morality

I think that morality and justice are linked throughout the play.

"The Visit" raises the question of the corruptibility of justice and subjective sense of morality by asking whether justice can be bought in return for material wealth. As a young man, Ill himself bought "justice" at Claire's expense by presenting false witnesses during the paternity suit that she brought against him. The end-result, for Claire, was a life that she would never have chosen for herself, and one for which she now seeks revenge.

When Claire visits the town, she offers an extraordinary monetary gift - but only on the condition that the town rectifies its past failure by putting Ill to death. In her mind, Claire equates Ill's punishment with "justice". The drama of the play unfolds as a kind of "proof" of Claire's assertion: that everything, including justice, can be bought.

In the past, Claire has purchased justice many times. Boby the Butler, for instance, was previously a judge in Guellen, but ultimately opted out of the profession in order to enter into Claire's personal service. The salary, he explains to the town, was so high that he couldn't refuse her. This foreshadows the town's experience with Claire's conditional gift: the gift is so generous that the sacrifice of personal and collective dignity is not too high a price to pay in return.

In an ironic inversion of Claire's decree, Claire has rescued the characters Roby and Toby, former American gangsters who had been sentenced to death by electric chair. She purchases each man's life, thus proving that her wealth is capable of altering the very essence of the American justice system.

It is important to note that the political institutions helpful in fashioning and enforcing an idea of "justice" in society are corrupted and rendered passive in "The Visit". In the face of impending wealth and prosperity, even the Mayor, the opposing political faction, and the police become complicit in Claire's scheme.