The Dance of Death
August Strindberg
Play Summary
The theatrical play takes place in a rounded fortress made of dark grey stone which during the past served as a prison.
The fortress is located on a Swedish island whose residents call it “Little Hell”.
From inside the fortress one can see the sea shore with batteries, where the sentry patrols, and the sea beyond (On many occasions throughout the play the phrase “The sentry patrols around the battery like before” is being repeated).
Edgar, an active Captain in the Coast Artillery and his wife Alice live in the fortress. Alice is ten years younger than Edgar.
The playwright calls Edgar “Captain” throughout the whole play, therefore in the psychotheatrological analysis we maintain this title.
The couple lives together for twenty five years.
Their silver wedding anniversary is approaching and the Captain plans to celebrate it, unlike Alice who thinks that it is more “normal” not to celebrate it, thus hiding their twenty five years of misery.
The couple has broken up twice while they were engaged. They broke up once more during their wedding -for five years- staying though under the same roof.
They have given birth to four children, two of whom have died (they have got the paleness of prison and died due to lack of light, according to Alice). The other two, a daughter (Judith) and a son (his name is not being mentioned) have been sent to the mainland so as to avoid parental conflicts.
The couple lives alone, isolated from the rest of the island. They do not get in contact with other people. Both the Captain and Alice are contemptuous of others and consider them insidious. Thus, they have cut themselves off the society of the island (or the society of the island cut them off).
They have tried to make friends in the past, though with no success. At the beginning the contact with others pleased them but later on it caused them frustration.
The couple has two maids, Jenny and Christine, who, as the play advances, they abandon them just like the others before them.
The only means of communication with the mainland is through a telegraph. They do have a telephone but they do not use it because they believe that the phone operators eavesdrop and convey everything they say.
In these confinement and isolation conditions, the Captain and Alice experience a daily routine of boredom, irritation and misery. They have constructed a relationship of “Love - Hatred” -according to the third character of the play, Kurt- which takes the form of mutual rage and constant attempts to destroy each other. Yet, at the same time it is a relationship of total and absolute dependence on each other.
The play starts with the couple discussing in an atmosphere of boredom, misery and intense irritation. It is a mild autumn night when the island’s doctor holds a reception where the couple is not invited. (The music, though, is heard up to the fortress).
The boring atmosphere is about to change upon the arrival of Kurt, Alice’s cousin, who officiates as the new Master of Quarantine which is about to be installed on the island.
Kurt has not seen the couple for fifteen years. His arrival seems to revitalize both of them and marks a temporary exit of the emptiness of their daily life.
Both the Captain and Alice find in Kurt the perfect listener - viewer of their absurd marriage and they make him witness the entrapment, cruelty and insanity which constitute the basis of their existence as a couple.
Soon after Kurt’s appearance, the Captain shows symptoms of illness and falls constantly unconscious. The situation worries Kurt, who immediately calls the doctor for help. The doctor refuses to treat the Captain and hangs up the phone without giving any explanation.
Alice does not seem to be particularly touched; on the contrary she looks like she would be relieved on the possibility of her husband’s death.
At the beginning the Captain refuses to accept the fact that he might be ill and needs help. Gradually, the fear that he might suffer from something grows and asks Kurt and Alice to call the doctor. The doctor does not have any time.
Kurt leaves in order to talk to the doctor in person. The doctor agrees to treat the Captain as long as the latter calls him himself. The Captain, though, even in the last minute shows repulsion and distrust towards the doctor. His fear grows fiercely, as he starts wondering if he is going to die, therefore, for the first time he openly asks Kurt to help him.
Gradually as the plot evolves, the three characters seem to enter the world of absurd with increasing impetuosity. The Captain and Alice take turns in holding the reins of the absurd.
Kurt, who at the beginning gave the impression that he was fascinated by the absurd element in the couple’s relationship, lets himself be carried away in a dance of daze, passion and madness. Through this interaction, he will eventually get in touch with his own “evil”, “demonic” (paranoid) part.
Following the linear evolution of the play , on the morning of the third day the Captain returns from the mainland, which he has visited for unknown reasons (Alice believes that he went to pay visits and that he is about to do something evil).
Upon his appearance on stage, the Captain makes announcements in front of Alice and Kurt which later on prove to be false and he actually does not remember making.
Specifically, he announces that he has visited the doctor who told him that he is healthy and will live twenty more years.
He also announces that due to lack of cadets on the island, he arranged along with the Colonel to station Kurt’s son there. Kurt upon hearing the news reacts with anger.
Finally, he informs Alice that he has filed for divorce and plans to replace his unlucky marriage with another marriage to a younger and more caring spouse.
Upon hearing the Captain’s announcements and without knowing that they are all lies, Alice, in retaliation, decides to accuse him of embezzlement in front of the Artillery Commander and asks Kurt for support.
At first, Kurt sympathizes with Alice and becomes exasperated with the Captain, whom he considers a cannibal and evil. He feels sexually attracted to Alice and thinks about the possibility of fleeing with her to the mainland. Eventually, he realizes that Alice is a devil and refuses to help her put the Captain in jail.
At the end, he realizes that he has become worse than the other two. He becomes fully aware of his incompetence to understand people, empathizes with both but chooses to abandon them and goes.
The play ends as it started, with the Captain and Alice equally isolated, perhaps more self-conscious but surely more dependent on each other than ever.
The Captain seems to have come in contact with his own reality. He is affectionate and forgives his wife, while Alice on her part accepts to become his “nurse”.
They both agree that what they live is not a life but an eternal torture. Their destiny is to torture each other and they hope that this torment will come to an end after their death.
They decide to celebrate their silver wedding.
The fortress is located on a Swedish island whose residents call it “Little Hell”.
From inside the fortress one can see the sea shore with batteries, where the sentry patrols, and the sea beyond (On many occasions throughout the play the phrase “The sentry patrols around the battery like before” is being repeated).
Edgar, an active Captain in the Coast Artillery and his wife Alice live in the fortress. Alice is ten years younger than Edgar.
The playwright calls Edgar “Captain” throughout the whole play, therefore in the psychotheatrological analysis we maintain this title.
The couple lives together for twenty five years.
Their silver wedding anniversary is approaching and the Captain plans to celebrate it, unlike Alice who thinks that it is more “normal” not to celebrate it, thus hiding their twenty five years of misery.
The couple has broken up twice while they were engaged. They broke up once more during their wedding -for five years- staying though under the same roof.
They have given birth to four children, two of whom have died (they have got the paleness of prison and died due to lack of light, according to Alice). The other two, a daughter (Judith) and a son (his name is not being mentioned) have been sent to the mainland so as to avoid parental conflicts.
The couple lives alone, isolated from the rest of the island. They do not get in contact with other people. Both the Captain and Alice are contemptuous of others and consider them insidious. Thus, they have cut themselves off the society of the island (or the society of the island cut them off).
They have tried to make friends in the past, though with no success. At the beginning the contact with others pleased them but later on it caused them frustration.
The couple has two maids, Jenny and Christine, who, as the play advances, they abandon them just like the others before them.
The only means of communication with the mainland is through a telegraph. They do have a telephone but they do not use it because they believe that the phone operators eavesdrop and convey everything they say.
In these confinement and isolation conditions, the Captain and Alice experience a daily routine of boredom, irritation and misery. They have constructed a relationship of “Love - Hatred” -according to the third character of the play, Kurt- which takes the form of mutual rage and constant attempts to destroy each other. Yet, at the same time it is a relationship of total and absolute dependence on each other.
The play starts with the couple discussing in an atmosphere of boredom, misery and intense irritation. It is a mild autumn night when the island’s doctor holds a reception where the couple is not invited. (The music, though, is heard up to the fortress).
The boring atmosphere is about to change upon the arrival of Kurt, Alice’s cousin, who officiates as the new Master of Quarantine which is about to be installed on the island.
Kurt has not seen the couple for fifteen years. His arrival seems to revitalize both of them and marks a temporary exit of the emptiness of their daily life.
Both the Captain and Alice find in Kurt the perfect listener - viewer of their absurd marriage and they make him witness the entrapment, cruelty and insanity which constitute the basis of their existence as a couple.
Soon after Kurt’s appearance, the Captain shows symptoms of illness and falls constantly unconscious. The situation worries Kurt, who immediately calls the doctor for help. The doctor refuses to treat the Captain and hangs up the phone without giving any explanation.
Alice does not seem to be particularly touched; on the contrary she looks like she would be relieved on the possibility of her husband’s death.
At the beginning the Captain refuses to accept the fact that he might be ill and needs help. Gradually, the fear that he might suffer from something grows and asks Kurt and Alice to call the doctor. The doctor does not have any time.
Kurt leaves in order to talk to the doctor in person. The doctor agrees to treat the Captain as long as the latter calls him himself. The Captain, though, even in the last minute shows repulsion and distrust towards the doctor. His fear grows fiercely, as he starts wondering if he is going to die, therefore, for the first time he openly asks Kurt to help him.
Gradually as the plot evolves, the three characters seem to enter the world of absurd with increasing impetuosity. The Captain and Alice take turns in holding the reins of the absurd.
Kurt, who at the beginning gave the impression that he was fascinated by the absurd element in the couple’s relationship, lets himself be carried away in a dance of daze, passion and madness. Through this interaction, he will eventually get in touch with his own “evil”, “demonic” (paranoid) part.
Following the linear evolution of the play , on the morning of the third day the Captain returns from the mainland, which he has visited for unknown reasons (Alice believes that he went to pay visits and that he is about to do something evil).
Upon his appearance on stage, the Captain makes announcements in front of Alice and Kurt which later on prove to be false and he actually does not remember making.
Specifically, he announces that he has visited the doctor who told him that he is healthy and will live twenty more years.
He also announces that due to lack of cadets on the island, he arranged along with the Colonel to station Kurt’s son there. Kurt upon hearing the news reacts with anger.
Finally, he informs Alice that he has filed for divorce and plans to replace his unlucky marriage with another marriage to a younger and more caring spouse.
Upon hearing the Captain’s announcements and without knowing that they are all lies, Alice, in retaliation, decides to accuse him of embezzlement in front of the Artillery Commander and asks Kurt for support.
At first, Kurt sympathizes with Alice and becomes exasperated with the Captain, whom he considers a cannibal and evil. He feels sexually attracted to Alice and thinks about the possibility of fleeing with her to the mainland. Eventually, he realizes that Alice is a devil and refuses to help her put the Captain in jail.
At the end, he realizes that he has become worse than the other two. He becomes fully aware of his incompetence to understand people, empathizes with both but chooses to abandon them and goes.
The play ends as it started, with the Captain and Alice equally isolated, perhaps more self-conscious but surely more dependent on each other than ever.
The Captain seems to have come in contact with his own reality. He is affectionate and forgives his wife, while Alice on her part accepts to become his “nurse”.
They both agree that what they live is not a life but an eternal torture. Their destiny is to torture each other and they hope that this torment will come to an end after their death.
They decide to celebrate their silver wedding.
Theatrological Elaboration: Maria Kyriakoglou
Psychotheatrological Analysis: Maria Kyriakoglou/Panos Mavitzis
Psychotheatrological Analysis: Maria Kyriakoglou/Panos Mavitzis
Photo Composition: Theodoros Mavrogiorgis