Death and the Maiden

In the movie Death and the Maiden there are three victims and three victimizers. Although the movie does not show the torture and rape that Paulina experienced earlier in her life, she was certainly still a victim of those crimes which were exposed in the movie. What she endured and how the countless others like her suffered is a disgrace to humanity—a crime against humanity. Therefore I argue that the second victim was me, you, all of us. We bear the scars of the crimes committed during Pinochet’s rule. Since the doctor committed a crime against humanity, I take no pity on him and what was done to him. However, he was also a victim. Not just because he is a human—and thus a victim to his own actions as a member of humanity, but because he was beaten and tortured.

To be honest, I wanted the doctor to die for what he had done. However, we must not deny any man his human rights—especially with the basis being emotions. How tempting it is! Oh how sweet is revenge—particularly in the pursuit of justice. On this basis, we must find the doctor and Paulina both victims and victimizers. In addition, Paulina’s husband was also a victimizer for his participation in the beatings of the doctor. Although much of what he had done was coerced by his wife, he still had the choice to walk away and did not. However, to a noticeably different degree the doctor suffered. The impunity of the doctor and those who committed similar acts so shocking is sickening. The fact that the victims must endure the company of their perpetrators is intolerable. The movie well captured the reality that many victims of crimes against humanity or genocide face in their lives even today.