Curated set · answers marked
At the start of the play, Paulina Salas captures a man named Roberto Miranda. What does she accuse him of?
Rationale
Paulina believes Roberto Miranda is the doctor who took part in her torture and sexual assault during her time as a political prisoner under the previous authoritarian regime. She identifies him by his voice and his tendency to play Schubert's "Death and the Maiden," the same music that played while she was held captive.
At the beginning of the play, what does Paulina Salas do when she hears the voice of the stranger, Dr. Roberto Miranda, whom her husband Gerardo has brought home?
Rationale
Paulina recognizes Dr. Miranda's voice as the man she believes tortured and raped her during the dictatorship. While Gerardo is asleep, she manages to overpower Miranda, ties him to a chair, and holds him at gunpoint — which establishes the main moral and dramatic conflict of the play.
At the start of the play, what particularly disturbs Paulina Salas when her husband Gerardo introduces a stranger named Roberto Miranda?
Rationale
Paulina recognizes Roberto Miranda's voice—especially since her captors kept her blindfolded—as the man who played Schubert's Death and the Maiden and whom she believes tortured and sexually assaulted her while she was imprisoned for her political beliefs under the previous dictatorship. This recognition triggers the main conflict of the play.