Death and the Maiden

The play Death and the Maiden is set in the country of Chile in a time where the deep wounds of a tyrannical dictatorship were only beginning to heal. For seventeen years, Chile endured the iron-fisted rule of former army commander in chief, Augusto Pinochet Ugarte. By this time, however, the people of Chile were not at all unfamiliar with a corrupt government. The democracy that preceded Pinochet’s dictatorship was also wracked with controversy. …

…Commission also recommended several reparation measures—including pensions, fixed sum payments, and psychological counseling for victims’ families. While the Rettig Commission Report has helped bring healing to Chile, the country still struggled with its past. Old scars were not soon forgotten and the nation remained a divided one. Political torturers walked the streets beside those they persecuted. While many were avenged no court system could solve all of the 200,000 separate cases of torture and death.