Facing Death 

Johan August Strindberg  

About the Author: 

Johan August Strindberg (1849–1912) was a Swedish writer, playwright, and painter. Ranked among Sweden’s most important authors, his works fall into two major literary movements, Naturalism and Expressionism. His theatre tries to create a perfect illusion of reality through detailed sets, an unpoetic literary style that reflects the way real people speak, and a style of acting that tries to recreate reality. Miss Julie (1888), Facing Death (1892), A Dream Play (1902), and The Ghost Sonata (1907) are some of his notable plays. In Facing Death, Strindberg dramatizes a heroic sacrifice made by a bankrupt man for the sake of his daughters.

 Characters:

1. Monsieur Durand : The main character, a former railroad employee, widower and pensioner. He has been portrayed as a financially ruined person. He spends his life living with his three daughters.

2.  Adèle : Oldest daughter of Monsieur Durand.

3.  Annette : Daughter of Monsieur Durand. 

4.  Thérèse : Daughter of Monsieur Durand.

5. Antonio : He is an Italian army lieutenant who is the only paying guest at their lodge.

6. Pierre : Pierre is the work boy of the Durand family.


Summary:

Monsieur Durand is the primary character in this play. He is a former railroad employee, widower, and pensioner. In this play, he is portrayed as a financially ruined individual. Durand lives with his three daughters, Adele (27 years), Annette (24 years), and Therese (24 years). The relationship between the father and his three daughters is fragile. They’re absolutely out of money. For the past ten years, they have been in a financial crisis. For the rest of their lives, they have converted their home into a lodge. Adele works in the kitchen, while Durand does a variety of other tasks such as serving visitors, cleaning, delivering and bringing meals, and so on.

Mr Durand’s two daughters only attempt to attract the attention of others in the lodge. Except for playing, singing, and flirting with customers, they don’t help with any other work at the lodge. For years, the Durand family has lived and spent their lives borrowing money from others. The family is experiencing financial difficulties. Durand is trying to figure out how to provide for his three kids after their mother’s death, with expenses piling up. Mr. Durand has various expenses to pay. He has to pay everyone, including the baker, butcher, and grocer. When Pierre, their work boy, goes to get bread, he returns empty-handed. He instead brings only unpaid bills. Durand purchases candles to commemorate the death anniversary of his late son, René, who died when he was a child. He still adores and misses him.

Durand’s lone paying guest at their lodge is Antonio (an Italian army lieutenant). Durand informs Antonio that they can no longer house him owing to poverty and a lack of supplies. Durand denies Antonio’s offer to pay in advance and stay for another month. He further claims that the previous spring he had no visitors for three months before an American family came to help him. Therese flirts with guest Antonio and they kiss as Durand goes for a coffee break. When Durand arrives at the door, he is shocked to see them kissing. He aggressively drives Antonio away from his house, enraged. He also discards the money he was given. Therese and Annette are dissatisfied with their father’s behaviour. They want the visitor (Antonio) to be present. Both girls are disrespectful to their father. They even took his glass of milk because he couldn’t bring bread. They force him to drink simply a glass of water. Therese steals the match as he attempts to light his bribery pipe.

Mr Durand has been hungry for a long time and also eats rats’ feed. He survives, though, because it is not harmful. His three daughters all accuse him of destroying the house’s state. They claim that if mother had still been alive, the house would not have been ruined. When their mother was alive, she did not get along with their father Durand. The daughters appear to side with the mother and only blame the father. In reality, their mother used to waste money by playing the lottery. She was scolded the majority of the time. She was threatened with becoming a prostitute.

 

When the wind blows, Mr Durand instructs his daughters to extinguish the stove fire and correctly handle the insurance documents. He also claims that he will deliver insurance money for them. The daughters are now behaving properly around him. Seeing Therese’s dissatisfaction, he agrees to let her marry Lieutenant Antonio if he sincerely loves her. When she hears this, Therese is thrilled and returns the match to him. He contacts his eldest daughter Adele and inquires about the availability of candles. He instructs Adele to hide documents from a fire insurance policy and begins to reveal the things he has held hidden within his heart. He was born in the country of France. Even before the age of recruitment, he had fallen in love with a woman. They came to Switzerland and gained Swiss citizenship in order to marry. During the final conflict, he served in the Swiss Army, fighting against the French army. It indicates the armed himself against his own country. To conceal his guilt, he claims to have been born in Switzerland.

 

He also claims that he lost the ancestral and maternal properties as a result of his mother’s carelessness and unwise ventures. They had used up all of their inheritance in this manner. Durand’s children were taught to dislike their father Durand while his wife was still alive. She was the one who made them obey her. She blamed her husband the majority of the time and was successful in turning her children against their father. Mr Durand remained silent for the rest of his life after her death because he didn’t want his daughters to doubt their mother’s decency.



Durand advises Adele to look after her sisters like a mother. He proposes that Annette, the youngest daughter, obtain a teacher’s job so that she may be in excellent company and maintain track of her insurance paperwork. He takes the poison from the glass at the end, and the home is shown burning. Durand set the home on fire and poisoned himself in order for his children to get 5000 francs in fire insurance money.



Understanding the text

Answer the following questions:

a. Where does the play take place?

Ans:- The play takes place in the dining room of Monsieur Durand, a former railroad worker, widower and owner of the boarding house where he lives with his three daughters.

b. Why do the grocery, the baker and the butcher send their bills to the Durand household?

Ans: - The grocery, the bakery and the butcher send their bills to the Durand household because Durand hasn't paid their bills for a long time and they are unable to deliver more goods without payment.

c. Why does Monsieur Duran spend money on candles when he doesn’t have money to buy even bread? 

Ans:- Monsieur Durand spends money on candles when he doesn't have money to buy even bread because he wants to light the candles on the death anniversary of his late dear son, René, who died in his infancy. Durand is saddened by his passing and still has a feeling of affection for his child. 

d. Why did Monsieur Duran sell his life insurance?

Ans:- Monsieur Durand sold his life insurance to pay off the debtor's loan. His condition was so miserable and the debtor was also angry with him for not paying the dues.

e. Why has Monsieur Duran paid fire insurance? 

Ans:- Monsieur Durand has paid fire insurance to make a compensation claim later on. He intends to get compensation from the fire insurance by burning his house. He thinks his daughters can get the money as compensation for their future.

f. How did Monsieur Duran and Mrs. Duran run out of their inheritances from both the sides?

Ans:- Monsieur Durand and Mrs. Durand ran out of their inheritances from both the sides because of Mrs. Durand's carelessness and foolish speculation. Both of them lost paternal inheritance and maternal inheritance carelessly while raising their daughters.

g. Why does Monsieur Durand tell a lie about his birthplace?

Ans:- Monsieur Durand tells a lie about his birthplace because he fell in love with a woman and wanted to marry her before his service to the country. He had to leave his birthplace and moved to Switzerland to save his and his wife's reputation. Another reason was that he fought against his own motherland France from the side of Switzerland. To hide this shame, he tells a lie.

h. What business is Monsieur Durand running to make a living? 

Ans:- Monsieur Durand is running a lodge to make a living.  He has used his house as a lodge to earn money.  He provides lodging and dining services to his guests.

i. What plan does Monsieur Durand have to help his daughters with money?

Ans:- Monsieur Durand plans to set his house on fire and commit suicide to help his daughters with money.  He plans to get compensation from the fire insurance policy. He wants to sacrifice his life for the sake of his three daughters. 

j. How does Monsieur Durand die?

Ans:- Monsieur Durand dies by drinking poison and committing suicide in his own burning house to help his daughters with the amount of compensation from the insurance policy.

 

Reference to the Context

a. Sketch the character of Monsieur Durand.

Ans:- Monsieur Durand, a widower, former railway worker, lodge owner is the main character of the play "Facing Death". He is a financially ruined person. He has converted his own house as a lodge. He is living with his three daughters in the lodge. The relationship between Durand and his daughters is bad. We find him so loving, caring as well as protective father. Due to his poor economical condition, he is spending his miserable life along with his three daughters. His daughters hate him and blame him most of the time. But he keeps on thinking about the well-being of his daughters. He sacrifices his life for the welfare of his daughters who hate him. He is quite an enduring man who endures injustice from his late wife and remained silent for the rest of his life. He is a patriot too who loves his native country France although he is forced to live in Switzerland.  He is a tragic hero who faces financial difficulties and eventually ends his life tragically committing suicide for the well-being of his three daughters.

b. How do we know that the Durand family has reached a dead end?

Ans:- We know that the Durand family has reached a dead end by seeing their miserable condition in their lodge. When Mrs. Durand was alive, both husband and wife had lost their maternal and paternal inheritances as a result of his wife’s carelessness and unwise ventures. For their livelihood, they have converted their living house into a lodge to earn money. Mr. Durand has been borrowing money from others for years. There are dues bills in the name of the Durand household which must be paid to different debtors. Among all family members, the condition of Durand is so bad. We find him living a hard life. We even find that the family doesn't have money to buy bread for coffee. Due to hunger, we find Durand eating the rat's bait. This family has reached a dead end due to this financial crisis. So, Durand has planned to kill himself and burn down his lodge for his daughters' welfare.

c. ‘The mother, though already dead, seems to have had a great influence on the daughters, especially Theresa.’ Do you agree? 

Ans:- Yes, it is true that the mother has had a great influence on her daughters, especially Theresa. While their mother was alive, she used to teach the children to hate their father Durand. She made them obey herself. Most of the time, she blamed her husband and became successful to make the children against their father. After her death, Mr. Durand remained silent all his life because he did not want his daughters to doubt their mother's goodness. He endures/ tolerates injustice from his late wife and remains silent for the rest of his life, blaming her for the financial ruin. Due to the mother's teaching, all three daughters hate their father. They think that their father was the main cause of their financial ruin. Theresa is the one who has been influenced much by her mother. She shows her rude behaviour most of the time. She snatches the matches away from her father. She seizes the glass of milk from him. She seems so unkind towards her father. She is very angry with her father among the three daughters.

d.