Whose fault is it? -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 19:21:52 02/16/08 Sat
Author: Katelyn R.
Subject: Whose fault is it?

For my class on Russian film and theatre I read a play called �Terrorism�. In one of the scenes there is a suicide at an office. After discovering the body coworkers speculate as to why it happened. The office does have a psychologist but he is not in that day. There are many accusations that stem from the suicide. At first a group tries to blame the boss because he �yells at them a lot�, but he quickly changes the focus to something else. The psychologist makes a quick entrance and is prevented from going into his office area since that is where the body is. The part that got me thinking about Girard was when, after the psychologist leaves, they say it�s probably his fault since he has never really helped any of them. After everyone agrees to this they start talking about how they need to talk about how they feel openly (just not to the psychologist). There is calm at the end, and it almost seems as if they have forgotten about their unfortunate colleague who is still in the other room. I�m not sure if one could really argue for the mimetic theory throughout the play, but I did think it was an interesting example of scapegoating and how there was peace after they had chosen who they felt was at fault. The real reason for why the person killed themselves is never revealed, and it seems like their death has helped bring peace to the office (since they realize that the psychologist doesn�t help much, and they should talk with each other more). I would have to read the play a few more times to see if this idea actually applies, but it came to mind from the first reading.

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