In Death and the Maiden, Gerardo consistently opposes Paulina's ideas and plans, providing a more rational and less emotionally charged solution. Gerardo serves as the voice of reason to emphasize Paulina's irrational and crazy tendencies in the show. Throughout his play, Dorfman uses Gerardo as a representation of Paulina's conscience and as a voice of reason to show Paulina's state of anguish. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Starting at the beginning of the play, Dorfman illustrates how calm Gerardo is by nature by comparing him to Paulina, who is undeniably nervous. Upon entering the house, Gerardo “sees Paulina hiding behind the curtains” (Dorfman 3). While Paulina questions Gerardo about his whereabouts, he answers her in a composed manner, trying to calm her down. Gerardo constantly tries to reason with Paulina and show her a different perspective on certain situations. When Paulina asks whether or not her husband's commission only investigates cases that end in death, Gerardo responds like this: "The idea is that if we can shed light on the worst crimes, other abuses will also come to light" (Dorfman 9 ), trying to explain to her that their legal processes are fair, however patience is needed to understand this. This demonstrates Gerardo's impartial tendencies and shows how he is peacefully trying to get justice for the victims of all crimes. These traits of moral rectitude exemplify the actions of a moral compass or human conscience personified. It's also no coincidence that Dorfman wrote Gerardo as a lawyer. This is a humble profession that involves fighting for what is right and protecting the righteousness of your client's cause. In fact, Dorfman hires Gerardo as a lawyer to bolster his image of fairness. Roberto also recognizes this fact when he tries to convince Gerardo to let him go: “You are a lawyer, a human rights defender… you are responsible for what you do and what you have to do is untie me immediately” (Dorfman 32). At this point Gerardo is not sure whether Roberto is guilty or not and tries to do what is morally right. After Paulina insists on killing Roberto, Gerardo scolds her: "Paulina, this is intolerable." (Dorfman 33), serving as a voice of reason to present Paulina with a side of the story she has not yet considered. Gerardo's rational steps to subdue the situation work to show the reader the stark contrast in thought processes and overall sanity between Paulina and Gerardo. Gerardo, being a lawyer, remains calm and makes the right choice to try to discover all the evidence before convicting Roberto. Paulina's crazy actions and tendencies are only exaggerated by the way Gerardo handles these actions. Once again, Paulina mentions killing Gerardo as part of her idea to “put him on trial” (Dorfman 34). Gerardo questions himself and states that they cannot “use their methods. Seeking revenge in this way is not…” (Dorfman 34). Gerardo now acts directly as Paulina's conscience and uses the idea that it is not moral to commit an immoral act just because it was committed against the individual. Trying to make Paulina see how blind she was, Gerardo asks, “You will kidnap them, and bring them, and bind them…” (Dorfman 34), however Paulina only responds as if the question was asked seriously. Paulina's mind is so set on revenge that she can't even think straight, which prompts Dorfman to write to an outside source (Gerardo) to be her conscience and try to reason with her. Gerardo reiterates the idea of not reciprocating the violent actions: "If he is guilty, all the more reason to free him." (Dorfmann.
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