Dürrenmatt: Corruption Due To Wealth

Corruption due to Wealth through the Character of Claire in The Visit: A Tragicomedy
The Visit is a play written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt and contains qualities from both tragedy and comedy. The play follows the billionaire Claire and her quest to exact vengeance upon her ex-lover, Alfred Ill. She will give the town of Güllen a billion dollars if one of the townsfolk kills him. Through the characterization of Claire, Dürrenmatt illustrates the corruptive effects of wealth.
Dürrenmatt characterizes Claire as arrogant due to her wealth by her actions and dialogue. In the beginning of the play, Claire arrives unexpectedly in Güllen because she pulls on the emergency brake of a train. The train conductor is furious:
TRAIN SUPERVISOR: Madam, you
In the first act of the play, the local choir of Güllen sings to Claire as a welcome. However, as the choir sings, a train passes by and drowns out their song and Claire comments, “Well sung, Gülleners. Especially that blond bass on the left, with the big Adam’s apple, was remarkable” (15). Claire compliments the noise of the train rather than the actual choir. Claire mocks the choir by suggesting in her dialogue that the train itself was part of the choir and was better than any of the members. Her mocking establishes that Claire has no respect for the choir. Claire views her status due to her wealth as above the local townsfolk to the point where she can freely mock the school’s attempt at signing. Calling the train a “blond bass…with the big Adam’s apple” further compares the train to a person and a member of the choir. The noise from a train rushing by is far from music, but Claire calls it “remarkable”, further poking fun at the choir. Claire does not hide her contempt and dislike for the choir’s song as her wealth allows her to do as she wishes. As the train passes, “[t]he choir struggles against the clattering” (15), demonstrating the effort the choir puts into their song and their attempt at singing over the noises of the train. Claire disregards their efforts and instead compliments the same noise that drowned out the choir’s song. Claire’s
Towards the end of the play, the teacher confronts Claire on her heinous actions. She dismisses his complaints: “Human kindness…is made for the purses of millionaires. With financial power like mine, you can afford yourself a new world order. The world made a whore of me, now I’ll make a whorehouse of the world” (72). In this scene, Dürrenmatt gives Claire a condescending and snide tone, as if she is above all others. Claire states she no longer needs kindness due to her millionaire status. This shows how little she regards others now that she has gained a large amount of money. For Claire, cash can manipulate and even outright buy kindness. Claire then states that with her wealth, she, “can afford…a new world order”. Her corruption due to wealth extends to the whole globe. Her affluence makes her believe that she can even change the laws of the world. The phrase “new world order” suggests that Claire intends to revolutionize the world in her image. The tone in this scene is confident and sure, showing that Claire truly believes that she can change the rules around her with just money. Dürrenmatt creation of Claire shows the corruptibility of mankind through