Anne Boleyn, one of Henry VIII’s wives, was also an Ethian.

The Narrator shapes the story in My Lady Jane and establishes a distinct perspective, making the actor who voices him essential to the show.

In My Lady Jane , Jane’s death sentence was to be a punishment for treason, as in real life. By accepting the queenship and embracing the royal power, the fictional Jane was supposedly acting against the queen, committing treason. After her trial, however, the fictional Jane is declared innocent , a difference the narrator draws attention to by saying, “ That’s right. Innocent. I told you we were changing history. ” When she is sentenced to execution later in the series, the Ethians come to her rescue, which did not happen in real life.

My Lady Jane is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

What Happened To The Real Lady Jane Grey

The real jane grey was sentenced to death.

As noted in the show, the real Jane Grey was not deemed innocent of treason and was sentenced to death . Due to religious differences, she was deposed when Mary became queen on July 19, 1553. While she was initially to be spared from execution, she soon became a threat as a symbol of Protestant power and was sentenced to beheading, along with her husband. As in the show, Jane went to the Tower of London before her execution. In real life, Jane was held as a prisoner in the Tower and was convicted of treason several months later.

Jane’s father, who was absent from the series, was also present in the Tower of London. According to Brittanica , he was initially pardoned, but Jane was still to die. Though her sentence was slowed, with the minor hope that she might too be pardoned, her father’s participation in another rebellion sealed Jane’s fate. In early 1554, the real Jane Grey and her husband, Guildford Dudley, were beheaded . Since then, many have found her compelling and sympathetic character with an engaging story.

Even though Jane Grey’s actual fate was unfortunately different from that of her fictional counterpart, My Lady Jane pays special attention and tribute to the real history of the times. The characters and relationships, though heightened, remain realistic and crucial to the story. My Lady Jane has the unique opportunity to highlight the short and tragic life of a lesser-known historical woman and tell her tale despite historical inaccuracies.

Source: Brittanica

My Lady Jane (2024)

My Lady Jane is a Prime Video original series created by Gemma Burgess. The story is a "what if" style story of English royal history where King Henry VIII's son Edward, Lady Jane Grey, and her husband Guildford all survive their real-life deaths. In the retelling of history, Jane Grey takes center stage, becoming queen and immediately finding herself facing nefarious villains.

TV & Movies

The My Lady Jane Book Ending Has A Fantastical Twist

Prepare to learn (and laugh) a lot.

A new series about Royal Family history is here, but it’s not a straightforward dramatization like The Crown.

Prime Video’s My Lady Jane is based on Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows’ 2016 novel of the same name. The book follows the adventures of Lady Jane Grey, who reigned as queen for nine days before she was deposed and executed by her cousin, Mary Tudor. But don’t expect such a grim ending to screen Jane’s life. As the authors write in the preface to My Lady Jane , “This is how we think Jane’s story should have gone.”

So, what does that revised story look like? Here’s a recap of the My Lady Jane book ending and plot summary for a peek ahead as you tune into the new series, which premiered on June 27.

A Plot For The Throne

Believed to be dying, a very ill King Edward VI is asked about his succession plan in 16th-century England. At Lord Dudley’s urging, he agrees that his cousin, Jane Grey, should be the next monarch and that she should marry Dudley’s son, Gifford (aka G).

In this version of the story, Edward isn’t sick but is slowly being poisoned by those who want to control the throne, including his own sister, Mary Tudor. However, his other sister, Elizabeth (aka Bess) helps him flee the palace to safety.

Oh, There’s A Wild Twist

After Jane marries G, she is surprised to learn that he is an Edian, a person who is capable of taking on an animal form (in his case, a horse). Edward is also one, but only realizes this as he flees his tower to escape his own death. He’s a falcon!

Jane has an affinity for Edian culture, though Mary is very much against it. The tension between Edians and Verities, who did not support shape-shifting, seems to be a stand-in for the real-life religious conflict that characterized this period of history.

As Mary’s forces invade the palace to claim the throne, G escapes with Jane, who learns she is an Edian who takes on the form of a ferret.

Lost and needing help away from the castle, Edward forges a relationship with a girl named Gracie, an Edian in fox form. They finally cross paths with G and Jane, and team up to take on Mary and her forces back at the palace. They overcome Mary, and Edward appoints his sister as queen — aka, Queen Elizabeth I.

Election | First lady Jill Biden visits Virginia Beach…

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Election | First lady Jill Biden visits Virginia Beach ahead of presidential debate

A giddy crowd eager to see her gathered inside a Democratic campaign office on Virginia Beach Boulevard near Newtown Road. Soon the room filled with supporters and media standing elbow-to-elbow, many fanning themselves with campaign flyers as the air-conditioner struggled to keep up.

Meanwhile, supporters of former President Donald Trump stood near the road holding posters, some with messages critical of President Joe Biden.

The first lady, 73, arrived shortly after 2 p.m. wearing a lilac-colored suit and holding a folded sheet of yellow legal pad paper with handwritten notes.

“So I’m on my way to Atlanta; you’ve probably heard about the debate,” said Biden said, smiling as she walked around the room. “You all know that there’s two visions for America, and you’ll see them tonight when you’re watching the debate.”

Trump and the president are scheduled to face off in their first debate of the 2024 election season at 9 p.m.

Trump is also planning a stop in Hampton Roads, hosting a campaign rally Friday in the historic Greenbrier Farms in Chesapeake. The Trump event will begin at 3 p.m. , with Gov. Glenn Youngkin expected to attend.

The back-to-back appearances underscore the focus the Biden and Trump campaigns have on Virginia. Democrats have won four consecutive presidential elections in the commonwealth, which is shaping up to be a key battleground in November, according to recent polls that have shown the two nearly even.

But those attending Thursday’s event have faith Virginia will remain blue.

“The former president can come down here tomorrow, and he can have his rally, but I don’t think it’s going to be reflective in November,” said Del. Michael Feggans. “The president will be victorious this fall.”

Sandra Brandt, chair of the 2nd Congressional District for the Democratic Committee, arrived at the campaign office early Thursday to help create posters in support of the Biden/Harris campaign. The first lady planned to take those posters with her to Atlanta, according to a spokesperson.

Brandt, 78, was excited to see Jill Biden up close.

“She’s kind of an idol for women because she’s a working woman in the White House, and she works hard for the rest of us across the country,” said Brandt.

A room full of supporters cheers for first lady Jill Biden during a campaign stop in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)

A supporter wears Biden Harris earrings during a campaign stop from the First Lady Jill Biden in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)

First lady Jill Biden greets a room full of supporters during a campaign stop in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)

A supporter takes a selfie with first lady Jill Biden during a campaign stop in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot).

First lady Jill Biden addresses a room full of supporters during a campaign stop in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)

A supporter wears a “Cats Against Trump” shirt during first lady Jill Biden’s campaign stop in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)

First lady Jill Biden takes a photo with a supporter during a campaign stop in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)

Women gather in the parking lot as first lady Jill Biden’s motorcade departs following campaign stop in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)

First lady Jill Biden interacts with supporters during a campaign stop in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)

Edna Forrest, 72, a retired Norfolk Public Schools custodian who now works as a cafeteria monitor was also jazzed up about the opportunity to meet the first lady. Biden stuck around for photographs with attendees after speaking.

“I love her,” said Forrest. “She’s all about the teachers.”

Biden is a community college educator in Virginia and gave a shout out to other teachers in the room.

She also touched on several topics, including her family’s military connections and her husband’s work to improve health care. She also mentioned the impact the election could have for the U.S. Supreme Court.

“The next president will be able to probably put two people on the Supreme Court,” she said. “We got to fight hard.”

Biden encouraged the attendees to closely listen to the debate.

“In the end it really comes down to who has the wisdom and who has the experience and who has the ability to really lead this country in the right direction,” she said.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, [email protected]

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Texas woman arrested, accused of trying to drown 3-year-old Palestinian Muslim child in possible hate crime

A Texas woman was arrested and accused of trying to drown a 3-year-old Palestinian Muslim child in an apartment complex pool last month after she questioned the child’s mother about their country of origin, according to officials.

Police responded to the apartment complex pool in Euless around 5:44 p.m. May 19 regarding “a disturbance between two women,” Euless police said in a news release.

“Upon arrival, officers were told by witnesses that a woman who was very intoxicated had tried to drown a child and argued with the child’s mother,” police said.

The child’s mother, 32, told police that the suspect, identified as Elizabeth Wolf, 42, questioned where she was from and made statements about her not being American, as well as “other racial statements.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, said in a news release that the mother visibly appeared to be Muslim, as she was wearing a hijab and modest swimwear.

Wolf also asked the woman whether two of the children in the pool were hers before she tried to grab one of them, a 6-year-old boy, who was able to get away, police alleged.

“The mother began helping her son when Wolf grabbed her 3-year-old daughter and forced her underwater,” police said. “The mother was able to pull her daughter from the water. Her daughter had been yelling for help and was coughing up water.”

CAIR alleged that Wolf also snatched the mother’s headscarf off while she tried to save her daughter and beat her with it.

Both children were “medically cleared” at the scene, police said.

Wolf was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication as she tried to leave the scene. She was charged with attempted capital murder and injury to a child. Police don’t believe that Wolf and the victim’s mother knew each other before the May 19 incident.

CAIR said the mother, whom it identified as “Mrs. H.,” said her daughter is traumatized by the incident and hides whenever she opens their apartment door out of fear that Wolf “will come and immerse her head in the water again.”

“We are American citizens, originally from Palestine, and I don’t know where to go to feel safe with my kids,” CAIR quoted her as saying. “My country is facing a war, and we are facing that hate here.”

CAIR’s Texas branch called on federal and state authorities to investigate the incident as a hate crime. Euless police have recommended that the incident be considered a hate crime,   and the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office is investigating it, a police spokesperson told NBC News.

Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR’s Austin operations manager, said, “We are seeing a new level of bigotry here where a person deeply believes they get to decide, based on religion, spoken language and country of origin, whose kids deserve to stay alive and whose don’t.”

In April, CAIR reported receiving 8,061 complaints nationally last year from Muslims who reported experiencing discrimination or hate incidents. It’s the most the group has ever gotten at any point in its 30-year history, including after 9/11. The council also reported receiving 3,578 complaints during the last three months last year.

State Rep. Salman Bhojani, a Democrat who represents the area in the Texas House, said he was “shocked and appalled” by the alleged racist incident.

“Hate has no place in Euless, District 92, or anywhere in our great state,” Bhojani said.

It’s not clear whether Wolf has an attorney.

Breaking news reporter

Meriam Bouarrouj is an NBC News assignment editor.