Durrenmatt, Friedrich, << DOO ruhn maht, FREE drihsh >> (1921-1990), was a Swiss dramatist and novelist. Many of his plays are tragicomedies notable for their odd and arresting effects. His work shows a fascination with strange and paradoxical situations and characters. Durrenmatt presented the world of his time in a state of decay and corruption. But some of his characters speak for his conviction that courage and goodness are possible. In his best-known play, The Visit (1956), the main character eventually atones for his own guilt, though he is surrounded by moral decay. Durrenmatt also wrote Romulus the Great (1949), The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi (1952), The Physicists (1962), and Play Strindberg (1969). His fiction includes Traps (1956) and The Pledge (1958). Durrenmatt was born on Jan. 5, 1921, near Bern. He died on Dec. 14, 1990.
