GE 212 – Bertolt Brecht: Theatre as Revolution
Week 8: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder
Group 1:
Comment on the opening scene, especially with respect to the idea of order. We normally think of
war as something chaotic. What does Brecht do with this idea here? Think about the way the war in
the play relates to the virtues named by the Werber in the opening statement (especially bravery re:
Eilif and honesty re: Schweizerkas) and to morality. Secondly, have a look at the development of the
scene and briefly summarise what happens. By what process is Eilif lured away from MC? You should
pay particular attention to the way the Feldwebel comments on/criticises MC’s aims and goals (p.
13/p 19). What contradiction is he addressing here? How does MC intend to shield her children from
the war in this scene? To what extent would you say the scene contains the entire play/foreshadows
the rest of the play? You should also comment on the song in the play. What is the song about? Have
a look at the refrain, esp. the line ‘Und was nocht nicht gestorben ist’. What do you make of this?
What do you make of the return of the song at the end of the play? What ideas are expressed there
in relation to MC’s intentions expressed in her last statement at the end of the play?
Group 2: Courage the character
Mutter Courage was initially received (esp. in Germany after 1945) as a tragedy of motherhood in
war which ran counter to Brecht’s intentions of presenting her as a criticisable character. You should
have a look at the character of Mutter Courage both as a ‘war profiteer’ and as a ‘mother’. In what
way do these two roles conflict with each other? Courage is obviously a strong character eliciting a
certain amount of sympathy from the audience, she is intelligent, even wise, and does not let
anyone pull the wool over her eyes. Comment on the way she ‘sees through’ the ideological
purposes of the war (esp. in scene 3, the dialogue with the cook on heroism and courage, p. 25/6, or
the dialogue with the Feldprediger in sc. 6, esp. p. 69, and particularly the song in sc. 7, p. 75). If she
is ‘wise’ where does her ‘foolishness’ lie in, i.e. what is ‘false’ about her assumptions? I.e. if she is
correct about the war being a form of business (or having an economic base that is obscured by
religion), then where does her error lie? For this you might want to think about where MC stands
socially in terms of her class position. Who profits from the war and who pays the price?
Group 3: Staging
You should have a detailed look at some of the staging and the way the stage directions bring out
the contradictions that shape the play. Have a look at scene 2 where MC and Eilif are rejoined,
especially at the very ending in the kitchen. Have a look at what happens at the very ending of the
scene. Where are we? What kind of space is a kitchen (where do we normally find it?). Then have a
look at the stage directions regarding the Feldhauptmann and the Feldprediger in their positioning
towards MC and Eilif. If the ending of the scene is a ‘private’ moment of reconnection between
mother and son, what becomes clear at this moment? Secondly, have a look at the opening of scene
3. What does the stage look like at this point? What is connected with what and by what? What do
these objects signify in the story of the play? Look especially at the cart, what kind of object and
‘space’ is it? What is its function in the MC household? In what way is the cart embodying the very
contradictions of the play?
Finally, have a look at the song in scene 2 ‘Das Lied vom Weib und dem Soldaten’. How does the
song comment on the actions in the play? You need to imagine that the actors sing them ‘outside of
their character’ i.e. commenting on their characters and their actions. What does the song tell us,
the audience?