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The Empty Coffin
The greater the Gülleners’ debts, the greater their incentive to accept Claire’s offer and kill Ill for money. With every new purchase, then, the townspeople further commodify Ill, raising the price on his head. The yellow shoes are among the many purchases the townspeople make on credit; some Gülleners opt for expensive chocolate or Schnapps, others for gold teeth and expensive clothing, but all of them sport these yellow clogs. The shoes—bright and ubiquitous—visibly represent Güllen’s decline into frantic, amoral consumerism at the expense of Ill’s life and human dignity.
Yellow Shoes Quotes in The Visit
The The Visit quotes below all refer to the symbol of Yellow Shoes. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 2
Quotes
ILL: You’ve got new shoes. New yellow shoes.
SECOND MAN: So?
ILL: You, too, Hofbauer. You, too, are wearing new shoes. (He looks at the women, walks over to them slowly, horrified.) You too. New yellow shoes. New yellow shoes.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Visit LitChart as a printable PDF.
Yellow Shoes Symbol Timeline in The Visit
The timeline below shows where the symbol Yellow Shoes appears in The Visit. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 2
...to the shop, where Ill has suddenly noticed that all his customers are wearing new yellow shoes . This development, on top of his customers’ exorbitant purchases on credit, alerts Ill to...
(full context)
...Claire seriously. But when Ill notices that the Policeman is himself wearing the same new yellow shoes —and sporting a new gold tooth—he recognizes that the Policeman, like the customers, has succumbed...
(full context)
...he notices is also smoking a more-expensive-than-usual brand of cigarettes and wearing those same ominous yellow shoes ), but nevertheless Ill pleads with the Mayor for protection. The Mayor dismisses Ill’s concerns...
(full context)
