Weiss uses a play within a play to showcase historical facts and adds dramatic fantasy to it. The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul are based on a true story about the French execution of Jean-Paul Murat. Murat highly participated in the French revolution of 1973 and was executed because of his radical involvement in the movement. The play was set in an asylum that is looked upon by the Coulmier. The year 1973 is a time that witnessed the dramatic changes in the French revolution. The wealthy class in the society started negotiating with the poor in an effort to discourage the invasion of foreigners into the country. In this part of the revolution, the play showcases how the rich used the poor to achieve their goals. They feared for a foreign invasion which would shift the face of everything in the revolution. It was something that the bourgeois was afraid of because they would lose their power of control. Murat says, “Our minister of war whose integrity you never doubted has sold the corn meant for our armies for his own profit to foreign powers and now it feeds the troops who are invading us.” He says this to showcase how the regime fed the foreigners with the resources to invade the revolution. Because of such happenings, the rich had to negotiate the poor for them to gain.
The French revolution was a protest of the people about the ruling class of the society. The ruling class is represented as a group of selfish people who did not know how much they would need the lower class to survive. Murat says, “You hope the people will be wiped out so you can flourish, and when they are wiped out not a muscle will twitch in your puffy bourgeois faces” The rich did not know that elimination of the poor would be taunting to their growth and instigated the revolution with the hope of wiping them out. Murat is right because the balance in society is created by a representation of both classes of people. The rich still need labor for their investments, which the merchants in the play did not think about. Sade thinks that they will win in the revolution. He says, “Yes the bourgeois will give a little now that the revolution has started, but in the end they will succeed in getting it all back.” However, without the help of the poor, the rich would not win because the poor facilitate the growth of their wealth.
The revolution was started because of the oppression that the poor suffered. It was the right move by the poor in the French society even though they did not know how to control it. Murat highlights this by saying, “We invented the revolution, but we don’t know how to run it.” He showcases the lack of control that the poor felt in the revolution. However, there are no regrets because the poor finally got a chance to pay back for the ill-treatment. He also adds, “- They settled down among their treasures and ate and drank with princes and to the starving they said, suffer, suffer as he suffered on the cross for it is the will of god.” Through this Murat showcases the vengeful nature and bitterness of the working class. The revolution was the only way that society to agree on equal terms of living and trade. The French workers lived in deplorable conditions even though they played a mandatory role in the formation of the French economy. In addition, Murat says, “the people used to suffer everything now they take their revenge, you are watching that revenge and you don’t remember that you drove the people to it.” He showcases the role that the ruling class played in the causing of the revolution. It is true that the rich were the cause of the revolution because they did not treat the working class with the dignity it deserved. The activist says, “So what is this sacrifice compared with the sacrifices the people made to keep you fat.” The ruling class, therefore, formed the heart of the revolution. They started seeking for negotiations when they had already caused too much hatred and turmoil in the working class.
In an effort to retract the revolution and reach an amicable agreement after noting the threats it presented, the rich pretended to care for the poor. They did so, according to the play, through the pretense that they did care about the rights and welfare of the people. Such sentiments represent the systems in place in all societies that have people that are more advantaged. For example, politicians always pretend to care about the needs of the people when they want votes. The play represented the happenings in the society, not only in 1973, but also in the contemporary world. Murat says, “They wear the peoples cap on their heads but their underwear’s embroidered with crowns,” to show the hypocrisy depicted by the rich. He also says, “Did we fight for the freedom of those who now exploit us again,” to highlights the degree of hypocrisy in the ruling class.
Even though the wealthy are pretentious, the people too, have traitors or people who do not care about others in their midst. For instance, Murat’s selfishness and self-righteousness are shown through how he perceives himself in comparison to other people. He says, “I am the Revolution,” to emphasize that without him, the revolution would not work. Furthermore, the revolutionist emphasizes how important he was in the revolution by saying, “And what’s a bath full of blood compare to the bloodbaths still to come.” He implied that his blood was more precious than everybody else’s. Sade also shows his inhuman side by saying, “Why should you care about the world outside, for me the only reality is imagination, the world inside myself, the revolution no longer interest me.” He is characterized as a selfish person in this context. He also says, “I turn my back on all the sacrifices that have been made for any cause” and manifests the selfishness in him. Selfishness in society is a vice even for the people that fight for its good intentions. The human nature, at some points, requires people to make think of themselves first. Even though Murat is self-righteous, he cares about the welfare of the people. He highlights decent leadership skills through the revolution by showing concerns for the plight of the people. Sade says, “I believe only in myself,” to showcase the death of his uncaring nature towards the course for which they are fighting.
Sade’s hatred of nature showcases the human spirit and feelings towards each other. As much as the revolution believed in the unity of the people from the lower class, people like Sade did not believe in fighting for the course (Weiss and Robert, 42). Even in the most extreme cases, where extraordinary unit is expected, there will still be people in the society who will have divided opinions. Sade did not believe in the fighting because he thought it did not lower the standards of the ruling class. He notes that the ruling class triumphs even when faced with the possible lowering of their living and economic standards. The ruling class in any society possesses the rights to everything. However, they need a working class for the efficiency of those powers, contrary to what Sade believed. He says, “I hate nature,” which illustrates his hatred on having to be there for fellow human beings. His obligation to fellow humans is the reason he hates nature. He explains that even they fight; the bourgeoisie will win and kill all the revolutionaries. Sade represents the happenings in all societies where the rich have the upper hand in everything. Such societies have given the poor people no voice, making them resort to violent means of conveying messages. Sade says, “Yes the bourgeois will give a little now that the revolution has started, but in the end they will succeed in getting it all back.” As a result, he did not believe in human obligation and nature because nature itself was evil.
The play highlights the issues that the society faces, which were depicted through the French revolution. The priests in this place, who are supposed to help with fighting for the rights of the people, mislead them. They are a project of the ruling class to distract the people who have a lot of faith in them. Such things not only existed in the French revolution, but also in the contemporary society. The individuals that are trusted the most in society, just like Murat argues, are the most distractive of all. Things such as money play an important role in where a person will end up, or in which part of the society they belong.
Work cited
Weiss, Peter, and Robert Cohen. Marat/sade, the Investigation, and the Shadow of the Body of the Coachman. New York: Continuum, 1998. Print.
