The Dance of Death (Swedish: Dödsdansen) refers to two plays, The Dance of Death I, and The Dance of Death II, both written by August Strindberg in 1900. Part one was written in September, and then, after receiving a response to the play, part two was written in November. The two plays have much in common, and each is a full evening in the theatre. If they are joined together as one theatre-going experience, a couple of unexplained discrepancies between the two plays present difficulties. For example, in part one the Captain is desperately poor, and in part two he is well-to-do.[1]
Dance of Death I is written in a spirit of the "blackest pessimism".[2] In performance it can reveal a surprising streak of black humor, and it can leave the audience with an astonishing and powerful impression.[3] The story is about a man and wife who hate each other, who are brutally and ferociously vicious towards each other, who are trapped in a miserable marriage. And soon they'll be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. The husband, Edgar, is a retired artillery captain and a tyrant of a man. His wife, Alice, is a former actress. They live somewhat isolated on an island, and are not popular or social. Their children do not live with them; each parent has turned the children against the other parent. Edgar is having heart problems and may not have long to live. Alice sometimes plays the piano as her husband dances a kind of bizarre saber dance. As he dances, she hopes it might kill him, and he threatens to cut her out of his will.
The third important character is Kurt, who is Alice's cousin. He visits and learns that in the past the captain worked with Kurt's former wife in a way that caused Kurt to lose custody of his own children in his divorce. Kurt and Alice join forces to plot against her husband, and the cousins' relationship becomes passionate and sexualized, as Alice wants him to kiss her foot, while Kurt talks of bondage, and bites her like a vampire. "Vampire" and "cannibal" are significant images in this play and are used as invectives against the captain.
A type of underlying villain in this play are the state laws that unfairly govern divorce and child custody.[4]
The story makes its rampaging way through dark corridors of the human soul towards the conclusion. In the final moment, what has survived amid the emotional and psychological wreckage is, unexpectedly, the marriage. The play ends right where it started.[5][6]
Dance of Death II
In Dance of Death II, Alice explains that when the Captain fell down in Part I, it was nearly fatal and has left him paralyzed. He is still able to make some financial speculations that ruthlessly benefit himself and cause Kurt to lose his money. Alice seems tougher and less human than before. Judith, the couple's daughter, wants to marry Kurt's son, Allan, as the children are shown attempting to attain more happiness than their parents are able to find. But Kurt's father has sent him away. Judith is portrayed as a youthful vampire, and there is the sense that this family's cycle of "love-hatred" will go on and on.[3][7]
^ abMeyer, Michael. Strindberg. Random House. 1985. page 411. ISBN0-394-50442-9
^Strindberg, August. Carlson, Harry G. translator. Strindberg: Five Plays. University of California Press. 1983. ISBN0-520-04698-6
^Lamm, Martin. Carlson, Harry G. translator and editor. August Strindberg. Benjamin Bloom, Inc. 1971
^Meyer, Michael. Strindberg. Random House. 1985. page 408. ISBN0-394-50442-9
^Lamm, Martin. Carlson, Harry G. translator and editor. August Strindberg. Benjamin Bloom, Inc. 1971 page 377.
External links
Internet Movie Database entries
1962
1980
1996
The Dance of Death public domain audiobook at LibriVox
February 10, 2023
dance, death, strindberg, play, dance, death, swedish, dödsdansen, refers, plays, dance, death, dance, death, both, written, august, strindberg, 1900, part, written, september, then, after, receiving, response, play, part, written, november, plays, have, much,. The Dance of Death Swedish Dodsdansen refers to two plays The Dance of Death I and The Dance of Death II both written by August Strindberg in 1900 Part one was written in September and then after receiving a response to the play part two was written in November The two plays have much in common and each is a full evening in the theatre If they are joined together as one theatre going experience a couple of unexplained discrepancies between the two plays present difficulties For example in part one the Captain is desperately poor and in part two he is well to do 1 Contents 1 Dance of Death I 2 Dance of Death II 3 Films 4 References 5 External links 5 1 Internet Movie Database entriesDance of Death I EditDance of Death I is written in a spirit of the blackest pessimism 2 In performance it can reveal a surprising streak of black humor and it can leave the audience with an astonishing and powerful impression 3 The story is about a man and wife who hate each other who are brutally and ferociously vicious towards each other who are trapped in a miserable marriage And soon they ll be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary The husband Edgar is a retired artillery captain and a tyrant of a man His wife Alice is a former actress They live somewhat isolated on an island and are not popular or social Their children do not live with them each parent has turned the children against the other parent Edgar is having heart problems and may not have long to live Alice sometimes plays the piano as her husband dances a kind of bizarre saber dance As he dances she hopes it might kill him and he threatens to cut her out of his will The third important character is Kurt who is Alice s cousin He visits and learns that in the past the captain worked with Kurt s former wife in a way that caused Kurt to lose custody of his own children in his divorce Kurt and Alice join forces to plot against her husband and the cousins relationship becomes passionate and sexualized as Alice wants him to kiss her foot while Kurt talks of bondage and bites her like a vampire Vampire and cannibal are significant images in this play and are used as invectives against the captain A type of underlying villain in this play are the state laws that unfairly govern divorce and child custody 4 The story makes its rampaging way through dark corridors of the human soul towards the conclusion In the final moment what has survived amid the emotional and psychological wreckage is unexpectedly the marriage The play ends right where it started 5 6 Dance of Death II EditIn Dance of Death II Alice explains that when the Captain fell down in Part I it was nearly fatal and has left him paralyzed He is still able to make some financial speculations that ruthlessly benefit himself and cause Kurt to lose his money Alice seems tougher and less human than before Judith the couple s daughter wants to marry Kurt s son Allan as the children are shown attempting to attain more happiness than their parents are able to find But Kurt s father has sent him away Judith is portrayed as a youthful vampire and there is the sense that this family s cycle of love hatred will go on and on 3 7 Films EditThe Dance of Death France 1948 with Erich von Stroheim The Dance of Death West Germany 1967 with Lilli Palmer Dance of Death UK 1969 with Laurence Olivier La danse de mort France 1982 TV film by Claude ChabrolReferences Edit Meyer Michael Strindberg Random House 1985 page 407 411 ISBN 0 394 50442 9 Strindberg August Meyer Michael translator Strindberg Plays 2 Dream Play Dance of Death The Stronger Introduction A amp C Black 2014 ISBN 1472574060 9781472574060 a b Meyer Michael Strindberg Random House 1985 page 411 ISBN 0 394 50442 9 Strindberg August Carlson Harry G translator Strindberg Five Plays University of California Press 1983 ISBN 0 520 04698 6 Lamm Martin Carlson Harry G translator and editor August Strindberg Benjamin Bloom Inc 1971 Meyer Michael Strindberg Random House 1985 page 408 ISBN 0 394 50442 9 Lamm Martin Carlson Harry G translator and editor August Strindberg Benjamin Bloom Inc 1971 page 377 External links EditInternet Movie Database entries Edit 1962 1980 1996 The Dance of Death public domain audiobook at LibriVox Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Dance of Death Strindberg play amp oldid 1029225130, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
