Facing Death
CHARACTERS
MONSIEUR DURAND, a pension proprietor, formerly connected with the state railroad
ADÈLE, his daughter, twenty-seven
ANNETTE, his daughter, twenty-four
THÉRÈSE, his daughter, twenty-four
ANTONIO, a lieutenant in an Italian cavalry regiment in French Switzerland in the eighties
PIERRE, an errand boy
Summary
In ‘Facing Death’, Strindberg dramatizes a heroic sacrifice made by a bankrupt man for the sake of his daughters. The play explores the themes of fatherhood, financial hardship, strained family relationships, the relentless struggle for survival, love, sacrifice, and the inevitability of death.
Mr. Durand, a former railroad worker and widower, struggles with financial ruin alongside his three daughters, Adele, Annette, and Therese. Their relationship is dysfunctional, and they are facing bankruptcy due to a long-standing economic crisis. To make ends meet, they have turned their home into a lodge, with Adele working in the kitchen and Mr. Durand taking on various chores, such as serving guests, cleaning, and running errands.
However, Therese and Annette spend their time playing, singing, and seeking attention without contributing to their father's efforts. The Durand family is heavily in debt, owing money to the baker, butcher, and grocery store. Their errand boy often returns with unpaid bills instead of bread. Despite their hardships, Mr. Durand purchases candles to honor his late son, René, who died in childhood.
Their only paying guest is Antonio, an Italian army lieutenant. Mr. Durand informs Antonio that they can no longer accommodate him due to their financial troubles. Antonio offers to pay in advance and requests to stay for another month, but Mr. Durand refuses. When Mr. Durand leaves to buy coffee and bread, Therese flirts with Antonio, leading to a kiss between them.
Upon discovering them, Mr. Durand becomes angry and drives Antonio away, throwing away the money he offered. Therese and Annette, unhappy with their father's actions, treat him rudely, even depriving him of bread and snatching his matches. Mr. Durand, in desperation and hunger, eats the rat’s bait, but fortunately finds it is not poisoned.
The daughters blame their father for the worsening condition of the house, asserting that things would have been different if their mother were alive. They side with their late mother, who had a strained relationship with their father, wasted money on lotteries, and threatened to work as a prostitute when scolded.
He then reveals long-held secrets to his eldest daughter, Adele. He confesses that he was born in France, fell in love before conscription, and moved to Switzerland to marry and become a citizen. During the last war, he fought against his own country as part of the Swiss Army, a fact he had concealed by claiming Swiss birth.
Mr. Durand also explains that their financial troubles resulted from their mother's careless and foolish investments, depleting their inheritances. Their mother had taught them to hate him, shifting blame and fostering hatred towards their father. He had remained silent to protect their image of their mother.
Mr. Durand advises Adele to care for her sisters like a mother and safeguard the insurance documents. Finally, he drinks poison and sets the house on fire, aiming to secure a 5,000-franc compensation for his daughters through the fire insurance policy.
Understanding the Text
a. Where does the play take place?
The play takes place in the dining room of Monsieur Durand, a former railroad worker, widower and pension owner who lives with his three daughters.
b. Why do the grocery, the bakery and the butcher send their bills to the Durand household?
The grocery, the bakery and the butcher send their bills to the Durand household because the Durand household hasn't paid its bills for a long time. Hence, they are unable to give more goods too unless the bills are paid.
c. Why does Monsieur Durand spend money on candles when he doesn't have money to buy even bread?
Monsieur Durand spends money on candles when he doesn't have money to buy even bread because he wants to burn candles on the death anniversary of his late son, Rene who died in his childhood. Mr. Durand is grief-stricken due to his demise and still has the sense of affection towards the dead child. Durand's another intention is to burn his house on fire and get the money of fire insurance to make the fortune of his daughters since they are battling the economic crisis.
d. Why did Monsieur sell his life insurance?
Mr. Durand sold his life insurance to pay off a debt he owed to a creditor.
e. Why has Monsieur Durand paid fire insurance?
Monsieur Durand has paid fire insurance of the house by mortgaging his house. His intention is to get the compensation from the fire insurance by burning his house so that the money given as the compensation can be helpful to his daughters.
f. How did Durand and Mrs. Durand run out of their inheritances from both the sides?
Due to Mrs. Durand's carelessness and foolish speculation, they lost paternal inheritance. Maternal inheritance was used in raising daughters. In this way, they ran out of their inheritances.
g. Why does Monsieur Durand tell a lie about his birthplace?
Monsieur Durand said that he was born in Switzerland although he was born in France. He tells a lie about his birthplace because of two reasons:
-not ruining his and his wife's prestige
-it looked as if he fought against his own birth country during the war although he fought against Germans.
h. What business is Mr. Durand running to make his living?
Mr. Durand is running a pension to make his living. He has converted his house into a lodge for the sake of earning money. He provides the guests with the services of lodging and fooding.
i. What plan does Monsieur Duran have to help his daughters with money?
Monsieur Duran has a plan to burn his house in fire and get the compensation from the fire insurance to help his daughters with money at the cost of his own life.
j. How does Monsieur Durand die?
Monsieur Durand dies by poisoning himself and burning his own house for the sake of compensation from the fire insurance to make fortune for his penniless daughters.
Reference to the context
a. Sketch the character of Monsieur Durand.
Monsieur Durand is a pension owner, former railroad worker and widower who lives with his three unkind daughters. He is a loving, caring and protective father. He sacrifices his own life for the sake of the betterment of his daughters who despise(hate) him. He keeps quiet throughout his life bearing injustice from his late wife who put all the blames of financial ruin on him. He is a loving husband too. He is a patriotic person who loves his birth country, France too although he is obliged to live in Switzerland. He is a tragic hero who faces the financial hardships and ends his own life tragically.
b. How do we know that the Duran family has reached a dead end?
The Durand family is bankrupt. They have lost their paternal and maternal inheritances. There are piles of bills to be paid off. Due to economic hardship, they have converted their house into a pension. Daughters have been filled with negativity and despise towards their father by their late mother. They don't even have bread to eat with coffee. Durand eats the rat's bait due to hunger. Daughters think, they have come to the verge of bankruptcy due to their father's mistake.
c. 'The mother, though already dead, seems to have had a great influence on the daughters, specially Theresa.' Do you agree?
The mother has had a great influence on her daughters in this play. Due to mother's teaching, all the daughters hate their father. They think that their father was the main cause behind their financial ruin. Specially, Theresa has had more impact from her mother. She snatches the matches away from her father when he was about to inhale tobacco with briar pipe. Similarly, she seizes the glass of milk from him. She is ruder than other sisters.
Mr. Durand has been maltreated by his daughters. They don't even let him drink a glass of milk. When all the doors of hope are closed, he is obliged to poison himself and burn the house in order to get compensation from the fire insurance to his daughters. Hence, all these evidences prove that the Durand family has reached a dead end.
d. Discuss the relationship between Monsieur Durand and his wife.
The relationship between Monsieur Durand and his wife was not good. She put all the blames on him though she herself ruined the inheritances. Because of her carelessness and foolish speculation, they ruined their paternal property. She used to spend money on lottery tickets. When she was scolded, she used to threaten by saying that she would be a prostitute for money. She called him a deserted soldier. She taught her daughters to dislike their father.
e. Monsieur Durand kills himself so that his daughters would get 5000 francs as the compensation from the insurance company. What does his plan tell us about him?
Mr. Durand is a tragic hero in the play who poisons himself and burns down his house for the sake of compensation from the insurance company to uplift his daughters' financial condition. The Durand family is having a difficult time due to economic crisis. He is being judged as an unsuccessful and irresponsible father by his three daughters. Hence, he plans to compensate his daughters from the fire insurance at the cost of his life than to be called an unsuccessful father.
e. "Money determines the relationship between characters in this play." Elaborate this statement with examples from the play.
Money is the first and the foremost thing valued in the play. Money is the root cause of all the problems in the play. The Durand family is starving due to lack of money. Mr. Durand has been unable to fulfil the basic needs of his daughters due to economic crisis. The relationship between Mr. Durand and Mrs. Durand also ruined just because of the conflict regarding the loss of inheritances.
Daughters hate their father just because he can't improve family's economic condition. They behave well with their father when he says "I am going away to get money for you". They even give him loving kisses. They use the words of kindness and love. They ask for forgiveness for their rude behaviours. When the father is unable to bring bread, his daughters don't even give a glass of milk. They seize it from him. They snatch the matches from him while going to smoke tobacco. Thus, money determines the relationship between characters in this play.
g. Discuss "Facing Death" as a modern tragedy.
Tragedy is a kind of drama that ends with death, separation, destruction, tears or failure of the protagonist. This play is a tragedy because it ends with the tragic death of the hero Durand. Modern tragedy deals with the realistic representation and common problems. Realism and naturalism are the main features of the modern play.
Modern tragedies deal with the problems of a modern man such as dysfunctional family relationship, socio-cultural problems, loneliness, etc. Characters become the victim of their socio-cultural environment, fate, economic class, gender, external environment and so on. Hence, in this play too, the protagonist has a dysfunctional relationship with his family members. He is an ordinary man and it deals with the financial hardship of a modern man. It realistically represents the modern world. Hence, it is a modern tragedy.
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