Death and the Maiden (film)
Death and the Maiden is a 1994 mystery drama film directed by Roman Polanski and starring Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley and Stuart Wilson. It was based on the play by the same name by Ariel Dorfman, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Rafael Yglesias.
Plot
Paulina Escobar (Weaver) is a housewife married to a prominent lawyer in an unnamed South American country. One day a storm forces her husband Gerardo (Wilson) to ride home with a charming stranger. She is convinced that the stranger, Dr. Miranda (Kingsley), was part of the old fascist regime and that he tortured and raped her for weeks while she was blindfolded. Paulina takes him captive to determine the truth. Despite attempts by both her husband and Miranda to convince her that he is innocent, Paulina is certain that he is the one, and forces her husband to be Miranda's "attorney" in the "trial" she arranges for him.
Death and the Maiden
Death and the Maiden, a concept ultimately derived from the Medieval "Dance of Death", may refer to:
In visual art:
In music:
In drama:
In literature:
Death and the Maiden (play)
Death and the Maiden is a 1990 play by Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman. The world premiere was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 9 July 1991, directed by Lindsay Posner. It had one reading and one workshop production prior to its world premiere.
Characters
The time is the present and the place, a country that is probably Chile but could be any country that has given itself a democratic government just after a long period of dictatorship.
Synopsis
Paulina Salas is a former political prisoner in an unnamed Latin American country who had been raped by her captors, led by a sadistic doctor whose face she never saw. The rapist doctor played Schubert's composition Death and the Maiden during the act of rape; hence the play's title.
Years later, after the (also unnamed) repressive regime has fallen, Paulina lives in an isolated country house with her husband, Gerardo Escobar. When Gerardo comes back from a visit to the president, he gets a flat tire. A stranger named Dr. Miranda stops to assist him. Dr. Miranda drives Gerardo home and later in the night he returns. Paulina recognizes Miranda's voice and mannerism as that of her rapist, and takes him captive in order to put him on trial and extract a confession from him.
Death and the Maiden (The Verlaines song)
"Death and the Maiden" is a song by New Zealand rock band The Verlaines. It was released as a single in 1983 and is arguably the most popular song in their discography. The 'B' side of the record was CD, Jimmy Jazz & Me.
"Death and the Maiden" later appeared on the 1987 album Juvenilia, which was a collection of The Verlaines early singles and EP's.
New Zealand rock band Elemeno P released a cover version of this song on their 2005 album Trouble in Paradise. Former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus also recorded a version for the Flying Nun tribute album Under the Influence - 21 Years of Flying Nun Records in 2002. Boston band Prickly covered the song on their 1997 LP Velleity.
Meaning of the lyrics
You'll only end up like Rimbaud
Get shot by Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine....
The lyrics above refer to Paul Verlaine, a 19th-century French poet. After going into a drunken rage, Verlaine shot his lover – fellow poet Arthur Rimbaud in July 1873. The Verlaines took their name from the French poet.
