The Visit

Ill watches nervously through the window of his General Store as Claire’s goons, Roby and Toby, carry flowers and funereal wreaths into the hotel. They do this every day. Ill reassures himself and his son and daughter that the town will stand by his side. Their mother has decided not to come downstairs, having told their daughter that she’s too tired. Ill praises their mother. His son and daughter leave to find work at the railway yard and Labour Exchange, respectively, and Ill laments the idea of his son working long hours on the railroad in the hot sun. Townspeople come into the store, each buying milk, chocolate, alcohol, and cigarettes that are more expensive than their usual purchases and charging it as credit to their store accounts. They all profess their staunch support for Ill. Claire can be heard and sometimes seen from her hotel balcony, interacting with her servants. She asks for her leg, which she states is near the wedding flowers. One customer comments that Claire’s seventh husband lost his tobacco plantations in the divorce, and that her eighth wedding, announced yesterday, is supposed to be enormous. The customer criticizes her for her excesses, and Ill expresses pride that the town stood by him. Another customer exclaims that Ill will certainly be elected the next mayor.

A scantily clad girl, Louisa, runs across the stage, chased by Toby. Ill’s customers call Louisa’s behavior scandalous but say nothing about Toby. The townspeople in the store gossip about Claire and her new fiancé, whom they recognize from German films. One man comments, “You can get anything you want with money,” and another asserts, “Not from us” (46). Ill reminds them to pay when they receive their benefit checks. Suddenly, he notices that his customers are all wearing new yellow shoes. Terrified, Ill asks how they paid for the shoes. They reassure him that they bought the shoes on credit. Ill remembers their more expensive purchases from him and questions who is giving them so much credit and how they plan to pay. They hurry out the door as he throws things at them. Claire and Husband VIII (who may be played by the same actor as Husband VII) comment on the altercation. Husband VIII jumps in fright at a sound that Claire reassures him is just her black panther pacing and spitting. Below, Ill goes to the Policeman and demands that the officer arrest Claire, adding that he is making the demand as the next Mayor. The Policeman reminds him that elections haven’t occurred yet.

Ill insists that Claire is soliciting violence against him from the townspeople, but the Policeman calmly counters that until someone earnestly attempts to kill him, Claire’s offer isn’t being considered seriously. Ill tells him about people making more expensive purchases and wearing new shoes, and he’s horrified to see that the Policeman also has new shoes and a bottle of fancier beer. Ill exclaims that they’re ringing up debt that will make them more and more likely to kill him, insisting, “You’re all just waiting” (51). The Policeman checks to see if his gun is loaded. As Ill notices the officer’s new gold tooth, the Policeman seems to have his gun casually pointed at Ill, and Ill puts his hands up. The Policeman retorts that Claire’s black panther has escaped, and now he has to go and hunt for it. Watching him go, Ill insists, “It’s me you’re hunting down, me” (51). Claire and Husband VIII discuss her different husbands, and Claire tries to remember which was which. Ill goes to see the Mayor, who places his revolver on the table, explaining that he must stay armed with an escaped panther roaming around. Ill notices that the Mayor’s cigarettes are a better brand, and that he has a new silk tie and new shoes. He demands that the Mayor provide protection as there’s a million-pound bounty on his head and the police won’t help.

The Mayor asserts indignantly that Guellen is “a city of Humanist traditions” (53). A man enters with an expensive new typewriter. Directing the man to his office, the Mayor calls Ill ungrateful and his attitude nihilistic, stating, “After all, we live under the rule of law” (54). Ill tells him to arrest Claire, but the Mayor points out that Claire isn’t being unreasonable, considering what Ill did to her, “fling[ing] a young girl into the lower depths,” to which Ill points out that “there were quite a few millions down in those lower depths” (54). Offering to be frank, the Mayor informs Ill that he can no longer be the next Mayor. Ill’s actions in bribing the two men to perjure themselves calls his character into question. However, the Mayor has kept the whole story out of print and tells Ill that he ought to be grateful for that, despite Ill’s cries that keeping silent only puts him at risk. Ill exclaims that the Mayor has already sentenced him to die. As Claire and Husband VIII talk about the wedding, Ill goes to see the Priest and begs him for help, explaining what he’s seeing. The Priest tells Ill that his own conscience is torturing him and making him see others as untrustworthy. Men with rifles run across the stage. The church bell rings, and Ill, remembering that the church bell had been sold, backs away in fear. The Priest tells him to run and stop tempting the town with his presence.

Shots are fired, and the Butler tells Claire that the black panther had escaped, and the townspeople killed it and then laid it out in front of Ill’s General Store. Claire tells her husband to play a funeral march on his guitar. Ill goes to the train station, which has been fixed up since the beginning of Act I. The Mayor and the rest of Guellen show up nonchalantly, as if they all happened to be there. They greet Ill cheerfully and ask where he’s going, offering to help him to the station. Ill says he’s going to Australia. The Mayor calls this “ridiculous,” the Doctor chimes in that it’s “dangerous,” and the Schoolmaster reminds him that Claire tracked down one of the men she had blinded and castrated in Australia. They reassure Ill that Guellen is the safest place for him to be. Ill states that he tried to write to the Chief Constable in Kaffigen, but the post office hadn’t sent his letter. The Postmaster is on the Town Council. The townspeople chorus that the Postmaster is a fine man, as Ill notices that they all have new clothes. The train arrives, and everyone cheers Ill on and wishes him luck. Frightened, Ill insists that they’ll stop him from boarding if he tries. They swear that they won’t and say he’s lost his mind, but they crowd him. They urge him to get on the train before it leaves, but Ill is certain that someone will grab him. The train departs. Ill crumples to the ground. Everyone leaves, noting that he collapsed while they’re walking away. Ill cries, “I am lost!” (62).