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"The aim of Marxism is to bring about a classless society, based on the common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange" (Barry 156). According to Marxism, progress comes about through the "struggle of power between different social classes" (Barry 157). Class struggle is fueled by the competition for economic, social, and political advantage. The exploitation of one social class by another is seen in modern industrial capitalism. The result of this exploitation is alienation, leaving workers and the products of their work with only a monetary value, known as reification. Alienation is the primary innovation of Brecht's epic theater. Through epic drama, Brecht shows this alienation between the characters and the audience. Brecht uses specific techniques in order to accomplish this. By using his episodic style, "a disconnected open-ended montage of scenes," physical space, and "significant properties," such as gesture, he forces the audience to see what is actually taking place (Brecht 75-76). The alienation effect is a derivation of defamiliarisation, where familiar actions are distorted through interruption, lengthening, or deceleration (essay bank). In Mother Courage and Her Children, Brecht examines the social injustices of war, the idea of capitalization through war, and how war affects individuals by changing their moral ethics and virtues. War is a business, which makes human virtues fatal to those who possess them. Mother Courage and Her Children takes place during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) in Sweden. Anna Fierling, known as Mother Courage, struggles to make a living selling goods to soldiers, while at the same time keeping her children safe and out of the war SERGEANT Peaceable I don't think; look at your knife. You should be ashamed of yourself; put that knife away, you old harridan. A minute back you were admitting you
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live off the war, how else should you live, what from? But how's anyone to have war without soldiers? MOTHER COURAGE No need it to be my kids. (Brecht 7)Her children are important to her however, Mother Courage faces an internal conflict of what she is willing and not willing to give up in order to survive. Although Mother Courage disagrees with the war, she is a businesswoman at heart and develops a co-dependency with the war. She is egocentric and selfish subscribing to capitalist principles, but is blind to their consequences. As the war rages on, Mother Courage realizes her business is jeopardizing the safety of her children and herself, but is unwilling to give up her wagon of goods. She pays the ultimate price for keeping her business, by sacrificing the lives of her children. "War is a continuation of business making human virtues fatal to their possessors" (Brecht 76)."War and business create an all-embracing market in which everything is commodified" (Brecht 76). Mother Courage, showing a lack in moral judgment, pulls her wagon through war torn Europe to sell her wares as people are being killed. An army recruiting officer and sergeant see Mother Courage with her children as they roll into camp. Immediately, forming opinions on which class of people they belong to. Using degrading and dehumanizing remarks, the recruiting officer and sergeant refer to the women as "tarts," Mother Courage as a "harridan," and her sons as "trash" (Brecht 77-7). Holding her head high, Mother Courage presents herself as "Mother Courage with her wagon," implying that her reputation precedes her. The sergeant's response surprises her SERGEANT Never heard of her. What's she called Courage for? MOTHER COURAGE Courage is the name they gave me because I was scared of going broke…(Brecht 78)This statement is prophetic, as it is her fear that determines her actions throughout the play, leading her to a tragic "pyrrhic victory" (Tolley). Mother Courage displays her fears in a contradictory manner. While tearing a sheet of parchment paper she says, "Eilif, Swiss Cheese and Kattrin, may all of us be torn apart like this if we let ourselves get too mixed up in the war" (Brecht 7). Mother Courage is scared and does not want her children involved in the war. The actual tearing of the parchment represents the family being on borrowed time and the fate of the children, as each one is torn away from their mother. A few moments later, Mother Courage states, "Come along, let's move on now. Tain't every day we have a war, I got to get stirring" (Brecht 7). Even though Mother Courage is afraid, she still relies on the war to survive. War is her deadly partner. Mother Courage appears torn between making money and doing what is best for her children. Her predictions of doom for her family in scene one, foreshadows the entire play. Mother Courage pretends she is a fortuneteller and predicts the death of the sergeant, but is actually predicting the deaths of her own children and the manner of which they die. As Mother Courage prepares to leave camp, the recruiting officer sarcastically says, "Might as well look at that belt buckle, sergeant. After all, our friends here have to live by their business," implying that Mother Courage lives off of the army, an image of vermin (Brecht 70). Mother Courage cannot resist a sale and begins haggling, unaware that the recruiting officer has taken Eilif. When she realizes that Eilif is gone, her response to Kattrin is less than motherly, "You'll have to help your brother pull now," showing more concern for her wagon than for Eilif's safety (Brecht 70). She is done haggling and leaves camp without Eilif. Two years go by and Mother Courage has not seen her son Eilif. She crosses Poland with the Finnish armies, and begins arguing with the general's cook about buying a capon for the soldiers THE COOK There's plenty. They're sitting on it. MOTHER COURAGE (Triumphantly.) They ain't. They're bust, that's what they are. Just about starving. I saw some, were grubbing up roots from sheer hunger, licking their fingers after they boiled some old leather strap. That's way it is. And me got a capon here supposed to take forty hellers for it. (Brecht 70) Mother Courage insists her capon is the better choice over the rat and beef the cook wanted to use. Brecht strongly emphasizes food imagery here. The concept of food represents one of the necessities of life that drive men to act immorally. Mother Courage offers to sell a capon to the cook, who does not want to pay her price. She replies, "a rat you might get; 'might' I say because they're all being gobbled up, five men spending best part of a day chasing one hungry rat" (Brecht 70). Contrasting the capon and the rat implies the army eats its own scavengers, which is the opposite of what normally happens. Vermin are scavengers fighting for resources, and the war serves as both a fighting and a feeding ground. While haggling with the cook, Mother Courage hears a familiar voice. It is her son Eilif being congratulated by the general for his heroism. Using his business know-how, Eilif has confused the peasants over selling their oxen, catching them off-guard. Grabbing his sword, Eilif began "hacking 'em to pieces" (Brecht 71). Eilif asks the Chaplain for his thoughts on the matter. According to the Chaplain, the Bible does not provide examples of killing for food, because God always provided it, therefore God is not fighting for the army (Brecht 71). This is juxtaposed with the general's statement that God is on the army's side, implying that God allows the killing of peasants to feed the army. This obviously shows a corrupted view of Christian morality. Eilif then sings "The Song of the Girl and the Soldier" for the general, which tells the story of a soldier who dies for ignoring the advice of a wise woman (Brecht 717). This story runs parallel to Eilif's life. Ignoring Mother Courage's advice, he continues killing peasants even in peacetime, and eventually dies for it. Three years later, we find Mother Courage, her children, and the Chaplain as prisoners, with Mother Courage pretending to be Catholic to protect them from the enemy THE CHAPLAIN But my faith makes it particularly dangerous for me. MOTHER COURAGE (Gets him a cloak.) Goes against my conscience, this does. Now you run along. (Brecht 74)Mother Courage does care for the people around her, however her concern for survival is greater, as she struggles with giving away merchandise without being paid. With the enemy arriving, Mother Courage is frantic to find Kattrin in a "strumpet's hat" and wearing the red boots (Brecht 74). Kattrin is fascinated with Yvette's red boots, and refuses to part with them. The red boots are affiliated with prostitution, but to Kattrin they symbolize beauty, luxury, and femininity. Mother Courage tells Kattrin to give the boots back to Yvette. Mother Courage worries the soldiers will rape Kattrin, so she covers her face with ashes to conceal her (Brecht 7475). At the same time, Swiss Cheese is entrusted with the "regimental cash box," which Mother Courage tells him to get rid of for their safety (Brecht 75). Swiss Cheese knows it is his responsibility, and hides it in the wagon instead. Mother Courage being afraid, uses cutting remarks towards her son, "If it weren't for you Swiss Cheese, things'd be easier, I brought you up to be honest, you not being clever, but you got to know where to stop" (Brecht 75). Again, we see an imagery of vermin as Mother Courage says, "We're prisoners, but same like fleas on dog," indicating she would rather take care of a bag of fleas, than deal with her own children (Brecht 75). Her children are careless, and Mother Courage is afraid they will reveal their identity to the enemy. In doing so, she is debasing their humanity and their status as individuals. Mother Courage leaves Swiss Cheese in charge, as she and the Chaplain go to buy a Catholic flag and some meat. They warn Swiss Cheese to leave the cash box alone and to watch for spies. Swiss Cheese wants to hide the cash box by the river, until it is safe to retrieve it. Kattrin, unable to speak, tries to warn Swiss Cheese of the danger as he leaves with the cash box. The spies arrest Swiss Cheese and bring him back to the wagon, where Mother Courage denies knowing him. They insist he cooperate, by telling them where the cash box is hidden, or he's "a goner" (Brecht 76). Refusing to divulge the information, he lies for the first time, and denies knowing anything about it. Mother Courage uses Yvette to haggle over sparing her son's life. By the time Mother Courage agrees to pay their price and to sell her wagon, it is too late. Mother Courage negotiates too long, and as a result Swiss Cheese dies. Yvette is disgusted and says to Mother Courage, "Well, you got what you asked for, with your haggling and trying to keep your cart. Eleven bullets they gave him, that's all" (Brecht 78). The soldiers bring Swiss Cheese's body to Mother Courage to see her reaction. When she sees her son's body, she denies knowing him in order to protect Kattrin, the Chaplain, and herself. Swiss Cheese was known to be virtuous and honest, however, the first time he does not tell the truth, he is killed for it. An interesting comparison is made between Swiss Cheese and Jesus Christ. The Chaplain sings the "Song of the Hours," the trial and death of Christ, which is similar to what Swiss Cheese is going through. Mother Courage denies knowing her son three times, as Peter did to Jesus, and they were both put to death. Frustrated, Mother Courage sings the "Song of the Grand Capitulation," a song about a young girl with high hopes, a broken spirit, and being ruled by others (Brecht 7). The song indicates that Mother Courage hates her own life and what it has become. Years of wartime suffering have frozen them into fixed forms of begging, informing, and lamentation. When she was younger, Mother Courage didn't take orders from anyone, but after a short time she gave in to the pressures of society. She capitulated in order to survive, and is suffering as a result. In other words, either you capitulate or you die. It is now 161, the war is spreading to other areas, and there are many injuries. Mother Courage refuses to cut up her "officers' shirts" to use as bandages, because she knows that she will not be paid (Brecht 740). Mother Courage is so attached to her wagon and in protecting her interests, she is unfeeling towards the victims and their suffering. Kattrin, enraged by her mother's inhumanity tries to intervene. Hearing that a baby's life is in danger, Kattrin risks her own life to save the baby's. As Kattrin cares for the baby, her actions seem to be out of revenge towards her mother. Kattrin sees herself as the good mother and Mother Courage as the bad mother. There are great differences between their personalities. Mother Courage has hardened over the years, and is unmoved and uncaring towards others, whereas Kattrin is compassionate, representing a true hero. Mother Courage again shows us where her priorities lie, at the Commander-in-Chief's funeral MOTHER COURAGE You don't think war might end, then? THE CHAPLAIN What, because the commander in chief's gone? Don't be childish. They're two a penny, no shortage of heroes. MOTHER COURAGE Ee, I'm not asking for fun of it, but because I'm thinking whether to stock up, prices are low now, but if war's going to end it's money down the drain. (Brecht 741)Her concern lies more with her business than with the war ending. Mother Courage is interrupted from her conversation with the Chaplain, as Kattrin enters out of breath. She was assaulted, and has a wound above her eye MOTHER COURAGE …Worse than wild beasts they are. (She ties up the wound.) THE CHAPLAIN It's not them I blame. They never went raping back home. The fault lies with those that start the wars, it brings humanity's lowest instincts to the surface. (Brecht 74)This statement is so true; war and conflict bring out our animal instincts of survival. Kattrin has been a tragic victim of the war. As a child, she lost her voice when a "soldier stuck something in her mouth" (Brecht 74). Now she is disfigured from defending her mother's merchandise, and blames her mother for her disfigurement. Mother Courage curses the war for scarring her daughter, however in a contradictory manner, she inventories the very items that cause Kattrin's scarring. At the peak of her business, Mother Courage says, "I won't have you folk spoiling my war for me. I'm told it kills off the weak, but they're write-off in peacetime too. And war gives its people a better deal" (Brecht 74). Her business is all that matters to Mother Courage, and when she hears that the war is over, she becomes upset. Her business depends on the war's continuation. War is her breadwinner and provides for all basic human needs. The Chaplain, who has been ineffectual and cynical thus far is outraged at Mother Courage's behavior, and puts her in her place THE CHAPLAIN You should not blaspheme against peace, Courage. You are a hyaena of the battlefield. MOTHER COURAGE I'm what? THE CHAPLAIN But when I see you picking up peace betwixt your finger and your thumb like some dirty old snot-rag, then my humanity feels outraged; for then I see that you don't want peace but war, because you profit from it; in which case you shouldn't forget the ancient saying that whosoever sups with the devil needs a long spoon. (Brecht 745)This motif of vermin is evident as the Chaplain labels Mother Courage as a "hyaena of the battlefied" (Brecht 745). This depiction of Mother Courage equates her with ugly, scavenging animals, which live off of dead carcasses, invoking an imagery of filth. It also indicates that money, greed, and war are evil. Mother Courage is concerned with unloading her stuff before prices drop, so she heads to the market, just missing Eilif. Escorted by soldiers, Eilif arrives in handcuffs to say goodbye to his mother. He is being executed for committing murder during peacetime. Brecht creates an ironic juxtaposition regarding Eilif. Eilif dies for the same reason he was considered a hero during wartime. As Eilif is killed, Mother Courage is conducting business as usual. She returns unaware that her "favorite son" is dead, and is in a hurry to leave with her wagon, because the war is on again (Brecht 746). The winter of 164 is harsh and business is poor. Cook and Mother Courage discuss going to Utrect to run an inn. Cook tells Mother Courage the inn does not have room for Kattrin, and that her looks are a liability for business. Mother Courage considers the proposition, but refuses to leave Kattrin behind to survive on her own. Overhearing their conversation, Kattrin's spirit is damaged. Cook sings the "Song of the Great Souls of the Earth," in an attempt to hock virtue as merchandise, because they are hungry (Hansson). The contention is that man can survive without virtue, but not without food. Through this song, Brecht parallels the lives of Mother Courage to Solomon, Eilif to Caesar, Swiss Cheese to Socrates, and Kattrin to St. Martin. The song indicates that each person lives their lives to one of these virtues wisdom, bravery, honesty, and compassion, and that their virtues fail them. Mother Courage risks the lives of her children and loses; a final defeat. Cook makes a direct reference to Eilif in this scene. He essentially says, Eilif became a cutthroat to survive, which did not spare his life, so whether you are a cutthroat or a person of virtue, there is no chance of survival (Brecht 748). Mother Courage and Kattrin travel over the "highroads of central Germany," harnessed to their wagon like workhorses (Brecht 748). They pass a farm where they hear singing of endless prosperity, as Mother Courage envisions her life of endless toil. This shows the injustice of a class system. Mother Courage and Kattrin continue on their journey, where they come across a farmhouse and park their wagon (Brecht 748). An ensign and three soldiers come upon the farmhouse, and insist the young peasant show them the way into town. Their motive is to murder the townspeople and to take their oxen. The peasant, his wife, and Kattrin begin to pray for the townspeople and their safety. Kattrin slips away, and for the first time in the play, she becomes the dominant character. She performs a heroic deed by risking her life to save others. Climbing up to the stable's roof, she begins beating her drum, hoping the townspeople will hear it. Ignoring the threats on her life, Kattrin beats her drum even louder. Kattrin refuses to capitulate, and dies as a result. This act of self-sacrifice brings her to martyrdom. Kattrin represents the ideal person. The kind of person we should all strive to become, honorable and compassionate. The peasants assure Mother Courage that Kattrin will have a "proper burial" (Brecht 751). Mother Courage slowly counts out her coins to pay the peasants for her burial. She is quick to dispose of her daughter's corpse in order to "get back in business" (Brecht 751). As she pulls her wagon away from the farmhouse, she sees a regiment marching by and calls out to them, "Take me along!" (Brecht 751). Mother Courage presses on with her business. Her business serves as her material and psychological support. She does not let anything interfere with conducting her business, not even the deaths of her children. With Kattrin's death, Brecht shows that helping others does not always pay, and only people like Mother Courage are capable of surviving in the world as it is now. By despising Mother Courage we are brought to the realization that the world does need changing, and until it does change we cannot exist in the idealized world that Kattrin represents. Brecht makes ironic use of business dealings throughout the play. Mother Courage loses Eilif to the army, when trying to sell a belt. Eilif defeats the peasants pretending to negotiate with them. When each of her children dies, Mother Courage is haggling at the market. With hopes of living off of the army, Mother Courage loses both of her sons and her daughter, in essence the army lives off of her. One obvious lesson Mother Courage never learns is, by doing business with war, you will eventually lose everything. Another lesson to be learned is, by not doing business with war, you will die. In other words, you have to capitulate or you die. According to Marx, "the division of labor in modern industrial production has altered the relationship between mankind and the world" (Brecht 7). With modern industry, "workers sell their labor in order to produce commodities" (Brecht 7). Capitalist production conceals how these commodities are produced, giving them a "natural life of their own" (Brecht 7). As these commodities "come alive," the workers are "dehumanized, incorporated into the machinery of production" (Brecht 7). This exemplifies the change in Mother Courage. Giving in to society's terms, Mother Courage works hard to support her children on her own. Enduring hardships, confronting danger, and surviving in a man's world, she ignores her own pain for her children. Once she capitulated, she became intertwined with her business and the war, her actions were robotic and without emotion; she was possessed. Being financially dependent on the war and its continuation, her wagon is her means of survival. Her business practices exemplify this. She protects her interests shrewdly, inquiring into the fate of the war with only her profit in mind. These business practices emerge from the social conditions that determine the characters, thus committing her to war. This is evident from her reactions to the deaths of her children, showing little emotion. She ultimately finds herself alone with the one thing that she treasures, her ramshackle wagon with its tattered flag. The dehumanization of human personality and associated comparison to vermin, illustrates the effects of war on the population. Brecht's intention on writing Mother Courage was to communicate his beliefs and to make people aware of two major issues facing society, war and capitalism (Hansson). According to Brecht, "people deserve the wars they get if they subscribe to a political system which is unfair and favors a specific sector of society, namely capitalism" (Hansson). In other words, if the system is unjust in any way, war and conflict are inevitable. Brecht's primary goals in epic theater are to estrange the audience, to provoke thought about the play, avoid attachment to the characters, and not to meet their expectations. In this way, the audience is forced to confront the issues at hand and decipher the meanings behind what they are being shown. Brecht wants to draw attention to "a bad system, not bad people," making the audience realize that war is unfair, because "one person's hero is another person's villain" (essay bank). Brecht's primary focus is to illustrate the "trickle-down effect" war has on ordinary citizens trying to survive, keeping the war in the background (Clay). Brecht incorporates the Bible into his play, by showing how it fails society. An example of this is when the general stays to Eilif, "Hacked 'em to pieces, did you, so my gallant lads can get a proper bite to eat? What do the Scriptures say? 'Whatsoever thou doest for the least of my brethren, thou doest for me," implying that God condones killing people for food (Brecht 71). Brecht incorporates certain techniques to alienate his audiences in order to inspire "critical detachment" (Zysshe). For staging, he uses a "very bright white light" fixed evenly upon the set, eliminating the possibility of creating an atmosphere (Hansson). Scene changes are made "in full view of the audience" (Hansson). The wagon in Mother Courage and Her Children is the focal point of the play, and remains on stage the entire time. The actors do not become their characters; they simply show their character behavior. Gesture denies the audience the potential to empathize. This form of theatrical acting is unfamiliar territory for audiences, which induces critical analysis. The characters in Mother Courage and Her Children are self-contradictory, which is particularly alienating to an audience. It is difficult to relate or empathize with them. Mother Courage is the best example of being self-contradictory. The "jingle-like" sales pitches distracts the audience and draws attention away from the character, so they can focus on the real issues being presented (Hansson). Brecht also uses silence as part of his alienation program. Kattrin's muteness is the most obvious example of this. A less overt occasion using alienation is when Mother Courage hears the drums heralding Swiss Cheese's death. Brecht's epic theater does not place any "artificial constraints" on time and place (essay bank). In Mother Courage and Her Children, Brecht uses twelve isolated scenes that "connect in a pattern that defines the action," instead of enclosing characters in a fixed place and time (Zysshe). Each scene begins a different period of time moving on to different locations, thus forfeiting any dramatic climaxes. By using this form, we see that time passes, and that people change when their social conditions change. By using the aspects of character, song, structure, style, and staging, Brecht ensures that the audience remains detached, and their expectations are not met. War is neither a supernatural force nor a rupture in civilization, but one of civilization's preconditions and logical consequences. In other words, war is not a force of the elements, but the workings of men. At the end of the war, Mother Courage has lost most of her humanity and hates the war for ending. The question raised is how far is one willing to go in order to survive, and at what point should one stop living for nothing and be willing to die for something? "The play leaves us with a powerful reminder of how humanity is worn down by war and what is lost by those who survive it" (Vera).
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