SOURCE: Kamenish, Paula. “The Theory of Games and Dramatic Behavior: Uncovering Patterns of Dominance in Les Bonnes.” Studies in the Humanities 24, nos. 1-2 (June-December 1997): 85-99.

In the following essay, Kamenish analyzes the psychological strategies of both the characters and audience of The Maids in terms of game theory.

… play is a voluntary activity or occupation executed within certain fixed limits of time and place, according to rules freely accepted but absolutely binding, having its aim in itself and accompanied by a feeling of tension, joy and the consciousness that it is “different” from “ordinary life.”

(Huizinga 28)

Jean Genet's Les Bonnes, based on the actual 1933 murder of Madame and Mademoiselle Lancelin by their maids, Christine and Léa Papin, is more than a mere 1947 theatrical rendition of the infamous crime. Genet freely explores the murderous motivations of the malevolent maids in a contest in which these sisters are first...