The Subject of Romantic Love in The Visit Daisy Zheng 12th Grade

Romantic love, a universal issue many writers grapple with, consumes most of one’s life: it is constantly exalted as the loftiest of virtues in Christianity along with the notion of true love. Durrenmatt, however, satirises and distorts characteristics of romantic love, such as the idealisation of loved one and the belief of eternal romance, in The Visit to show how the idealisation of romance creates illusions that become a source of destruction when confronted with reality. In doing so, Durrenmatt conveys a cynical view of humanity, in which love cannot thrive under states of desperation. This perspective contrasts with most fictions because living in post-war Switzerland, Durrenmatt has experienced economic crisis which revealed to him the corrupted nature of humans who place material wealth before love.

Primarily, the pastoral setting in The Visit illustrates how romantic love creates sentimental illusions of eternal romance during adolescence. For instance, Claire remembers how Alfred and she “loved each other under these boughs”, with “sunflowers…all golden” (28) when she reunites with him. This setting of a forest creates a bucolic image that refers to the Clichéd pastoral romance. This use of Cliché allows Durrenmatt to...