As we all know so well the play "Venus in Fur" jumps back and forth between the interactions of Thomas(the director) and Vanda (the actress) and also the play that Thomas wrote. The dialogue often intermingles and displays different aspects of the characters. The roles of the play and the play often coincide. In the beginning Vanda does what Thomas wants because he is in the dominant position of power as the director. She wants the role so she changes clothes and does what he asks her to do. . Kushemski is playing the submissive however Vanda is bending to his will just by playing along. This shows he has the power. As the play progresses and the character of Vanda gains more power over Kushemski, Vanda also gains control over Thomas. She tells him to say sorry and he does. At one point he even gets on his knees to beg for her forgiveness. Thomas is losing power as Vanda gains it. In addition to this relation, the play within the play's dialogue often expresses the feelings of the characters. When Vanda is keeps repeating "I am I" she is establishing both her identity within the character of Vanda and also as a female in reality. This is just one example of how the dialogue relates to both the characters and the actors.
It was somewhat annoying for me to read this play because it switched back and forth between the two worlds. Thank goodness for italics. However now that I have thought about it more I realize that this different kind of perspective reveals a lot of things about the characters. It's an interesting way to pack more meaning and information into a very short span of about 75 pages or so.
1 comment:
I found this switch somewhat annoying too. But it also made me question how this kind of play would be performed. How would the audience know which character the actor is playing? How would the actors distinguish their different roles?
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.