Articulating Sound Effects for Thematic Enhancement in Death and the Maiden - Essay Example

Articulating Sound Effects for Thematic enhancement in Death and the Maiden One of the primary characteristics differentiating drama from written literature is the articulate use of sound effects to promote or enhance different themes in the author’s work. Indeed, the play Death and the Maiden by Dorfman is one epic example of a play that has significantly used sound as a theme enhancing feature. Death and the Maiden depict the challenges of Chileans after decades of dictatorship through experiences of Paulina Salas, a former political prisoner. Her reminiscence of traumatic experiences after a rape ordeal every time she heard Schuberts masterpiece Death and the Maiden years later sets the stage for use of sound effects for thematic enhancement in the play. One of the most striking sound effects in the play is the articulate use of conversational tones and sound effects to underscore the characters’ moods. In the play, Paulina, Roberto and Gerado interrupt one another during conversations and heated arguments. Strikingly, the author’s use of dashes as well as ellipses within the script shows interruptions in conversations. For instance, just as Gerardo picks up a conversation with Paulina, she interrupts him and he interrupts her too. The resulting conversation is one marred with aggressiveness and dissonance. In turn, the aggressiveness, dissonance, and intolerance depicted in the conversations is arguably a direct depiction of a greater Chilean society at that time. For instance, in act 1 scene 1, GERARDO (cont’d.): Is that…? What’re you doing there like that? Sorry I took this long to… I…. PAULINA (trying not to seem agitated): And who was that? GERARDO: It’s just that I… PAULINA: Who was it? GERARDO: …had an—no, don’t worry, it wasn’t anything serious. It’s just that the car—luckily a man stopped—just a flat tire. Paulina, I can’t see a thing without…. (Dorfman 2). Certainly, such dissonance shown in the play is indeed congruent to the relationship between dictatorial leadership and oppressed citizens as each side try to get a hold on social discourse. Throughout the play, the author has significantly used sounds perhaps as a literature tool to enhance the theme of historical injustices. Coupled with the lighting effects from the moon and sound from wind, he is able to create a remote setting in which the play is founded. Indeed, in Act I, Scene 1, sound of the sea sets the stage by isolating the Escobar beach house, and the occupants thereof, with the rest of the world. The sound of the sea arguably represents hidden historical injustices. Similarly, it can be argued that the greater Chilean community had been experiencing injustices from past oppressive leadership regime. However, as the sound of an approaching car in act 1 scene 2, tears through the sound of the sea, so does a new opportunity to settle historical pains present itself to Paulina. In act 1 scene 2 “Sound of the sea beyond. The sound of a car approaching Then the headlights light up the living room, are switched off, a car door is opened and closed” (Gerardo 9). Paulina later kidnaps Roberto as she sought for revenge. Likewise, the greater Chilean community significantly waited for a moment of reconciliation from past injustices caused by bad governance. The author also uses sound effects to present the character of Paulina, elaborating on how her personal life experiences played a role in shaping her present state. For instance, Dorfman portrays Paulina as being in possession of a gun throughout her interrogation of Roberto, thereby making her central power in the play. However, this contrasts sharply with the diffident Paulina that the audience meets in scene 1 of Act 1 who hid behind the curtains after seeing an unfamiliar car zoom into her compound. Even though Paulina is in possession of a gun and therefore able to defend herself when confronted with any danger, she opts to keep out of sight of anybody. Through this action, Dorfman communicates the theme of distrust that builds on later in all the three characters. On the same note, Dorfman uses the gun and later the sound from it to shift the attention of the audience from masculinity as the center of power to femininity in the character of Paulina. Having stopped short of firing the gun in an attempt to stop Gerrardo from setting Roberto free, Gerardo upon requesting her to let go of the gun in exchange for a dialogue, Paulina says in Act 1 Scene 4 that, “On the contrary, as soon as I stop pointing it at you, all dialogue will automatically terminate. If I put it down you’ll use your strength to win the argument.” (Dorfman 19) The effect of this is twofold, first it allows the reader to reflect on the suffering that Paulina underwent in the hands of the doctor who used his masculine strength to molest her, and secondly, it asserts transitional element in Paulina’s character from being a victim of violence, to a perpetrator of the same and finally reconciling with her senses. Music, specifically Shubert’s Death and the Maiden, from which the play derives its name, is used extensively to assert a number of thematic concerns in the play. First, Paulina plays this particular song in her attempt to make Roberto aware of the fact that she is able to identify him as the doctor who assaulted her fifteen years ago, depicting her as being unable to forget her past traumatic experiences. Secondly, the music also plays at the end of the play at a concert attended by all the three, Paulina, Gerardo and Roberto. Paulina, who initially shrieked at the sound of the music, presently is able to listen to it without much ado. This marks the zenith of the healing process that is characterized by confessions, apologies as Roberto gets own on his knees (Dorfman, 45) as well as reformation of the society as one of the witnesses says, “This is the first time, in all these years, sit, that somebody had ever asked me to sit down.” (Dorfman, 47) The author thus uses sound music first to introduce to the audience Paulina’s past dehumanizing encounters, and finally to the efficacy of fact-finding in the healing process of a nation in the aftermath of heinous acts by a section of the population. Dorfman also uses sound to foster reflection, especially historical reflection supported by preserved information. Paulina uses a cassette to record her conversation, an interrogation to be precise, with Roberto. Through this act, the author achieves two important things. The first is that Paulina is able to preserve information regarding Roberto’s confession of having been the one who perpetrated her suffering, and can use it later in the event that Roberto attempts to recant from the confession. Secondly, the capturing of sound using a cassette is symbolic to having information stored in the human memory, and which can be retrieved later through such process as interviews or forum, quite analogous to playing the recorded conversations. Preservation of information in the human memory comes in handy in Act 1 Scene 4 when Paulina recognizes the voice of Roberto and tells Gerardo, “It’s his voice. I recognized it as soon as he came in here last night. The way he laughs.” immediately becoming certain that he is the Doctor who mistreated her. Timely and strategic use of “the last movement of Mozart’s Dissonant Quartet” (Dorfman, 46) towards the end of the play serves to enhance simultaneously the past struggles and the looming peace following the confession by Roberto and the testimonies from witnesses and victims of the atrocious regime. The inclusion of the sound from the said music at a point when Paulina and Roberto are arguing over the validity and credibility of the confession of the latter allows them to reflect on the past from individual perspective so that they may be able to embrace the impending harmony. Dorfman further enhances his goal of inspiring individual reflection by introducing a mirror through which the audience can see their present image and relate it to the past occurrences that the much sought after harmony is set to redress. The play “Death and the Maiden” has extensively exploited sound effects in developing and asserting its major thematic concerns. Dorfman uses the tranquil sound of the sea to communicate isolation of the Escobar family, but later depicts the same sound as waning upon arrival of Gerardo and Roberto, signifying the family’s readiness to interact with the outside world. The author also uses sound effects to espouse on Paulina’s suffering. The fact that she is depicted as wielding a gun and firing blankly to threaten them two men already at her mercy allows the audience to reflect on the extent of damage the suffered during her time as a captive. In addition, the paper has also explored the extent to which Dorfman uses music and recording of information to present her past experiences and the healing process as well as the importance preserving information for use in future to corroborate facts. To this end, the paper has shown the effectiveness of sound effects in accomplishing intentional objectives of the author, that of supporting his thematic concerns. Rerences Dorman, Ariel. Death and the Maiden. 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