Mother Courage and her Children had
several scenes that were either entertaining or sometimes heart breaking.
However, Bernolt Brecht ensured that his scenes avoided such an emotional
connection with the audience by disrupting heartfelt scenes with inappropriate
material and instead serve as a form of pedagogy. War was the environment around
this time and people were exposed to it frequently that it had become a “way of
life”. Brecht’s sole purpose of Epic Theatre was to teach the audience that war
was not a natural phenomenon and the irony in such a play would denaturalize
the catastrophic conflict.
War
had become so natural that certain virtues were not adequate to make a
difference in such a destructive world. For example, Mother Courage’s children
embodied virtues that took them on a course of death even if their intentions
were pure. Kattrin, a mute child, embodied two virtues: compassionate heroism.
These two virtues set side by side granted her enough courage to sacrifice her
life for the sake of others.
In
this tragic scene, a Catholic Lieutenant and three soldiers in full armor come out
of the woods into the town where Mother Courage and Kattrin and currently
staying. The Lieutenant desires to find a guide and orders his soldiers to kill
anyone in the town who makes a sudden noise. They knock on an old peasant woman’s
home and barge in when she answers. The soldiers bring out the old peasant woman
and her son and insist on the son providing a guide. The son refuses and is
threatened to face immediate death along with his family and their cattle. Eventually
the son complies and exits with the soldiers meanwhile the hopeless elderly
woman prays on her roof as a way of bringing protection to her and her family
from God.
Kattrin
learns of the situation and bravely decides to climb on top of the roof and
play a drum that she takes out from underneath her apron. She plays the drum willingly
and the old peasants insist for her to stop due to their fear of the soldiers
returning and causing wrath. The soldiers return and threaten merciless death
to them all. One of the soldier “promises” Kattrin to spare Mother Courage’s
life and in exchange to accompany them into town. She refuses and continues beating
her drum simultaneously with the old peasant chopping up wood as an attempt to
conceal the beating of the drum. The soldiers turn to such methods as to burn
the farm, and Kattrin laughs. The irritated and angry Lieutenant orders his soldiers
to bring a musket and the old peasant woman suggest to smash the wagon. As the
situation worsens, the young peasant cheers Kattrin on to continue playing the
drum and is eventually beat down by the soldier.
One
of the soldier returns and shoots down the brave and weeping Kattrin. Her last
beat of the drum mixed with the sound of a cannon as she attempted to save the
town. Mother Courage returns from buying supplies to find her daughter lifeless
on the floor. She hugs her dead daughter and begins to sing a comforting
lullaby.
The
situational irony in Mother Courage’s reaction is an example of the conventions
of didactic theater. Brecht disrupted the audience’s emotional attachment to
the characters and the tragic circumstances they faced to get them to realize
what war has ultimately brought forth to them. Although the scenes in the play
are fictional, Brecht wants to get across the idea that war can bring all sorts
of tragic moments but war must be prevented or halted. He thus believes that
change must be brought forth. However, individual acts will not bring any
effect other than death just how his fictional characters that embodied fatal
virtues inevitably died. Rather than individual virtuous acts, Brecht
encourages collective action as a method of changing and maybe putting an end to
war since it will only bring forth destruction and death.
Image Sourceshttp://bellairebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/compassion.jpg
http://www4.big.or.jp/~j-i_2/SJC/LiteratureText/drum2.jpg
