Death and the Maiden (La muerte y la doncella) is a play by Ariel Dorfman, first published in 1991. Ariel Dorfman (born May 6, 1942) is a Jewish Chilean novelist, dramatist, essayist, and human rights activist. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1994, Roman Polański directed a film of the work, starring Sigourney Weaver as the victim and Ben Kingsley as the rapist. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Roman PolaÅ„ski at Cannes with Adrien Brody, 2002 Roman PolaÅ„ski (born August 18, 1933) is a Franco-Polish film director and actor. ... Sigourney Weaver Sigourney Weaver (born Susan Alexandra Weaver on October 8, 1949 in New York City) is an American actress perhaps best known for her portrayal of Ripley in Alien (1979) and its sequels. ... Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Bhanji on December 31, 1943) is a British-Indian actor. ...

Synopsis

It portrays a night in the life of a rape victim, who suffered her rape while under the custody of an unspecified oppressive regime due to political crimes. The rapist played Schubert's composition Death and the Maiden while raping her; hence the play's title. It is probable that Dorfman, as an Chilean exile escaping the regime of Augusto Pinochet, has Chile in mind. For the crater on the moon, see Schubert (crater) Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828), was an Austrian composer. ... The Death and the Maiden Quartet, written in 1824 by Franz Schubert, just after the composer became aware of his ruined health, and D. 810 in Otto Erich Deutschs thematic catalog of Schuberts works, is a string quartet in four movements: Allegro, in D minor and common time... EXILE is a 6-member Japanese pop music band. ... General Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte[1] (born November 25, 1915) was head of the military dictatorship that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. ...

External links

• Background information about the play Death and the Maiden on eNotes
• Death and the Maiden at The Internet Movie Database
• Synopsis of the movie. New York University, The Literature, Arts & Medicine Database
• The movie Death and the Maiden on Amazon.com