- dictatorshipnounChapter 1 →
A system of government in which one ruler or party holds absolute power, often enforced through violence and the suppression of political opposition.
- truth commissionnounChapter 1 →
An official body set up after a period of political violence or oppression to investigate and document past human rights abuses, though usually without power to prosecute.
- go crazyphraseChapter 1 →
To lose one's mental composure entirely; here used to mean reaching a breaking point of anxiety or fear that one can no longer endure.
“I thought that if it really was him, if I had to wait one more minute, I'd go crazy.”
- cooperateverbChapter 2 →
To do what someone in authority demands without resistance; in this context, to comply with a captor's instructions in order to avoid harm.
“I'm not going to hurt you — as long as you cooperate.”
- tribunalnounChapter 2 →
A court or formal hearing that judges someone's guilt; here it refers to the improvised, unofficial trial Paulina stages in her own home.
- regimenounChapter 3 →
A government, especially an authoritarian one that maintains power by force; used here to mean the former military dictatorship under which abuses were committed.
- confessverbChapter 2 →
To formally admit to having done something wrong or criminal; here, to say aloud and on record that one committed acts of torture.
“I want him to confess. I want him to sit in that chair and tell me what they did to me — in his own words.”
- coercedadjectiveChapter 3 →
Forced or pressured into doing something against one's will, typically through threats; describes a confession extracted under duress rather than given freely.
- savagenounChapter 3 →
A person regarded as brutal and without moral restraint; Paulina uses the word to deny that her actions are mere cruelty without principle.
“I'm not a savage. I'm going to give him a fair trial, the kind he never gave me.”
- fair trialphraseChapter 3 →
A legal proceeding in which the accused has the right to hear the charges, present a defence, and be judged impartially — the basic standard of justice Paulina claims to be applying.
“I'm not a savage. I'm going to give him a fair trial, the kind he never gave me.”
- put rightphraseChapter 3 →
To correct or remedy something that is unjust or harmful; here it means to receive acknowledgement and redress for suffering that was wrongly inflicted.
“Or is it only the pain of others that has to be put right?”
- political prisonernounChapter 1 →
A person imprisoned by a government because of their political beliefs or activities, not because of an ordinary crime.
- blindfoldedadjectiveChapter 1 →
Having one's eyes covered so as to be unable to see; used here as a deliberate tactic by torturers to prevent a victim from identifying them.
- overpowersverbChapter 1 →
To physically subdue someone by superior strength or surprise, taking control of them against their will.
- at gunpointphraseChapter 2 →
Under the direct threat of being shot; forced to comply because a firearm is being aimed at you.
- moral declinephraseChapter 3 →
A gradual worsening of a person's ethical standards and behaviour, leading them to do things they would once have considered wrong.
- ambiguousadjectiveChapter 3 →
Open to more than one interpretation; not clearly resolved one way or the other, leaving the audience uncertain about what is true.
- revengenounChapter 3 →
The act of harming someone in return for harm they did to you, driven by personal anger rather than by an impartial legal process.
- just this oncephraseChapter 1 →
An appeal asking someone to make an exception on this single occasion, implying they normally would not or do not.
“You're going to have to trust me, Gerardo. Just this once, you're going to have to trust me.”
Death and the MaidenPlay by Ariel Dorfman