Durrenmatt Irony

In the play, “The Visit”, by Friedrich Durrenmatt, Durrenmatt displays Claire Zachanassian’s immensely materialistic and superficial life in intense contrast with the mediocre life of the townspeople. After being offered Claire’s large sum of money in exchange for the life of Alfred Ill, the townspeople quickly become overwhelmed with the thought of a wealthy lifestyle, and begin to lose their values in the pursuit of monetary gain. Durrenmatt uses Irony and symbolism to display the way society shifts from just to greedy.
Throughout the novel, the use of irony displays the characters shifts in personality. When Claire arrives in Gullen, Ill notices her artificial limbs and comments; “ILL Clara, is everything about you artificial?! Claire

In the following quote, the Teacher speaks out against the townspeople and questions their shift to inhumanity; “I'm telling it like an archangel, with a ringing voice. (He sways.) For I am a Humanist, a friend of the ancient Greeks, an admirer of Plato” (81). The playwright uses the allusion to Plato, a Greek philosopher largely known for his development of a new hierarchy of learning in ancient Greece. Durrenmatt does this to exemplify the teachers understanding of the shift in inhumanity of the townspeople. The teacher, symbolic of education and knowledge, is aware of this greed that has ravaged the town of Gullen. Durrenmatt uses the teacher to illustrate how knowledge can overcome the avarice of human nature, and only through dedicated learning and philosophy like that of “Plato” can the characters be aware of the treachery of their actions. Likewise, the townspeople use their new source of wealth to purchase shoes; “You've got new shoes. New yellow shoes” (43). Representative in their purchasing of the “new yellow shoes”, Durrenmatt comments on the cowardice of the townspeople through the symbolism of the color yellow. Yellow, being commonly associated with cowardice, represents the townspeople’s submission. Knowingly allowing the outcome of Ill’s death in exchange for Claire's sum of money is a major shift in the characters ideals, as they transition from supporting Ill, to pursuing riches. This alteration of integrity based purely on avaricious values illustrates Durrenmatt's opinion about society. However, an opposing perspective could argue that the townspeople are completely unaware of this change and are unconsciously dictated by the extreme powers of money. In both instances Durrenmatt argues that currency holds the power to constitute change amongst society. Similarly, when confronted by Ill, the pastor admits the inevitable weakness of the townspeople,