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.