The Just Assassins
The
Just Assassins (original French title: Les
Justes, more literal translations would be The Just or The
Righteous) is a 1949 play by French writer and philosopher Albert
Camus.
The
play is based on the true story of a group of Russian Socialist-Revolutionaries who assassinated the Grand Duke Sergei
Alexandrovich in 1905, and explores the moral
issues associated with murder and terrorism. In the play, all but one (Stepan)
of the "Justes" are based upon historical terrorists, described in Memoirs
of a Terrorist by Boris
Savinkov.
Plot with analysiss
Act
I In the apartment used by the
terrorists
The
'justes' are a group of revolutionaries plotting to assassinate the Grand Duke
with a bomb. The first attempt is meticulously set up, with Kaliayev selected to throw the bomb.
Act
II as before
After
a period of uncertainty as to the outcome of the first attempt, Kaliayev
returns, saying he could not throw the bomb at the carriage, as it contained
the Grand Duke's nephew and niece. Stepan is disgusted by this, pointing out
that thousands of Russian children have died as a result of Tsarist oppression,
but the others take Kaliayev's side, as killing children would harm their
cause.
Act
III as before
Kaliayev
prepares for the second attempt and tries again, two days after the first try.
He successfully kills the duke. Voinov leaves the group to join the Party's
propaganda division.
Act
IV in a prison
Kaliayev
is in prison. He has a brief discussion with Foka before Skouratov enters.
Skouratov discusses Kaliayev's actions with him before the Grand Duchess
enters. She shows Kaliayev the human side of his crime (the actual death of the
Grand Duke) and asks him to agree to being a murderer, not a revolutionary, in
exchange for his life. Kaliayev is moved by her talk of her husband but stays
firm. He says, "Let me prepare myself to die. If I did not die-- it's then
I'd be a murderer." Skouratov reenters and makes Kaliayev an offer: either
Kaliayev confesses and reveals the whereabouts of his fellows, or Skouratov
will publish an article saying he repented his acts to the Grand Duchess,
thereby making his fellows believe he betrayed them and their cause.
Act
V At the apartment
It
is the night of Kaliayev's execution. Annenkov, Dora and Stepan await news of
him. Voinov returns for the same reason. Some suggest that Kaliayev may have
betrayed them to save his own life, but Dora knows this is not true. This is
confirmed shortly afterwards by news of Kaliayev's death. Dora, normally the
most gentle of the group, takes on a Stepan-like attitude. She vows to throw
herself into terrorism and either to destroy tyranny single-handed to avenge
Kaliayev, or be caught, executed and thereby united with him.
Cast
The
original production of Les Justes was directed by Paul Oettly and first
released on December 15, 1949.
- Maria Casarès as Dora Doulebov
- Michèle Lahaye as the Grand Duke
- Serge Reggiani as Ivan Kaliayev
- Michel Bouquet as Stepan Fedorov
- Yves Brainville as Boris Annenkov
- Jean Pommier [fr] as Alexis Voinov
- Paul Oettly [fr] as Skouratov
- Moncorbier as Foka
- Louis Perdoux as Prison Guard
Characters
The "Justes"
Ivan
Kaliayev ('Yanek') – The lead character of the play. It is he who throws the
bomb that kills the Grand Duke, and goes to prison for it. Kaliayev is also
known among the terrorists as 'the poet'. He, like the other 'justes', has
sacrificed a good life to fight the tyranny of the Tsarist regime. Despite the sadness and danger of terrorism,
Kaliayev repeatedly affirms his love for life — indeed, he is fighting so as to
bring a better life to others. He and Stepan Fedorov frequently come
into conflict. He used to be the lover of Dora Doulebov. Kaliayev is
seen making a number of religious gestures, such as crossing himself. He is
also extremely moral, and uncomfortable with the idea of killing a man. His only
consolation is that, in killing the Grand Duke, he will reduce suffering for
thousands of others ('La Russie sera belle') and that he will pay for the human
side of his crime with his life. Even then, he makes certain that he kills only
the Grand Duke. Ivan Kalyayev was the real name of the terrorist, as Camus
notes in his introduction.
Stepan
Fedorov – The only fictional revolutionary
of the play, introduced by Camus to show his problems with the Communist party.
Stepan enters the play having spent three years in prison before escaping to
Switzerland (a reference to Lenin).
As a consequence, he is very bitter and unable to appreciate the good aspects
of life. He feels that 'freedom is a prison while even one man on Earth is
enslaved', and frequently talks about insane acts of indiscriminate
destruction, such as asking Dora 'how many bombs would it take to blow up
Moscow?'. He also persistently asks to be allowed to throw the bomb, but the other
members of the group see him as too unstable to be allowed to do so.
Dora
Doulebov – Former lover of Kaliayev.
She has had training in chemistry, and therefore acts as the group's
bomb-maker. Dora, more than any other of the revolutionaries, remembers and
talks fondly of her life before joining the Party. Though normally very gentle,
Dora adopts a Stepan-like persona at the end of the play, wishing to avenge
Kaliayev's death or die trying.
Boris
Annenkov – The leader of the Party. Annenkov
makes all the decisions about the assassination, such as who will throw the
bomb. He acts in a mediating role in conflicts between Kaliayev and Stepan, and
generally serves to calm the feelings of the other members of the group.
Alexis
Voinov – A former university student,
Voinov was thrown out of university for anti-Tsarist comments. Voinov places a
very high value on truth, and feels he must fight tyranny actively. However,
when he finds himself unable to throw his bomb in the first assassination
attempt, he realises that he is not suited for direct violent action — he is
afraid of the moment of deciding to throw the bomb, and he is ashamed of this.
He decides instead to transfer to the propaganda division of the Party, saying
that although the risks are the same, he does not have to see them.
Other characters
The
Grand Duchess – Grand Duchess
Elizabeth Fyodorovna, Widow of Grand Duke Serge. She
appears in only one scene, confronting Kaliayev in prison about his actions.
She emphasises the human side of the Grand Duke's death, talking about his
little habits and good qualities. She asks Kaliayev to admit to being a
murderer rather than a revolutionary, in exchange for a pardon, and to accept
Christianity. Kaliayev finds his justification severely weakened, but manages
to reject her offer.
Skouratov – A member of the secret police who visits Kaliayev in
prison. Skouratov represents the hopelessness of struggling against a despotic
society. He asks Kaliayev to betray his comrades in exchange for freedom for
all of them, but Kaliayev refuses to do so. Skouratov then has published, or
threatens to have publish, a newspaper article saying Kaliayev did betray them,
so as to destroy the unity of the group. However, if he does so, the group do
not believe him.
Foka – A man Kaliayev meets in prison who has murdered someone
while drunk. Foka is sceptical towards Kaliayev's socialism, and is instead
very acceptant of the world (when Kaliayev describes the socialist vision to
him, Foka simply says it is heaven). He is serving a 20-year sentence, but acts
as a hangman, getting a year off his sentence for each criminal he hangs.
Prison
guard – An intriguingly important
character. He represents the class struggle that was prevalent in Russia at the
time; never striking but always in the background, in control.
Adaptation
The
2017 Telugu (Indian) movie Raktham - The Blood directed by Rajesh
Touchriver is also an adaptation of this
Albert Camus play.
References
· Camus, Albert. Caligula and 3 Other Plays.
The Just Assassins. New York: Vintage Books, 1985. Print.
· · "Bajo
la metralla". Cine
Mexicano (in Spanish). Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía. Retrieved
2016-05-28.
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