A tragic comedy by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Güllen is bankrupt. The coffers are empty, the economy is in shambles, the buildings are dilapidated, important opportunities have long since passed the town by, and the citizens have been reduced to poverty. Their hope rests with Claire Zachanassian, a billionaire returning to her hometown. She was once betrayed by her childhood friend Alfred Ill and driven out of town penniless. Decades later, she offers the people of Güllen the salvation they’ve been longing for: one billion for the town—on one condition. Alfred Ill must die.
At first, the people of Güllen indignantly reject the offer as immoral. But soon enough, they take out loans, make new purchases, and forge plans for the future. Prosperity seems within reach, and Alfred Ill senses that his fellow citizens’ attitude toward him is changing irrevocably.
Now the question arises: Can money really buy everything, even a human life?
Claire’s offer is not only an act of revenge and an attempt to make the past fade from memory; it is an experiment that shows how corruption can become alluring and how the desire for money can transform an entire community. How much greed can a society endure before it loses its humanity? What remains of a social community—or even love—when the lure of wealth overshadows all other values?
