The Caucasian Chalk Circle  by Bertolt Brecht is apparently  about and child whose ownership claimed by two mothers. But it touches social, political and emotional aspects broadly. Discuss.

Written in PEEL [Point, Evidence, Explanation and Link] format by BunPeiris
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Transformation Of Grusha And Azdak In The Backdrop of Political and Social Upheavels in Grushnia

               Such is the anarchy during the social and political turmoil in Grusniya following the revolt, the rightful mother could be determined only when existing laws are turned upside down; justice could be dispensed only when a cavalier interpretation of law is brought about. Such is the moral decline of the affluent and erudite, a fair judge could only be found in the person of once a drunken rascal given to stealing chickens and rabbits, now transformed into a maverick intellectual. Such are the chaos, a child could be raised up so that he would become an upright human being, only when he is torn off the wealth to which he is born. Bertolt Brecht’s Caucasian Chalk Circle (1954) could well be seen a question of motherhood, but then the heroine’s sustained effort to overcome her emotional turmoil in risking all she has, to save a life resulting in her transformation from a young, single, beautiful and naïve kitchen maid from the governor’s house to a bold and courageous maid of steel is unmistakable. In the same vein, all the more remarkable is her single–minded struggle to surmount all threats posed by the social and political upheavals of the power struggle in Grushnaya. It’s tale of sheer courage. From the very beginning of the drama with “Once upon a time, A time of bloodshed” to the very end ‘And the valley to the caterers,” it is a train of commentary on presence of social injustice, absence of righteousness and duplicity of politics. However, all is not lost since chorus declares “terrible is the temptation to do good,” at least those blessed with the virtue of empathy, such as Grusha and Azdak. The train of commentary is pulled and pushed by the twin engines in the form of Grusha and Azdak, both being similar in terms of courage of his/her convictions, in the end of the conflict, a light is revealed with Marxist perspectives of justice, social equality and motherhood: “And the valley to the waterers, that it shall bear fruit.”

                  The drama begins on an Easer Sunday with a song and a scene that portrays the state of the citizens: the gulf between the haves and have-nots, between the oppressors and the oppressed. The rabbles of beggars and the throngs of petitioners, in number are equated to the soldiers in service and horses in stables.  That is an attempt to describe the prosperity and glory of the almighty oppressor and the poverty and misery of the oppressed in war-ravaged Grusinia. The rabbles and throngs of humanity stream in holding up thin children, wobbly crutches and reeling petitions: “Mercy Your Grace, the taxes are beyond our means… I lost my leg in the Persian War, where can I get a >>> My bother is innocent…, My child is starving in my arms… We plead for our son’s discharge from the army, our last remaining son… Please Your Grace, the water inspecter is corrupt.” Therein is revealed the most pathetic strand of the political aspect of the life in Grushnia.

On the self-same Easter Sunday, celebrating the Resurrection of the son of the God, the heads begin to roll followingan insurrection of the son of the God, the heads begin to roll following an insurrection against the oppressive regime. But then that is not by the oppressed, but by the power mongers.  The governor is lead away to the execution. The singers issues a warning to those that grab the power, that their reign could be long, but hen everything come to an end: “Oh! Blindedness of the great.”  A brutal  reign supported by the mercenaries, suppressing the patriots is not bound to run for too long. Therein the train of commentary unravels another strand of political aspect: power in the hands of those who lack empathy is blindness in blood and flesh.

The fall of the oppressors living in luxury results in, among other consequences, ironically, the slaying of oppressed too. This political phenomenon is encapsulated in a song in the drama, the singer taking up the role of a narrator: ‘those who had no share in the fortune of the mighty, often have a share in their misfortunes.” Power may change hands among the oppressors; yet the agony of the suffering masses remains same. Therein is revealed another pathetic strand of the political aspect of the human condition: the eternity of the regime after regime. Grusha life too fall from being hard to harder: she loses her employment at the governors house, and worse still adopts the prince inadvertently deserted by his mother, wife of the governor. Her fiancé too goes to war.

Then again, when Grusha leaves the city, with the child to the northern mountains, far away from the valley, risking her life, the musicians question, “how will the merciful escape merciless, the bloodhounds, the trappers?” The implication is, since the new regime would hound and kill all those connected to the overthrown regime, the very life of Grusha, who in her mercy adopted the son of the assassinated governor, could be in grave danger. Once again, herein is revealed the most fearsome strand of the political aspect of human condition of immense complexities: purging of all opponents, their supporters, infants and children unspared.

Grusha’s decision to escape to northern mountains is made only following a severe psychological conflict. She has already exchanged symbolic marriage vows with the soldier, Simon. The adoption of the child, in her mercy towards the helpless, is  bound to make matters complicate to the extreme. Grusha, herself is helpless. All she has is courage of her convictions: one must help the other. Howeer danger lurks in her every step since she would be hounded by the newly enthroned power mongers. But she would not leave the child beind in te ‘city full of flame and grief” knowing he would be put to death. As the singer raises the tempo saying “terrible is the temptation to do good,” Grusha yields to her temptation. Herein is revealed a significant strand of emotional aspect of the human condition: “temptation to do good.”

During Grusha’s flight into the far away northern mountains, she sings the song of four generals who couldn’t fight and the soldier who fought and won: ‘Four generals turned back, Sosso Robanskide was a man, He struck a sturdy blow He certainly beat the foe, Sosso Rob is our man”

Grusha reminds herself a man must have moral courage of his conviictins as well as physical courage in battle. So should a woman. Grusha seems to be glad, hers is a courageous act in hard times. Therein is revealed the supreme strand of personal aspect of human condition: courage in the critical hour.

Still on her way to her brother high up in the hills, she finds even the peasants living far away from burning city, too have lost their sense of fairness. She is made to pay two piastras, a “cut-throat” price.” She argues over the black market rate, pointing out it is a “sin,” but in the end yields. The peasant suffers no pricks of conscience in  overcharging an unaccompanied woman trudging ahead to the mountains with a child in her arms. Anrachy in the country results in citizens becoming devoid of  basic human sympathy towards their fellow men. Therein is evealed another miserable stand of the emotion aspect of human condition: decline of the values during hard times. This phenomenon is echoed even by the elder lady with respect of lack of courtesy by the innkeeper: “the whole country has lost its manners since those going-on started in the capital.” Ironically those who speak of manners has no sense of fair play. Therein is seen the decline of sense of civility, a strand of social aspect of human condition.

Still one her way to the northern mountains, Grusha dressed in a brocade coat, makes two aristocratic ladies, that she too belongs to their class. However arrangement of sacks and blankets into the beds betrays her  working class status. The servant at the inn intervene to save Grusha: ‘Pack your bags your things, sister, and make yourself scarce.  The servant, while offering Grusha a corn cake and a  few apples, remarks that once you are suspected of being capable of wiping your own arse” or that one’s hands are dexterous in handling a broom, ‘ the game’s up.” The artrocats, the oppressor would never mingle with the oppressed, the suffering masses, even in the adverse circumstances of misfortune. Therein is revealed another miserable strand of the social aspect of human condition;  the gulf created by the oppressors between  themselves and the oppressed.

      While Drusha fears for her life and the child, so do the citizens of Grushniya for their lives. Anarchy being aflame, the peasant women, at whose door step Drusha once left the child, begs the ironshirts not to “set [her] house on fire.”  Therein is revealed another strand of human condition: suppressed populace’s fear of the tyrants and their forces. But then,  Drusha, once an innocent and naïve maid, now takes matters literary into her hand in direct conforntation: “Looking round in despair, she suddenly sees a big log of wood, seizes it in panic, and hits the Corporal over the  head from behind. She quickly picks up the child and dashes off.  Once again the audience witnesses a situation not uncommon in the human condition: desperate times make the very ordinary make desperate moves. In this occasion, the move is utterly desperate: Grusha, armed with moral courage as well as physical courage, overpowers the suppressive machinery of the state. Grusha’s on-ongoing transformation to a maid of steel, now takes in leaps and bound.

      However, there is no pause in the incoming complexities. At her brother’s home she was forced to marry an allegedly dying man so that the symbol of legitimacy could be secured for child, whom she declares hers. Her brother make Grusha submit to what he believes to the indispensible social requirement, “a man on paper.”  Being torn between her marriage vows to Simon and her legal marriage to the man who has pretended so, only to avoid military service, Drusha’s life takes another battering. She goes onto suffer still more for the sake of pretentions to the social conformity.

       But then, it is not all suffering. The wedding is a farce: a man pretending to be dying to evade the forcible military service; a mother conniving with him; then the mother exploiting the situation to demand a bribe from the bide to have a marriage certificate issued; a drunken monk performing the necessary ritual on an agreed payment in cash; the unwilling and mean cake counting host; the gossiping guests; the bridegroom returning to life following the rumor that war is over. The Comically Bizarre situation laced with selfish words and deeds is a glaring manifestation of the general decline of values and mores of ordinary citizens. The merciless anarchy in the state and reeking corruption of the rulers have shrunken the human hearts into mere wretches. The political violence has shredded the social fabric into pieces.

       With all darkness all round, Grusha has no legal claim to the child. And the judge is a maverick to the boot: Azdeck. Having heard a revolution has taken place and naively believing an Utopia is on the cards and  “a new age has come,” Azdak, a village clerk gives himself up to the iron shirt for the self-declared crime of unknowingly helping the overthrown duke escape. He would not see a helpless man as a class enemy. In sharp contrast are the aristocratic ladies at caravansary: they chase away Grusha, once she was found to be working class woman. In his refusal to surrender the fugitive, whom he assumes to be a landowner over to Shauva reveals his emotional aspect.

But the Grusha finds in Azdeck a judge that calls for and accepts bribes openly. During her argument with judge on his behavior, she castiages him as one who suppesses the helpless, “But you have let yourself become their servant… otherwise they couldn’t drag our men into their wars. You bribe-taker!”  Azdek woud not be made furious. He begins to beam, having found his match, a one who could call a sapade a spade. Herein is revealed another strands of emotional aspect of the human condition.

Hugh Rorrison in his commentary upon  “The Cacuasian Chalk Circle” (Rorrison) says, “ ..what Brecht has done here is to create

The play ends with the judge Azdek’s thinking, verdit, advice, warnings and punishment, all of them portraying the emotional, social and political aspects of humanity.  Azdak comes to the conclusion that Grusha’s suffering and sacrifices for the sake of child makes her the deserved party. Furthermore her inability hurt the child in the test of chalk circle makes her from the practical mother to emotional  mother, laying bare the emotional aspect of human condition. Azdak advises Grusha, “Take your child and be off with it.” Therein is revealed is Azdack’s empathy and sympathy towards Grusha: a social aspect. Azdeck warns the Governor’s wife in fury, “disappear before I fine you for fraud”: an emotional aspect of the human condition. Azdeck also cofisticate the estate of Governor’s wife and orders it to be made into play ground for the children and order it be named after him: The Garden of Azdak. There goes the crave for fame of Azdek: the unmistakable political aspect, another strand of human condition. The central conflict of the aucauson Chalk Circle apparently could well be matter of ownership of  a child deserted in his infancy. Nevertheless, the drama brings in numerous strands of human condition: social, political and emotional aspects.

Bibliography

Rorrison, Hugh. “Commentry.” Brecht, Bertolt. The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht. London: Methuen London Ltd., 1984. xxviii.