The Visit

Research the philosophy of Humanism as it relates to World War II and postmodernism. What do you think the play says about Humanism? Use evidence from the text.

In the play, does money give Claire the power to dehumanize people? What examples from the play show dehumanization? What comment do you think this might make about money and power?

Choose a symbol that stands out in the text and follow that symbol throughout the play. How does the symbol create meaning? What does the symbol signify?

Imagine that you are working on a contemporary production of The Visit. How would you create relevance for an audience today? What elements do you think might need to be changed? Why?

In the first act of the play, Claire states that she has come to Guellen to buy justice. Do you think she succeeds? Why or why not?

How would you characterize Claire? What is her function in the play, and how does that function create meaning for the audience?

Claire tells the Schoolmaster and the Doctor, “The world turned me into a whore. I shall turn the world into a brothel” (67). How is she doing that? What purpose does it serve?

What do you think it means that Claire has prosthetic limbs and is, as she claims, mostly artificial? How does this affect the way she functions in the text?