Brecht's Mother Courage and her Children is considered by some to be the best play of the 20th century and by others the best anti war play of all time. What propels this play to it's standard of excellence is the archetypal, and often quirky, makeup of its major characters. Most of the characters are categorically identified by certain qualities that define and influence every motive and decision made throughout the play. In this, Brecht seems to have created something closer to personified ideologies and values than characters with a human depth and complexity. His characters, therefore, adhere to his estrangement efforts in restricting the spectator's emotional attachment to these characters that seem just a little less than human, and thus, less than deserving of our empathy. Aristotle believed that tragedy must revolve around a central character: the "tragic hero", on whom the plot focuses and who possesses certain characteristics, which leads to his/her downfall. The existence of such a character is necessary to the tragic story, yet just what character best fits the qualifications of the tragic hero and how they influence the story and interact with the other major characters is, for the most part, unclear. It's with this in mind, that I shall examine two candidates for the work's tragic hero, and afterwards take a look at the other major characters and their contribution and influence to the story of Mother Courage. Perhaps the easiest and most obvious figure to define the work's tragic hero is the title character within the play: Mother Courage, whose real name is Anna Fierling. "Canteen Anna" consistently demonstrates her ability to survive, through which she illustrates her strength of character and instinct of self-preservation . She is characterized by this need to survive, unlike more virtuous qualities presented within the play, such as Swiss Cheese's honesty and Kattrin's kindness. Mother Courage's unwavering commitment to her work can be interpreted as her "tragic flaw" or "hamartia". It is a flaw that Mother Courage habitually exhibits and a mistake that occurs three times in the deaths of her children, as she is absent conducting business on all three occasions. However, despite her apparent detachment towards her children, it is evident that Mother Courage has genuine concern for the well-being of them. In a discussion with the Cook over her future she states, "all I'm after is (to) get meself and children through all this with my cart." Mother Courage can be morally described as neither all good nor all bad, a quality Aristotle states as essential in a tragic hero. Her intention of and attempt at providing for and protecting her family is essentially good, yet it is in fact this very intention which brings about the deaths of her children and her own downfall. According to Aristotle,
the tragic hero must undeservedly suffer great misfortune. Mother Courage's misfortunes are illustrated in the deaths of her children, which are caused by each individual's sole virtue, and consequentially undeserved by Mother Courage. An element of tragedy is lost here as Mother Courage does not appear to experience suffering as a result of these losses. In addition, Mother Courage's actions in the final scene effectively show that she has learned nothing. She does not mourn the death of her daughter and the play comes to a conclusion with her attitude of "Got to get back to business again". The lack of catharsis is a necessary result of Brecht's estrangement effect. Brecht desires the audience to reflect objectively on the unjustness of the event's they have seen without sympathizing with his characters. ThroughCourage's apathetic attitude, it becomes clear that Mother Courage does not possess enough virtue to be considered even remotely heroic, at least from an Aristotelian standpoint. Although many tragic heroes we discussed in class, such as Arthur Miller's Willy Loman and Shakespeare's Hamlet, may not always appear moral and righteous, there is a significant and unsettling lack of compassion on the part of Mother Courage, which is displayed in Loman's suicide to provide for his family and Hamlet's duty to avenge his father, which hindersCourage's status as a tragic heroine. Loman also demonstrates that, in regard to Joseph Krutch's "On the Common Man", the circumstances of the common man can be tragic, a principle which certainly applies to Mother Courage, despite Aristotle's favor towards noble tragic heroes, such as Hamlet. By contrast, kindness and compassion are Kattrin's defining characteristics. Kattrin's personality is antithetical to that of Mother Courage as she is self-sacrificing and generous, whereas Mother Courage repeatedly prioritizes the interests of herself and her business. These qualities are significantly more heroic than any which Mother Courage could possess. At the climax of the play she becomes a martyr as a result of her death in an attempt at alerting others that their lives are in danger. The audience is unarguably expected to pity Kattrin above any other character in the play. Pity and fear are key emotions that should be aroused in the audience by the tragic hero, and Kattrin acts as a control with the other characters such as Eilif, whose actions we understand, but condemn. Kattrin's inability to speak due to an unknown incident with a soldier during childhood creates an empathetic feeling towards her character. Kattrin, more than any other, is physically characterized by her suffering, and it is certainly undeserved. Kattrin has a traumatic experience again as she is
returning from gathering supplies for her mother and is assaulted. This incident changes Kattrin and can quite possibly be labeled the point of her reversal of fortune. Kattrin acknowledges and accepts the fact that she will forever be undesirable to men and will never have a family or children of her own. There exists an obvious obstacle in declaring Kattrin to be the tragic heroine of Brecht's play in that she is not the protagonist. On the other hand, one of her most important qualities, her muteness, renders her realistically unable to exist as the central character. Nevertheless, Kattrin is rarely not involved in the scenes and spends a large portion of the play on stage, possibly proving that although she may not be the title character, she is a closely connected tragic antithesis to Mother Courage. In examining Brecht's other major characters, we see others in a familiar pattern of being defined by a moral value. Eilif, Mother Courage's eldest and favorite son, is characterized by his bravery. Perhaps his bravery or "courage" is what makes him so favorable and dear toMother Courage. Eilif is presented to be something of a thug, although Mother Courage simply thinks him as "dashing" and "brave". In the first scene Eilif is recruited into the military and he seems to really enjoy what he does. Early on, he is praised by the general for slaughtering peasants and stealing their livestock and food. The accolades he receives are certainly questionable as they are associated with nothing more than a series of cunning, murderous raids on innocent people. In scene six, Eilif is executed for doing the exact same thing in peacetime, illustrating his inherent tendencies toward attention and antagonism. Eilif ultimately regrets his actions and laments the pain he will cause his mother who he knows cares for his well being and is accompanied by four guards to see her before his execution but she is tending to business and he does not get to apologize or say goodbye. Mother Courage never knows of his death. The middle child of Mother Courage is Swiss Cheese. Swiss Cheese is criticized by hismother for being too honest and having an excessive sense of duty: his predominant virtues and ultimate downfall. He is painted by Brecht as a character not too bright and he ultimately takes a position in the military as well, but as a paymaster of the Second Finnish Regiment. In an attack by the Catholics, Swiss Cheese attempts to hide a cash box so that he can later return it to his general after the Catholics have gained power, however, he is captured and held for ransom. His sense of duty in his efforts to hide the cashbox are juxtaposed by MotherCourage's in that she does not do absolutely everything that she can to prevent her son from facing the firing
squad. The Catholic general wanted two hundred dollars for Swiss Cheese, but Mother Courage counter offered one hundred and twenty and Swiss Cheese was consequentially executed. When studying Brecht's other major characters, the Cook, and the Chaplain, we see a different tactic used toward his estrangement effect. These characters are specifically not given names so as to not create any sense of person or reality among them. The Chaplain is one of two characters in the story that is very dependent on Mother Courage. The Chaplain too has his reversal of fortune in the surprise Catholic attack that robs him of his position and leaves him completely dependent on Courage. The Chaplain eventually falls in love withMother Courage who laughs in his face and denies his marriage proposal. She is still focused more on her own survival and does not fancy the idea of caring for anyone else. The entrance of the Cook in the story provides a love triangle rivalry with the Chaplain and Mother Courage. The cook is a bachelor who long ago would seduce girls like Yvette, the camp prostitute. The Cook's philosophy on war closely ties into Courage's beliefs in that the Cook sees the inevitability of profit and opportunity to be made. The Cook cleverly unmasks military campaigns and decisions as nothing more than massive profit schemes. Something the Cook and the Chaplain have in common with Mother Courage is that by the end of the play they all seem to have learned little from their wartime suffering. The characters of Mother Courage and her Children are crafted in a representative personification of virtues. Mother Courage is faceted with her sense of self preservation, Kattrin with her kindness and selflessness, Eilif with his bravery, and Swiss Cheese with his honesty and sense of duty. Each character then possesses attributes of the Aristotelian tragic hero in that each of these virtues leads to their downfall, although in my opinion, Kattrin exhibits the most qualities to align herself with the tragic heroine guidelines. Brecht is effective in alienating audience attachment to these characters by building them around these ideals and having their life ruled by them. Ultimately, the characters of this story provide a powerful vehicle for objective examination of life and values and closely adhere to Brecht's vision for Epic Theatre.
