Jae Hee Kim

English Literature Year 1

Ms. Proud
09/25/17

How Does Paulina Evolve in Relationship to the Other Characters?

Paulina Salas is the main character, and the only female character in The Death and the Maiden, a play
written by Ariel Dorfman. The play is about a man, named Roberto Miranda, who visits the house of
Gerardo Escobar, who has just been named as part of the Investigating Commission that is in charge of
uncovering the injustices committed by the government during its years of dictatorship. Paulina Salas is
Gerardos wife, and it is implied, and said, many times throughout the book that she was kidnapped
during the times of dictatorship, and was raped repeatedly and tortured with electricity. After Doctor
Miranda goes to sleep in her house, Paulina kidnaps him, claiming that Roberto is the man that had raped
her several years ago. However, it is not as if Paulina had always been this strong woman; she has
evolved significantly during the course of the play. In seeking justice, revenge, and closure of her past,
traumatic events, Paulinas relationship with Doctor Miranda moves from her being nervous and
apprehensive of the Doctor, towards her being in control of both him and the situation. On the other hand,
Paulinas marriage with Gerardo also moves from submission towards Gerardo to manipulating Gerardo
for her needs and wants.

In Paulinas quest for justice, revenge, and closure as an old victim of the tortures that happened during
the dictatorship, her relationship with Doctor Miranda, whom she suspects of being the person that had
raped her several years ago, moves from her being nervous and scared of him towards Paulina being in
control of him and the situation. Initially, it is seen that Paulina is rather hostile towards visitors; in page
3, Paulina hurriedly stands up, goes to the other room, looks out the window (Dorfman, 3), and later
takes a gun out of the sideboard just in case the visitor might be a person from the government. This is
most likely because she has been tortured previously by the tyrannical government. Later on, she is seen
as being nervous of Doctor Miranda and what might happen to Gerardo, and Gerardo calms her down by
telling her that nothing is going to happen, and that he will be careful. Throughout his conversation with
Roberto, Gerardo even mentions that his wifes been a bit nervous (Dorfman, 13).
However, later in the play, Paulina kidnaps Roberto, and gags him by taking her panties off and stuffing
them into Doctor Mirandas mouth. After Roberto wakes up, she makes him know that she is the one in
charge of the situation by showing him the gun she is holding, and even tells Doctor Miranda that so
many things are going to change from now on (Dorfman, 21), implying that she will no longer remain as
the shackled girl, living in the past, not being able to look at the future because of her traumatic
experiences from many years ago. The fact that Paulina can now sit in her kitchen, listening to Schubert
with the Doctor that had raped her all those years ago sitting in front of her, gagged and tied up, without
being ill or throwing up, means that she has decided to take a step forward and change her views and
attitude towards Doctor Miranda, whom she does not only suspect of being her torturer, but is sure of
being her torturer. Her relationship with Doctor Miranda ends as she puts the muzzle of the gun on
Robertos forehead and threatens him to tell the truth. Paulinas words, this time I am going to think
about myself, about what I need (Dorfman, 66), show that she has overcome her fears in search of justice
on her past and revenge, as well.

Paulinas relationship with Gerardo is different; they are married, and it can be seen that because of her
want to gain Gerardos recognition and respect, but also her need to find closure to the past events, her
marriage with Gerardo evolves from her submission towards him to her dominance over him. At the
beginning of the play, Gerardo treats Paulina like a little child, and Paulina lets him do so. He calls her
silly girl, my baby (Dorfman, 11), and repeatedly does so, several times during the play. Another
example is shown when Paulina curses in front of Doctor Miranda and Gerardo defends her by saying
my God, Paulina! Doctor Miranda she has never spoken like this in her life (Dorfman, 33), which are
words that a husband wouldnt usually say about his wife, but rather, something a parent would say about
their child. Also, during his conversation with Roberto, Gerardo dismisses Paulinas actions with the
words, you know women (Dorfman, 14), showing that Gerardo just sees Paulina as a woman, as in,
a person inferior to himself and other men, and Paulina has left him to do so. It is not apparent why she
has allowed this, until later, when she says herself that she was able to live, because Gerardo had at least
been there after she had returned from 2 months of being tortured and raped by unknown men. It is also
revealed, through their conversation in pages 54 and 55, that Paulina has never really gotten over the fact
that Gerardo had cheated on her, but Gerardo had, in a way, forbidden her to talk about this until then.

After Paulinas kidnapping of Roberto, things change a little bit. Paulina uses Gerardo more as a tool for
her revenge and her seeking of justice, manipulating him, and also more boldly asking him for her needs
and wants. She upfront tells him that she wants to know how many times you [Gerardo] fucked that
bitch (Dorfman, 55), and Gerardo even says himself that he is in your [Paulinas] hands like a baby,
Ive [Gerardo has] got no defenses, Im [Gerardo is] naked in front of you like the day I [Gerardo] was
born (Dorfman, 56), showing that although in the past, Gerardo was dominant of Paulina, now Paulina is
the one with authority in the relationship. Paulina even manipulates Gerardo into telling Roberto the story
of her rape, and changes a few pieces in the story so that she can see if Roberto manages to change those
small details (and she mentions that he does), which will give her assurance as to whether Doctor Miranda
really is her torturer. This was to gain proof, actual proof that the Doctor really is her torturer, something
that Gerardo had been asking from her from the beginning, when she has mentioned his scent and his skin
as evidence. In a way, she was trying to gain Gerardos respect and acknowledgement through this whole
kidnapping incident, trying to prove herself right that Doctor Miranda really is the torturer that she has
been looking for all these years, and that this is not something happening in her imagination.

In the end, although Paulinas relationship with Doctor Miranda was of nervousness and apprehension,
and although Paulinas marriage with Gerardo consisted of her submission towards him and his thinking
of her as a child he has to take care of, Paulina ends of dominating both men by the end of the play. This
is because of her needs and wants, as in, her seek for revenge and closure of her past, and her want for
recognition from her husband, who obviously does not believe her words.

(Word Count: 1228)

Works Cited:
Dorfman, Ariel. Death and the Maiden. New York: Penguin Books, 1994.