Spoiler alert: there's a ton o' death in Salomé. Like, this play makes Game of Thrones look pretty tame.
At the beginning of the play, death is something to be administered by kings—all it takes is a special death ring to signal the end. The young Syrian's death begins to complicate things: Herod doesn't want to know that people die without him calling for their death, and he passes the notion of suicide off as "ridiculous." The situation really changes when the Nazarenes talk about resurrection: death takes on an entirely different character and has become a weird, alien thing. By play's end, even Naaman (Herod's scary executioner) dreads killing Jokanaan.
Questions About Death
- Is Herod justified in having Salomé killed?
- Why is Jokanaan so surprised to see the angel of death in the palace? Why is Herod the only other person to sense the angel's presence?
- What motivates the young Syrian's suicide?
- What are the implications of the story about the daughter of Jairus?
Chew on This
At the beginning of Salomé, death seems like the greatest punishment and the definitive expression of Herod's power; by the play's end, we begin to realize that its dominance is already being curtailed.
Ironically enough, the death which pervades Jokanaan's prophecies is the means of achieving eternal life.