“Justice, my friend, is a terrible
strain; you wear yourself out in its service, both physically and
morally...”
The Inspector says these lines upon his
return to the sanatorium after Mobius murders his nurse, in reference
to not needing to arrest these three insane murderers. However,
these men believed they were necessary casualties along the way to
securing their own idea of justice.
Newton and Einstein believed that
Mobius was, in reality, a brilliant physicist. Each was willing to
make sacrifices including committing themselves to a sanatorium and
murdering someone in order to retrieve Mobius for their side. Newton
and Einstein believe it is Mobius' responsibility, his moral duty, to
release his findings to the world at large in order to improve it.
Mobius, on the other hand, believes that research will ultimately be
used for terrible deeds, much as Einstein's research allowed the
production of atomic bombs. Mobius felt morally obligated to hide
his findings from the world, instead sacrificing his freedom, family,
and potential reputation by being put in the sanatorium.
Each of these three men have
“sacrificed” the justice of others in order to enforce their own,
and in the end agree that Mobius is correct; his findings must not be
released to the world. However, as the play draws to a close it is
revealed that their attempts have been for naught, and in their
effort to deny the world Mobius' knowledge for the greater good has
ultimately delivered the knowledge solely in the hands of someone who
will use it for no good. Justice is on holiday.
I like your analysis of justice! I feel like this "justice on holiday" demonstrates that justice can be different for each person. It made me think of the story where a man steals bread to provide for his family. In the eyes of the law, it is wrong to steal, but he did what he had to do to provide for his family.
ReplyDeleteI had the same feelings towards justice in this play. In a way, though, they kind of get what they deserve. They make the active choice to remain prisoners before actually becoming prisoners.
ReplyDeleteI also really appreciated that your title sounded like a tagline for a comic book or action movie.