Act 1 (of 2)
Vera; or, The Nihilists, written in 1880, was Oscar Wilde’s first play. The play focuses on Vera and a group of Russian nihilists who plot to overthrow and assassinate the czar. Vera falls in love with a fellow nihilist, Alexis, who happens to be the heir to the Russian throne. Alexis also returns Vera’s feelings and wants to marry her. The play ends with Vera killing herself in order to save Alexis and Russia.
After sending Vera; or, The Nihilists to one of his friends, Wilde wrote: “I have just found out what a difficult craft playwriting is” (Eltis). Unfortunately, Wilde discovered this the hard way, for when his play premiered in 1883, it closed only after one week due to poor ticket sales and reviews (Wilson). The play had been slated to premiere in Britain, but due to political tensions, the play instead premiered in New York in 1883 (“Vera”). The play did move to Detroit and had a short run there (“Vera”).
Critics of the play found it unrealistic and a very conventional melodrama (Eltis). Critics also found it to be “long-drawn, dramatic rot” and “a foolish, highly peppered story of love, intrigue, and politics…overlaid with bantam gabble about freedom and the people” (Wilson). Since the play is not highly regarded, Vera has rarely been produced since its premiere, and academics tend to dismiss the play, especially when analyzing Wilde’s more famous and better works.
Personally, I do not understand why the play is so highly criticized, as I actually find it to be one of my favorite plays. Yes, structurally it is not as concise of a play compared to others, and it does get very unnecessarily long at certain parts. For example, Act Two could have been drastically cut down. However, the play still maintains Wilde’s signature witty humor, which I love, and I think the relationship between Vera and Alexis is very romantic. But what makes this play so notable in my mind is its portrayal of Vera, a very strong, revolutionary woman, which is rare to see in works of theater, and is something I really love reading.
Though I commend the play for its strong female character, I must also condemn the play for having Vera fall in love with a czar and eventually sacrifice herself for him. The latter part of this condemnation leads me to the common thread amongst works of art that a woman must sacrifice herself for a man. It is the tragic notion that a heroine must die for the hero – whether that is so he can live, or so he can become a hero, etc. A woman needs to die for change to be made.
I will first discuss this tragic notion in regards to Vera; or, The Nihilists, and then I will provide a brief history of the real-life Vera Zasulich, in which the play is loosely based off of, in a follow-up post.
The Tragedy of a Heroine Dying for a Man
Alexis: “The whole fire of revolution seems fallen
into dull ashes when she is not here” (17).
President of the Nihilists: “Welcome, Vera, welcome!
We have been sick at heart till we saw you; but now
methinks the star of freedom has come to
wake us from the night (19).”
Alexis: “Oh, think how without you the sun goes
from our life, how the people will lose their leader
and liberty her priestess” (22).
Michael: “…the priestess of liberty,
the flame of Revolution,
the torch of democracy” (57).
How often do we hear a woman described like this by men? Not often, or if at all. Vera is deeply respected by her fellow nihilists, who are all men. They admit that they would be lost without her and that she is a key person to their cause. Vera is such a strong opponent and fighter that even the Czar fears her over the others, saying: “For two years her hands have been clutching at my throat; for two years she has made my life a hell” (41). I think it is wonderful to see such a strong, powerful woman. Due to this, I find it unfortunate that Vera’s main storylines revolve around love and her sacrifice for a fellow male nihilist. Before I get into this, I first want to discuss how strong of a woman Vera is.
Before Vera becomes a nihilist, she is shown as being a confident woman who is not afraid to speak her mind. When Michael, a boy who loves her, asks if she will ever love someone other than her brother, she smiles and says: “I don't know; there is so much else to do in the world but love” (9). Vera is not saying that she does not love, because she loves her missing brother very much; however, what she is saying is that there is more to life than romantic love. While women, especially women of Vera’s time, are told they need to find a husband, Vera is not putting focus on finding a husband and understands that there is so much more to life than romance and being a wife. From the beginning, Vera seems to know what she wants and is not afraid of straying from the “norm.”
In the prologue of the play, when prisoners are brought to Vera’s father’s inn, Vera is immediately sympathetic towards them and speaks up for them. When the Colonel learns Vera can read and write, he labels her as a “dangerous woman” and that she should obey her masters (11). When Vera asks the Colonel who are her masters, the Colonel says: “…these men are going to the mines for life for asking the same foolish question” (11). Despite the danger she faces, Vera says: “Then they have been unjustly condemned” (11). This is a dangerous thing for Vera to say, as she could easily be arrested and imprisoned for saying such words; but Vera believes so strongly in her convictions and for what is right that she will speak her mind.
When the prisoners arrive, Vera gives the soldiers her mother’s necklace in order to be able to feed and talk to the prisoners, demonstrating her compassion and urge to help those in need. As she feeds the prisoners, she realizes that one of them is her brother, Dmitri. She is shocked to find him and says: “You must escape, Dmitri. I will take your place” (12). She loves her brother enough to sacrifice herself for him. But he refuses to let her take his place and says that the only thing she could do now is to revenge him. As Dmitri is led out, he gives her a slip of paper that begins Vera’s journey to becoming a nihilist. The paper reads:
“To strangle whatever nature is in me; neither to love nor to be loved; neither to pity nor to be pitied; neither to marry nor to be given in marriage, till the end is come” (14).
Vera then kisses the paper and exclaims: “My brother, I shall keep the oath. You shall be revenged!” (14). And so, Vera’s journey begins.
Years later, Vera and Michael are pivotal members of the Nihilists, and Vera is revered amongst her fellow nihilists and the people, as demonstrated by the quotes above. When the President of the Nihilists says that they can suffer now, Vera objects, saying: “We have done that too much already. The hour is now come to annihilate and to revenge” (20). Vera will not take things sitting down. She is a fighter and an active participant. She even says this wonderful line about those in power:
“Oh, to think what stands between us and freedom in Europe! a few old men, wrinkled, feeble, tottering dotards…” (20).
This line is still relevant to today’s society, as those in power are mostly old, white, straight men (so not too much has changed since the 1800’s).
What is also so wonderful about Vera is that she knows she is vital to the cause. She says that she must go to Novgorod because if martial law is passed, “they will need [her] all the more there” (22). This is such a great quote because it encompasses her strong nature and her belief in herself, something that women need to see.
Unfortunately, Vera is a prisoner of her gender, and she is written to fall in love with a man. Though she wants to go to Novgorod, when Alexis, who she loves, tells her to stay, she says that if he wishes it, she will stay, which completely puts her at the mercy of a man. Her story has now become about her forbidden love with a man, as though Alexis and Vera love each other, as Nihilists they have sworn not to love, demonstrated by the oath Vera was given by her brother. However, Vera struggles with this oath because of Alexis. In a private inner monologue, Vera says:
“Had I not strangled nature, sworn neither to love nor be loved, methinks I might have loved him. Oh, I am a fool, a traitor myself, a traitor myself!...Why does he make me feel at times as if I would have him as my king, Republican though I be? Oh, fool, fool, fool! False to your oath! weak as water!...Remember what you are—a Nihilist, a Nihilist!” (23).
Vera is now not only questioning her romantic feelings but also her political opinions. A man has turned her world around, which is not a good example for women.
Vera defends Alexis when it is learned that he might be a traitor. She steps in front of Alexis when the other nihilists draw their knives, saying: “You must kill me first…before you lay a finger on him” (26). She says that she trusts Alexis and believes he has the “noblest heart” amongst the group. Vera ends up being right, as though Alexis is heir to the throne, he strongly opposes his father’s governance and wants things in Russia to change, which is why he became a member of the nihilists. However, what is unclear is whether or not Vera trusts Alexis because of how he has behaved or because she is in love with him. She does emphasize that Alexis would not betray them and has saved them before, which suggests she trusts him because of his actions, demonstrating she is thinking with her head over her heart. But if she mostly trusts him because she has fallen in love with him, she is thinking with her heart over her head, perpetuating the notion that women are emotional and are blinded by love.
In my opinion, it seems as though Vera trusts Alexis because of his actions, not because of her love for him, as she believes he will be good for the country. This is demonstrated when Michael kills the Czar and Alexis decides to accept the throne. The other nihilists want Alexis dead but Vera advocates for his life. When Michael reveals that he knows Vera loves Alexis and that Alexis would have treated her badly, making her his mistress, Vera responds with:
“What he would have done to me matters little. To the people, at least, he will be true. He loves the people—at least, he loves liberty” (57).
This suggests that she wants him to live because she thinks he will be a good king and not because she loves him. However, since it is unclear what Wilde is trying to convey, Vera protecting Alexis can easily be misconstrued as her trying to protect a man she loves.
After Alexis becomes king and the nihilists decide to kill him, Michael manages to convince Vera to join them by mentioning her brother and by saying: “…you told me to live for freedom and for revenge. I have done so; but you, what have you done?” (58). It is these words that touch a nerve with Vera, as she had vowed not to love and to put Russia first. When the nihilists draw lots, Vera’s lot is drawn, to which she is happy about because it allows her to save her brother. She says:
“I am no woman now. My blood seems turned to gall; my heart is as cold as steel is; my hand shall be more deadly” (59).
I take issue with this quote, in that she says she is no longer a woman because her heart is cold as steel. This quote suggests that women are too emotional and cannot separate love from what is right, while men can. It seems to suggest that women are not good leaders because of being emotional, a sexist notion that still thrives in society today. I also take issue with Vera’s next statement: “I shall stab him to the heart, as he has stabbed me” (59). This line suggests more of a scorned woman than a revolutionary.
Vera also abandons her beliefs for a man. When Alexis tells her he wants her to be queen, she violently says that she cannot wear a crown as she is a nihilist. However, she soon abandons this and agrees to be with Alexis, saying: “Oh, I am a woman! God help me, I am a woman!” (70). This emphasizes the notion that women are easily swayed by men and think with their hearts over their heads.
Now, here we come to the notion that a heroine must die for a man, and whether Vera dies for Alexis, or for Russia, or for both.
When Vera decides to kill Alexis, she says that she is doing so in order for Russia to be saved, suggesting that Russia should not have a king. However, she also says the same thing after she stabs herself instead of Alexis, demonstrating that she thinks Russia needs Alexis to be king. She says to Alexis: “My life for yours! What does it matter?” (72). This line suggests that Vera’s life is not important compared to Alexis’, and that he will be able to do more to help Russia than she can, rendering her life as less important than his. Vera’s statement suggests that perhaps she is sacrificing herself so that Alexis can save Russia, not because she is in love with him.
Whether Vera kills herself for Russia or for her love for Alexis, it still brings up this question: “Why must a heroine die (for a man)?”. As we have seen from Vera, she is clearly an instrumental figure in the revolution and her life is just as valuable as Alexis’, if not more since she has been playing such a significant role in change and she is revered by the people. Therefore, why must she be the one to die?
Vera is a prisoner of her gender, just as other heroines in society have fallen into the trope of dying for a man. Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker’s original love interest from the Spiderman comics, dies. Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne’s love interest, also dies. Both of these deaths have an impact on the male characters and change their actions. In the case of Wilde’s play, Vera’s death allows Alexis to live and save Russia. Instead of a strong woman living and changing the world, it is left to a man. This is why it was such a big deal when Wonder Woman lives in the most recent film and her male love interest dies instead. The trope had been reversed.
A line that I think is wonderful and empowering is Vera’s exclamation: “I shall carve my name on the world, and be ranked among the great heroines” (60). Taking it out of the context of Vera about to assassinate a king, it is nice to see a woman be confident in herself and take political action. Unfortunately, her character will be remembered for sacrificing her life for a king, instead of all the work she did leading up to her death and all the work she could have done if she had lived. Why must a heroine die? Because a man writes it so.
April 6, 2019
Why Must a Heroine Die: Act 2 (of 2): A follow-up post about the real Vera Zasulich, whose life the play is loosely based off of. The real Vera died of pneumonia, not for a man.
Want to read “Vera; or the Nihilists?” Here is a link to a free online copy.
Works Cited
Eltis, Sos. “Vera; or, The Nihilists.” Oxford Scholarship, Oxford University Press, 17 Nov. 2014, www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198121831.001.0001/acprof-9780198121831-chapter-3.
“VERA; OR, THE NIHILISTS.” The Project Gutenberg EBook of Vera; or, the Nihilists, by Oscar Wilde, www.gutenberg.org/files/26494/26494-h/26494-h.htm.
Vera, or The Nihilists.” Vera, or The Nihilists - Drama Online, www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/vera-or-the-nihilists-iid-131726.
Wilson, Jennifer. “When Oscar Wilde Colluded with the Russians.” The Paris Review, 18 Oct. 2017, www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/10/18/oscar-wilde-colluded-russians/.
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