SOURCE: "Marqués' La muerte no entrará en palacio and Dionysianism," in Latin American Theatre Review, Vol. 26, No. 1, Fall, 1992, pp. 43-53.

In the following essay, Callan analyzes the mytho-psychological theme and symbolism of La muerte no entrará en palacio, drawing parallels with elements of Greek religion and drama.

The protagonist don José, long-time governor of an island largely dependent on a foreign power, has grown rigid and dictatorial, forsaking his original goal of emancipation for the people. An attempt to overthrow him, inspired by the exiled revolutionary don Rodrigo, fails. The ruler's friend Teresias, José's wife Isabel, their daughter Casandra, and others exhort him in the interest of freedom not to sign a treaty with the northern power which would perpetuate its dominance of their country. The play ends with the governor's death by the hand of his daughter.

La muerte is a livre a clèf...