Death and the Maiden: Act 1, Scene 4 Summary & Analysis

Still before dawn, Roberto regains consciousness. Realizing he is tied up, he struggles desperately—and unsuccessfully—to free himself. Paulina sits in front of him with the gun. With a calm demeanor, she says: “Good morning, Doctor… Miranda, isn’t it? Doctor Miranda.”

Paulina talks about a female friend she had at medical school who was also a “Miranda.” She was a brilliant mind, Paulina explains, but there’s no telling what became of her. Paulina mentions her own studies, saying she never qualified and that Roberto can probably guess why.

Paulina explains that she was fortunate that she had Gerardo to turn to after she left university. She’s heard that, now that the military isn’t in charge, the university might be allowing people who were kicked out to reapply; she says she’s considering doing so. She then apologizes to Roberto for “chatting away” when she’s supposed to be making a “nice breakfast.” 

Paulina also apologizes to Roberto that “this must remain, for the moment, a monologue.” She says he can have his say in good time, once Gerardo wakes up. Opening up her bedroom door, she tells Roberto that the “real real truth” is that he looks “slightly bored.”

Paulina takes out a cassette of Schubert’s string quartet “Death and the Maiden,” which she found in Roberto’s car. She puts it on. She hasn’t listened to it for a while, she explains, because whenever she hears any Schubert it makes her feel “extremely ill.” Schubert was her favorite composer and, Paulina goes on, she had always promised to herself that she would one day “recover him, bring him back from the grave so to speak.”

Paulina calls out to Gerardo, “Isn’t this quartet marvelous, my love?” She says to Roberto that now she’ll be able to listen to Schubert again, perhaps even attend a concert. She asks if he knows that Schubert was a homosexual, before noting that of course he does—he was the one who “kept repeating it over and over again” while playing the tape. She asks if the one she found in Roberto’s car is the same tape, or whether he buys a new one each year to keep the sound pure.

Gerardo comes in, dozy from sleep. It takes him a moment to notice the scene in front of him. Astonished, he asks Paulina, “what the hell is going on” referring to the scene as a “kind of madness.” He moves to help Roberto, but she threatens him with the gun. Paulina tells Gerardo that “it’s him”—“the doctor who played Schubert.” She recognizes his voice, she says. Gerardo says that she’s “sick,” reminding her that she was blindfolded during “those weeks” so couldn’t possibly recognize Roberto.

Paulina says she may be “sick” but she can still recognize a voice. She asks Roberto to confirm whether “when we lose one of our faculties, the others compensate.” It’s not just the voice she recognizes, continues Paulina, but his laugh and “certain phrases he uses.” She tells Gerardo that not an hour has gone by when she hasn’t heard that voice: “that same voice, next to me, next to my ear, that voice mixed with saliva.”

Paulina imitates Roberto’s voice in conversation with another man, saying, “‘Give her a bit more. This bitch can take a bit more.’ ‘You sure Doctor? What if the cunt dies on us?’ ‘She’s not even near fainting. Give it to her, up another notch.’”

Gerardo pleads with Paulina to put down the gun, saying there is “no possible dialogue” while she points it at him. She says, “on the contrary, as soon as I stop pointing it at you, all dialogue will automatically terminate.” He warns her of “serious consequences” and asks Roberto to forgive Paulina’s behavior. She tells Gerardo not to “dare ask forgiveness from that piece of shit.”

Gerardo asks Paulina to untie Roberto. When she insists that she won’t, he moves towards Roberto. At this, Paulina fires the gun, surprised at the recoil. Roberto looks desperate. Gerardo tells Paulina to give him the gun, saying, “you can’t do this.” She replies: “When are you going to stop telling me what I can and can’t do.”

Paulina suddenly remembers that that she has phoned a mechanic and tells Gerardo to get dressed to greet him. Gerardo pleads with her to “start being reasonable.” She tells him to be reasonable: “they never did anything to you.” Gerardo tries to argue that they did, before interrupting himself to say, “we’re not competing for some horror prize here, damn it.” Even if she’s right about Roberto’s identity, he continues, what “Right” does she have to treat him like this.

The mechanics truck pulls up outside, prompting Paulina to close the curtains. Gerardo asks her if she’s considered that he could call the police. She doubts he would do that and says that if he does she’ll shoot Roberto before turning the gun on herself. He says she’s “unrecognizable.” Paulina tells Roberto to explain what he did to her to make her this “crazy,” and says to Gerardo that she intends to put Roberto on trial “right here. Today.” Or, she asks, “is your famous Investigating Commission going to do it?”