ANALYSIS

Study questions on The Caucasian Chalk Circle

ABOUT The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1944)

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Written in 1944 while Brecht was living in America, The Caucasian Chalk Circle was initially intended for Broadway. It never quite made it there, but was instead premiered by students at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota in 1948. Brecht's source for the play is most likely Klabund's Circle of Chalk, which was based on an ancient Chinese play written in 1300 A.D. with the same name. Brecht adapted this story into parable form and changed the setting to Soviet Georgia near the end of World War II.

Brecht wrote the play for the Viennese actress Luise Rainer, who already had experience playing a figure like Grusha in Klabund's play. Unfortunately, she and Brecht quarreled and parted company forever before the play was produced.

The play was initially translated by Eric Bentley. The first edition of The Caucasian Chalk Circle was mostly true to the German text with the only serious omission being that of the Prologue. The reason for this omission is related to the fact that Brecht was forced to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington in October, 1947. Since the play was about to be published at this time, the publication of the Prologue was postponed at his request. This caused two false rumors to start: one, that the prologue was written after the original text, and two, that Bentley himself had initiated the omission. Neither of these rumors was true.

The play itself is unusual for Brecht because it has a relatively happy ending; everything works out for Grusha. At the same time, The Caucasian Chalk Circle is clearly a Communist play: whoever can make the best use of resources in order to provide for others deserves to get those resources. Implicit in this Communist moral is also a secularized version of the Biblical Christ story. With typical anti-religious fervor, Brecht parallels Christ's story through the life of the drunken judge Azdak. Furthermore, The Chalk Circle is itself a version of Solomonic Law, based on the Biblical story of Solomon and the baby. When two women came to Solomon, both of them claiming the same child, he ordered the child cut in half. The true mother chose to instead give the entire baby to the other woman, thereby revealing to Solomon that she was in fact the mother.

The play did not gain popularity in the United States until the 1950s. The first professional production took place at Hedgerow Theater in Philadelphia in 1948 and was directed by Eric Bentley. Soon thereafter The Caucasian Chalk Circle became Brecht's most popular parable in the United States.

ANALYSIS

Prologue

This short parable that opens the play also sets up the structure of the play. There are two disputing parties, the goat-herders and the fruit farmers. Each group wants to claim the valley. However, the goat-herders have the claim that they were there first and should therefore keep the land, whereas the fruit farmers argue that they could put the land to better use. The Delegate moderating the debate chooses the fruit farmers because it is more logical for the person who can put the land to better use to get it.

This entire prologue is extremely Communist in its message. Any capitalist society would argue that whoever originally owned the land should get it. Brecht instead argues that whoever can best use the land should get it. It is because of the Communist overtones in the prologue that Brecht originally did not allow the prologue to be printed while he was living in the United States.

The prologue serves yet a third function of allowing Brecht to present his ideas before the play even starts. This is extremely clever of him because the audience receives the moral of the play without even having to watch it. Thus, he gets his Communist message across immediately and only after he has presented the message does he actually have allow the play to begin.

ACT ONE

The Caucasian Chalk Circle opens on Easter Sunday, a time for the Resurrection of Christ. This is important because instead of a resurrection, there is an insurrection. The Governor will get killed by his brother. The fact that it is Easter Sunday is thus the first of the many religious themes present in the play. For example, the fact that the Fat Prince is the Governor's brother brings to mind the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. Brecht will continue to undermine religion throughout the play in both subtle and obvious ways; notice that the act of entering the church is juxtaposed with the image of the soldiers pushing the common people out of the way, thus undermining the religious aspects of going to church.

It is important to note that the Fat Prince greets his brother. This is so unusual the Governor remarks on it, "But did you hear Brother Kazbeki wish me a happy Easter?" Soon thereafter the Fat Prince usurps power and takes over the city. The relationship between the brothers is thus foreshadowed by the Governor's comment, in which he expresses surprise at being greeted by his brother.

Another important moment is when Natella, the Governor's wife, tells her Adjutant how jealous of Michael she really is. She is desperate for attention from her husband. "But Georgi, of course, will only build for his little Michael. Never for me! Michael is all! All for Michael!" This jealousy of her child is important since she abandons him later in the Act.

Brecht's sarcasm towards religion is reintroduced when the Governor is led onstage in chains. The Singer remarks, "And now you don't need an architect, a carpenter will do." This alludes to the fact that Jesus was a carpenter; the Governor needs Jesus to intervene and save him on this Easter Sunday. This will of course not happen.

Throughout the play are dispersed the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church. The first one appears when Simon and Grusha agree to become engaged. The engagement is sealed when Simon gives her his silver chain. This represents the act of Confirmation, and it is the first of the seven Catholic sacraments that will appear in the play. The others that will follow are Baptism, the Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction (the Anointing of the Sick), Holy Orders, and Matrimony (not in that order).

Brecht has a tendency to make one character the "good" character. This character represents the type of person that we should all strive to be. However, because of the cruelty of the world, the "good" character is often abused or taken advantage of. Brecht's play, The Good Woman of Setzuan deals with this theme as its main topic. In The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Grusha represents this "good" character. She places value on human life unlike the other people who advise her to give up Michael. The Cook goes so far as to say, "if he had the plague he couldn't be more dangerous." She replies with, "He hasn't got the plague. He looks at me! He's human!" Brecht is quick to point out that this kindness is taken advantage of. The old woman comments, "You're a fool - the kind that always gets put upon."

The Act appears to end with Grusha's act of charity when she picks up Michael and takes him with her. Instead, Brecht points out to the audience that they should not be seduced by how good Grusha appears to be. In reality, she is a thief who has stolen a child. "As if it was stolen goods she picked it up. / As if she was a thief she crept away." Brecht destroys the audience's image of Grusha for a particular reason: he does not want the audience to be seduced by her the way she is seduced by the child. Instead, he wants the audience to use logic much the way logic is used in the prologue. The audience must decide for itself whether Grusha is a thief and should be punished or whether she is a hero who should be rewarded with keeping the child. This sets up a direct analogy to the valley in the prologue; Grusha represents the peasants on the left who wish to steal the valley and put it to better use.

ACT TWO

The amount of money used is an important issue in the play, both in this act and in subsequent ones. For instance, Grusha is forced to pay two piasters for milk. Notice that this is an entire week's salary that she is sacrificing for Michael. This is a huge sum for her. However, contrast that amount of money with the later acts. Azdak, in Act Four, is offered 100,000 piasters for one night's lodging. This drastic difference is meant to highlight the inequalities between the rich and the poor. It is Brecht's way of denouncing the capitalist society that focuses on money rather than on kindness.

Grusha goes through ten developmental steps that start in this act. Each of these steps requires that she sacrifice a part of herself to Michael. She does this financially, emotionally, in terms of her promises to Simon, and in terms of her life. The first step occurs when she gives up her money for the child, paying two piasters for milk. The second is when she decides to go back for Michael after leaving him with the peasant woman. The third is when she hits the Ironshirt over the head. Four is when she adopts Michael, "the helpless girl adopted the helpless child." Five is when she is offered the chance to leave the baby with the merchant woman so that she can cross the bridge and save herself. Six is when she risks her life and Michael's life to cross the bridge. The remaining developmental steps occur in the next act.

As was mentioned earlier, each of the seven sacraments is performed at one point in the play. Another sacrament occurs here, that of Baptism: "I'll wash you, son, and christen you in glacier water." This is a secularized version of baptism, meaning that it has been stripped of all its religious significance.

ACT THREE

Throughout this act Brecht makes fun of religion again. Jussup is meant to represent Joseph who married Mary when she was already pregnant. The depiction of him as a draft dodger is actually quite comical when performed onstage. Lavrenti's wife Aniko is constantly described as religious, even to the extent that she uses "religion" as an excuse for kicking Grusha out of her home. The final parody of religion is presented in the form of a drunk monk. The monk who performs the wedding ceremony is a "cheap monk" who does not do a very good job.

Three more sacraments are presented in this act, those of marriage, holy orders, and extreme unction. All occur when the monk is present. He himself represents Holy Orders, or at least a parody of Holy Orders. He then performs the marriage ceremony and immediately thereafter, he asks the mother if she would like him to perform extreme unction, a sacrament in which the dead are anointed. She refuses, claiming that the wedding cost too much already.

Grusha now completes her development in the plot by going through the last four steps. The seventh step is when she gets denies to Lavrenti that she is cold. This allows her to stay in her brother's house for a while longer. Eight is when she gets married, thus breaking her promise to Simon. Nine is when she agrees to have sex with Jussup, thereby losing her virginity. Ten is when she is confronted by the Ironshirts and must choose between claiming Michael as her child and losing Simon or disclaiming Michael and getting Simon. She chooses Michael, thereby sacrificing Simon. At this point she has given away everything that she has to give in order to keep Michael.

The children's game is important because it not only makes a mockery of the adult world, but it also foreshadows the death of the Fat Prince. Michael is initially asked to play his father and allow the older boys to behead him. Instead he chooses to behead the Fat Prince, indicating that there will be soon be a change in the regime. It is important to realize that the children are foreshadowing only the action in the play; in terms of sequential action the Fat Prince has already been beheaded since the Grand Duke returned to power several months earlier during Grusha's wedding.

ACT FOUR

The amounts of money become much larger in this act than before. This is purposefully done by Brecht to show the difference in the levels of wealth between the various social classes. Because of these differences in wealth, Azdak becomes a "Robin Hood" figure, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Thus, he fines the rich Invalid, the Blackmailer, the Innkeeper, and the Farmers, all of whom have wealth or land.

Another sacrament that appears in this act is that of Penance. Azdak is primarily a truth figure, and thus the Penance serves as a representation of his telling the truth. The brilliance behind his confession is the way he does it: all the soldiers ignore him and think that he is a fool. Even when he sings them a song against war, he gets away with it by claiming the song was taught to him by his grandfather. And in front of the Fat Prince, Azdak directly blames the war on the princes, but again instead of being punished he is rewarded. His truthfulness is revealed through the way he takes bribes; he is bribed publicly so that all can see rather than secretly.

The last sacrament of the Eucharist, or the Holy Supper, also appears in this act. Azdak shares wine with Granny and Irakli. The Singer comments that "Broken law like bread he gave them." This is almost a direct comparison of Azdak to Christ. Brecht will continue this comparison in the next act, when Azdak is "killed", "resurrected" by the Grand Duke, and finally disappears.

Like Grusha, Azdak goes through ten developmental steps as well. A quick list is given here: first, he protects the Grand Duke, second he denounces himself, third he is made the judge, fourth he judges the case of the Doctor and the Invalid, fifth he judges the case of the Blackmailer, sixth he judges the case of the Innkeeper, and seven he judges the case of Granny and the miracles. The remaining three stages of development occur in the final act.

ACT FIVE

The development of Azdak is completed in this act. His eighth step is his reinstatement as judge by the Grand Duke. Nine is his ruling in favor of Grusha and divorcing her, and his tenth and final step is his disappearance at the end.

There is a strong circularity to the play, with the ending returns to beginning. Thus the last line of the play, "The valley to the waterers, that it yield fruit," is a return to the Prologue where the fruit farmers receive the valley. This circularity, or rather continuity is present in other respects as well. For instance, the Ironshirts are still present in the final act. Brecht is trying to make the audience realize that although the regime may change, the army always stays the same. Thus Grusha sees the Corporal whom she knocked out, and he is still working in the army.

Azdak mimics Christ throughout this final act. He is first shown being beaten and then lying "dead" on the ground. The arrival of the messenger is a form of resurrection for him, and soon thereafter he gets up and puts on his gown again. The final moment of the act is his ascension into heaven, represented by having Azdak simply disappear. His reign on earth is remembered, we are told, as a period of justice, a "brief golden age."

Brecht takes the religious connection even further by having Azdak represent Solomonic wisdom. This story is similar to the story of Solomon where he must choose the real mother of a baby. He says that he will cut the child in half and give each woman one part. The true mother chooses to give the other woman her child. Thus, Solomon knows who the real mother it. The same thing happens here, except that this time it is Grusha who would rather lose the child instead of the real mother. Azdak justifies his decision the same way King Solomon did, by choosing the mother who does not try to harm the child.

Even though Azdak is gone at the end, it is important to notice what he has left behind: Azdak's Garden. This represents a return of the Biblical Garden of Eden. Thus Azdak as a character is actually a spiritual figure; he alone leaves behind a memory of his reign and the justice that it created for the people.

Study questions on The Caucasian Chalk Circle:

1. What is the function of the Prologue in the opening of the play?

2. The plot of the play is presented by the Singer and the Chorus. How do you view this "story within a story"(or a play within a play) technique? How does this story-telling device function in the theatrical performance?

3. Similar to Mother Courage, there are several songs in The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Do these songs function similarly in both plays? And in what aspects do they function similarly and differently?

4. According to the Singer, the story of The Caucasian Chalk Circle is taken from a Chinese tale. Comment on the adaptation and the alterations made in the play from its original story.

5. Brecht is much influenced by the Marxism. Discuss how Marxist dialectic gave Brecht his integrated form in The Caucasian Chalk Circle.