The Imagery of Dorothea Moser
Newton recalls, “Dorothea Moser. Let me cast my mind back. Blond hair. Enormously powerful. Yet, despite her bulk, very flexible. She loved me and I loved her. It was a dilemma that could only be resolved by the use of a curtain cord.” Although Moser is extremely powerful, a cord strangles her to death. Therefore, her body size and looks are not exempted from the deadly implications of strangulation and schemes of a murderer.
The Imagery of a “Scientific Manner” (Act 2)
Mobius declares, “Here we are, three physicists. The decision we have to make is one that we must make as physicists; we must go about it therefore in a scientific manner. We must not let ourselves be influenced by personal feelings but by logical processes. We must endeavour to find a rational solution. We cannot afford to make mistakes in our thinking, because a false conclusion would lead to catastrophe." A scientific approach demands objectivity to minimize the predicaments which would emerge owing to subjective reasoning. Besides, the scientific approach necessitates pragmatism which increases the odds of having pertinent conclusions.
The Imagery of a 'dead nurse'
Duerrenmatt explains, “The dead nurse is lying on the parquet floor in a tragic and quite unmistakable attitude, somewhat in the background so as not to distress the public too much.” The imagery appears in act one and it prepares the reader for the theme of murder. This setting demonstrates that the nurse was murdered, and the objective of the reader would be to establish the motive for the nurse’s murder.
The Patients’ lives
Durrematt writes, “they live for themselves, each one wrapped in the cocoon of his own little world of the imagination; they take their meals together in the drawing room, from time to time they discuss scientific matters or just sit gazing dully before them.” The patients’ lives are predominantly lonesome, yet meal times offer them a chance for socialization. They are all similar because they are obsessed with science. Perhaps, science contributes to their ‘supposed’ mental instabilities.
