Colleen Wagner’s The Monument is a hard hitting piece about ‘the truth about war’ (Wagner, pg. 75). However, what truth and what war she is discussing is never exactly specified, leaving ample room for interpretation. The play has been written in a way that leaves it full of potential and with few limitations, if any. This is achieved through a particular vagueness in regards to which war it is referencing, a deeper message in the monument itself, and an in depth look into both sides of the conflict. Through this, the play takes on an almost unnatural ability to be contextualized into any war and connect with any audience.
When I first began reading The Monument, I automatically assumed it was written about the second world war. Having family …show more content…
I write these titles in quotations because I believe neither character to truly be solely a villain or a victim. From the onset, the audience is made to believe Stetko is a villain. We are first introduced to him while he is waiting to be put to death after being convicted for committing war crimes, regaling the spectators of his execution with stories of the women he’s raped and killed. He says things like “I didn’t mind killing her” (Wagner, pg. 7) and “It was just a job. I guess rape was just a part of it” (Wagner, pg. 11). Then, a second later he turns his story around and pairs these casual, apathetic statements with others meant to gain our sympathy, such as “The other men forced me. First time I said no they stripped me naked and laughed at me…[said] that maybe they should do it to me” (Wagner, pg.7). Immediately, it is apparent that, he is also a victim. He was manipulated into raping these women. He was made to feel small and insignificant - like a woman - for not wanting to rape and kill like the other men. His sense of agency is taken from him and he becomes powerless like the women he rapes. Consequently, he takes away the power of these women, because someone else is taking his power. Furthermore, we see Stetko suffer physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Mejra, who seriously injures him and continues to take away his sense of agency through giving him ultimatums - either he does what she wants or she kills him. The audience becomes conflicted - we want to hate him for what he’s done, but we also feel for him for what he went through in the war and for what Mejra has done to him. Likewise, we want to hate Mejra, but it is evident that, through her outwardly hard, abusive exterior, she is clearly suffering as well. Through her abuse of
When I first began reading The Monument, I automatically assumed it was written about the second world war. Having family …show more content…
I write these titles in quotations because I believe neither character to truly be solely a villain or a victim. From the onset, the audience is made to believe Stetko is a villain. We are first introduced to him while he is waiting to be put to death after being convicted for committing war crimes, regaling the spectators of his execution with stories of the women he’s raped and killed. He says things like “I didn’t mind killing her” (Wagner, pg. 7) and “It was just a job. I guess rape was just a part of it” (Wagner, pg. 11). Then, a second later he turns his story around and pairs these casual, apathetic statements with others meant to gain our sympathy, such as “The other men forced me. First time I said no they stripped me naked and laughed at me…[said] that maybe they should do it to me” (Wagner, pg.7). Immediately, it is apparent that, he is also a victim. He was manipulated into raping these women. He was made to feel small and insignificant - like a woman - for not wanting to rape and kill like the other men. His sense of agency is taken from him and he becomes powerless like the women he rapes. Consequently, he takes away the power of these women, because someone else is taking his power. Furthermore, we see Stetko suffer physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Mejra, who seriously injures him and continues to take away his sense of agency through giving him ultimatums - either he does what she wants or she kills him. The audience becomes conflicted - we want to hate him for what he’s done, but we also feel for him for what he went through in the war and for what Mejra has done to him. Likewise, we want to hate Mejra, but it is evident that, through her outwardly hard, abusive exterior, she is clearly suffering as well. Through her abuse of