Mother Courage and Her Children

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mother Courage and Her Children, with Therese Giehse in the title role, with Erni Wilhemi, Hans Christian Blech, and Karl Lieffen, at the Munich Kammerspiele, directed by Bertolt Brecht, Munich, 1950. Photo shows the famous cart Mother Courage pulls through the Thirty Years War, here on a revolving stage, designed by Theo Otto.^[1]

Mother Courage and Her Children (German: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder) is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin.^[2] After four very important theatrical productions in Switzerland and Germany from 1941 to 1952 -- the last three supervised and/or directed by Brecht -- the play was filmed several years after Brecht's death in 1959/1960 with Brecht's widow and leading actress, Helene Weigel.^[3]

Mother Courage is considered by some to be the greatest play of the 20th century, and perhaps also the greatest anti-war play of all times.^[4] Most recently, it was produced in August, 2006, in New York City starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Austin Pendleton, directed by George C. Wolfe at the New York Shakespeare Festival in a series of free performances at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. Considering its distinguished performance history in Europe, it is surprising that Mother Courage has not been as widely produced in America.

[edit] Context

Mother Courage is one of nine plays that Brecht wrote in an attempt to counter the rise of Fascism and Nazism. Written largely in response to the invasion of Poland (1939) by the German armies of Adolf Hitler, Brecht wrote Mother Courage in what writers call a "white heat" - in a little over a month.^[5] As leading Brecht scholars Ralph Manheim and John Willett wrote:

Mother Courage, with its theme of the devastating effects of a European war and the blindness of anyone hoping to profit by it, is said to have been written in a month, judging by the almost complete absence of drafts or any other evidence of preliminary studies it must have been an exceptionally direct piece of inspiration.^[6]

Following Brecht's own principles for political drama, the play is not set in modern times but during the Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648. It follows the fortunes of Anna Fierling, nicknamed "Mother Courage", a wily canteen woman with the Swedish Army who is determined to make her living from the war. Over the course of the play, she loses all three of her children, Swiss Cheese, Eilif, and Katrin, to the same war from which she sought to profit.

[edit] Overview

The name of the central character, Mother Courage, is drawn from the picaresque writings of the seventeenth century German writer, Grimmelshausen, whose central character in the early short novel, The Runagate Courage,^[8] also struggles and connives her way through the Thirty Years War in Germany and Poland, but otherwise the story is mostly Brecht's, in collaboration with Steffin.

The action of the play takes place over the course of 12 years (1624 to 1636), represented in 12 scenes. Some give a sense of Courage's career without being given enough time to develop sentimental feelings and empathize with any of the characters. Meanwhile, Mother Courage is not depicted as a noble character – here the Brechtian epic theatre sets itself apart from the ancient Greek tragedies in which the heroes are far above the average. With the same alienating effect, the ending of Brecht's play does not arouse our desire to imitate the main character, Mother Courage.

Mother Courage is among Brecht's most famous plays, and has been called by some to be the greatest play of the 20th century.^[9] His work attempts to show the dreadfulness of war and the idea that virtues are not rewarded in corrupt times. He used an epic structure so that the audience focuses on the issues being displayed rather than getting involved with the characters and emotions. Epic plays are of a very distinct genre and are typical of Brecht; a strong case could be made that he invented the form.^[10]

[edit] Mother Courage as Epic Theatre

Mother Courage is an example of Brecht's concepts of Epic Theatre and Verfremdungseffekt or "alienation". ("Alienation", however, is something of a misleading translation, for it suggests that the audience are actively cut off from the performance. A more accurate translation of Verfremdungseffekt is "distancing effect" or "to make strange", or better yet "defamiliarization", since Brecht's intention was to set the audience apart from familiar situations so that they may think about them objectively). Verfremdungseffekt is achieved through the use of placards which reveal the events of each scene, juxtaposition, actors changing characters and costume on stage, the use of narration, simple props and scenery. For instance, a single tree would be used to convey a whole forest, and the stage is usually flooded with bright white light whether it's a winter's night or a summer's day. Several songs, interspersed throughout the play, are used to underscore the themes of the play, while making the audience think about what the playwright is saying.

"'Let's you and me go fishing,' said the angler to the worm."

– Brecht, Mother Courage, Scene One.

[edit] Roles

• Mother Courage
  
• Kattrin, her dumb daughter
  
• Eilif, her oldest son
  
• Swiss Cheese, "her youngest son"
  
• Recruiting Officer
  
• Sergeant
  
• Cook
  
• Swedish Commander
  
• Chaplain
  
• Ordinance Officer
  
• Yvette Pottier
  
• Man with the Bandage
  
• Another Sergeant
  
• Old Colonel
  
• Clerk
  
• Young Soldier
  
• Older Soldier
  
• Peasant
  
• Peasant Woman
  
• Young Man
  
• Old Woman
  
• Another Peasant
  
• Another Peasant Woman
  
• Young Peasant
  
• Lieutenant
  
• Voice

[edit] Synopsis

The play is set in the 1600's in Europe during the Thirty Years' War. The Recruiting Officer and Sergeant are introduced, both complaining about the difficulty of recruiting soldiers to the war. A canteen woman named Mother Courage enters pulling a cart that she uses to trade with soldiers and make profits from the war. She has three children, Eilif, Kattrin, and Swiss Cheese. The sergeant negotiates a deal with Mother Courage while Eilif is led off by the recruiting officer. One of her children is now gone.

Two years from then, Mother Courage argues with a General's cook over a capon, or chicken. At the same time, Eilif is congratulated by the General for killing peasants and slaughtering their cattle. Eilif and his mother sing "The Song of the Girl and the Soldier." Mother Courage scolds her son for the killings and boxes him on the ear.

Three years later, Swiss Cheese works as the paymaster. The camp prostitute, Yvette Pottier sings "The Fraternization Song." Mother Courage uses this song to warn Kattrin about involving herself with soldiers. Before the Catholic troops arrive, the Cook and Chaplain bring a message from Eilif. Swiss Cheese hides the regiment's paybox. Swiss Cheese is captured while attempting to return the paybox to the General. Mother Courage sells her cart and uses the money to try and barter with the soldiers to free her son. Swiss Cheese is shot anyway. Mother Courage does not acknowledge the body and it is thrown into a pit.

Later, Mother Courage waits outside of the General's tent and sings the "Song of Great Capitulation" to a young soldier waiting for the General as well. The song offends the soldier and Mother Courage decides she does not want to complain.

When the General's funeral approaches, Mother Courage discusses with the Chaplain about whether the war will continue. The Chaplain then suggests to Mother Courage that she marry him, but she rejects his proposal. Mother Courage curses the war because she finds Kattrin disfigured after collecting more merchandise.

Two peasants wake Mother Courage up and try to sell her merchandise while they find out that peace has broken out. The Cook appears and creates an argument between Mother Courage and the Chaplain. Mother Courage parts from the town while Eilif enters, dragged in by soldiers. Eilif is executed for killing peasants but his mother never finds out. When the war begins again, the Cook and Mother Courage start their own business.

The seventeenth year of the war marks a point where there is no food and no supplies. The Cook wants to open an inn in Utrecht with Mother Courage, but he refuses to harbor Kattrin. Mother Courage will not leave her daughter and they part separate ways with the Cook. Mother Courage and Kattrin pull the wagon by themselves.

The Catholic army attacks the small Protestant town of Halle while Mother Courage is away from town, trading. Kattrin is woken up by a search party that is taking peasants as guides. Kattrin fetches a drum from the cart, climbs onto the roof, and beats it in an attempt to awake the townspeople. Though the soldiers shoot Kattrin, she succeeds in waking up the town.

Early in the morning, Mother Courage sings to her daughter's corpse, has the peasants bury her and hitches herself to the cart. The cart rolls lighter now because there are no more children and very little merchandise left.

[edit] Performances

The play was originally produced in Zürich at the Schauspielhaus, produced by Leopold Lindtberg in 1941. Music was written by Paul Dessau. The musicians were placed in view of the audience so that they could be seen, one of Brecht's many techniques in Epic Theatre. Therese Giehse, (a well-known actress at the time) took the title role.

The second production of Mother Courage took place in then East Berlin in 1949, with Brecht's (second) wife Helene Weigel, his main actress and later also director, as Mother Courage. This production would highly influence the formation of Brecht's company, the Berliner Ensemble, which would provide him a venue to direct many of his plays. Brecht died directing Galileo for the Ensemble.

The next production (and second production in Germany), was directed by Brecht at the Munich Kammerspiele in 1950, with the original Mother Courage, Therese Giehse, with a set designed by Theo Otto (see photo, above.)

In 1955, Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop gave the play its London première, with Littlewood performing the title role. In 1995/6, Diana Rigg was awarded an Evening Standard Theatre Award for her performance as Mother Courage, directed by Jonathan Kent, at the Royal National Theatre.

From August to September of 2006, Mother Courage and Her Children was produced by the Public Theatre in New York City with a new translation by playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America). This production included new music by composer Jeanine Tesori (Caroline, or Change) and was directed by George C. Wolfe. Meryl Streep played "Mother Courage" with a supporting cast that included Kevin Kline and Austin Pendleton. This rare production of Mother Courage and Her Children was free to the public and played to full houses at the Public Theatre's Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. It ran for four weeks.

[edit] Popular Culture

Mother Courage and Her Children has a very obviously large influence on the Tony award winning musical Urinetown. The character of Penelope Pennywise is roughly based on Mother Courage.

The popular rock band My Chemical Romance created the character "Mother War" for their third album The Black Parade. The song a highly conceptual work on the nature of modern life. Mother War's song, "Mama" is influenced by themes from Mother Courage and Her Children, including the effect of war on personal morals. The song also musically and lyrically references "Alabama Song" a piece from Kurt Weill's "Mahagonny" whose lyrics were written by Bertolt Brecht.

Mother Courage is also said to have played a role in influencing the creation of the popular musical, Fiddler on the Roof; in both stories, a parent has three children he/she sees taken from him/her by outside forces; in both stories the central character ends by dragging his/her cart on as the final curtain falls. And both productions made use of a massive revolving stage. As Matthew Gurewitsch wrote in The New York Sun, "Deep down, Mother Courage has a lot in common with Tevye the Milkman in Fiddler on the Roof. Like him, she's a mother hen helpless to protect the brood."^[11]

[edit] English versions

Main translations and adaptations:

• 1941 - H. R. Hays (translation) for New Directions Publishers
• 1955 - Eric Bentley (translation) for Doubleday/Garden City
• 1965 - Eric Bentley (translation) and W. H. Auden (songs translation) for the Royal National Theatre, London
• 1972 - Ralph Manheim (translation) for Random House/Pantheon Books
• 1980 - John Willett (translation) for Methuen Publishing
• 1984 - Hanif Kureishi (adaptation) and Sue Davies (songs translation) for the Barbican Arts Centre, London (Samuel French Ltd.)
• 1995 - David Hare (adaptation) for the Royal National Theatre, London (A & C Black, 1996)
• 2000 - Lee Hall (adaptation) and Jan-Willem van Den Bosch (translation) for Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, England (Methuen Drama, 2003)
• 2001 - Joe O'Byrne (translation) for Vesuvius Theatre Company, Dublin (unpublished)
• 2006 - Michael Hofmann (adaptation) and John Willett (songs translation) for the English Touring Theatre (A & C Black, 2006)
• 2006 - Tony Kushner (adaptation) for The Public Theater, New York City (unpublished)

[edit] References

Sources consulted (main article)

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

Sources consulted (English versions list)

• University of Wisconsin Digital Collections, Brecht's Works in English: A Bibliography, online database.
• Doollee the Playwrights Database of Modern Plays, "Adaptations/Translations of Plays by Bertolt Brecht", online list.
• The International Brecht Society, "Brecht in English Translation", online list.
• The Bertolt Brecht Forum, "Bertolt Brecht in English", online tabular list.

Endnotes

[edit] See also

• Mother Courage, the character upon whom the play was based

v • d • e The Plays of Bertolt Brecht Baal • Drums in the Night • The Beggar • A Wedding • Driving Out a Devil • Lux in Tenebris • The Catch • In The Jungle of Cities • Edward II • Man Equals Man • Downfall of the Egotist Johann Fatzer • The Elephant Calf • Little Mahagonny • The Threepenny Opera • The Flight across the Ocean • The Baden-Baden Lesson on Consent • Happy End • The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny • Der Jasager / Der Neinsager • The Decision • Saint Joan of the Stockyards • The Exception and the Rule • The Mother • Kuhle Wampe • The Seven Deadly Sins • Round Heads and Pointed Heads • The Horatians and the Curiatians • Fear and Misery of the Third Reich • Señora Carrar's Rifles • Life of Galileo • How Much Is Your Iron? • Dansen • Mother Courage and Her Children • The Trial of Lucullus • Mr Puntila and his Man Matti • The Good Person of Szechwan • The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui • Hangmen Also Die! • The Visions of Simone Machard • The Duchess of Malfi • Schweyk in the Second World War • The Caucasian Chalk Circle • Antigone • The Days of the Commune • The Tutor • Die Verurteilung des Lukullus • Report from Herrnburg • Coriolanus • Joan of Arc • Turandot • Don Juan • Trumpets and Drums