Essays on literary works - 2024

Analysis of “Mother Courage and Her Children”

War is a lucrative business, plain and simple. It corrupts people, making them cruel and greedy, especially when it drags on for over a decade.

I believe Brecht's choice to focus on a woman profiting from war is deliberate. Women and war seem inherently incompatible, especially when a woman has children. Neither talent nor cunning can save Mother Courage's children. She herself becomes an embodiment of war, the cause of her three loved ones' deaths. Eilif is killed for his restlessness, Schweikhard for his honesty, and Kattrin for her kindness. None of them fit into her mold, and so they perish.

Kattrin stands in stark contrast to Anna Fierling. It's astonishing how she can remain so pure after traveling with her mother's "provisions" along the roads of a brutal war. She sacrifices her life to save an entire city. It's a beautiful death.

One of the most powerful scenes, in my opinion, is the killing of Schweikhard. To save herself, Mother Courage "doesn't recognize" the dead body and orders it to be dumped.

Despite losing all her children to war, Courage never leaves the battlefield and its servants. She's in no hurry to curse war — as long as the fighting continues, so does her trade, and there's always someone to exploit.

I found the play quite psychological, as I struggle to understand many of Mother Courage's and other characters' actions from my moral standpoint. For me, the image of a mother has always been pure and selfless. A mother would do anything for her children, even sacrifice her last piece of bread. But here, things are different. Everyone is focused on themselves, showing little compassion for others. And I realize that war is to blame. Yet, when we look at our lives today, people are essentially the same egoists, with few willing to give their last for another. The play not only opens our eyes to life in general but also forces us to evaluate ourselves. Are we the generous and compassionate heroes of this play, or are we the greedy and cruel ones? Perhaps we hide behind others, unwilling to take independent action?