Do you consider “Mother Courage and Her Children” a tragedy? Give reasons for your answer.  

Answer

Do you consider “Mother Courage and Her Children” a tragedy? Give reasons for your answer.  

Or, Consider “Mother Courage and Her Children” as a tragedy. [NU: 2019] ★★★

Bertolt Brecht’s (1898–1956) play “Mother Courage and Her Children” (1941) is often called an anti-war play. But it also has many elements of tragedy. It shows the fall of a mother who loses her three children in the Thirty Years’ War. Brecht does not give heroic tears. He shows harsh facts. The life of Mother Courage becomes a tragic journey of loss.

The Tragic Beginning- Losing Eilif: In the Prologue, Mother Courage enters with her wagon. Her sons, Eilif and Swiss Cheese, pull the cart. Her daughter Kattrin plays the harmonica. Together they sing,

“Here’s Mother Courage and her wagon!

Hey, Captain, Let them come and buy!”

But joy soon turns to tragedy. The Recruiting Officer and Sergeant take Eilif away. Mother Courage sings of trade but loses her first son to war. This is tragic because her love as a mother clashes with her greed as a trader.

Eilif’s Tragic Fall: Later, the Commander praises Eilif for bravery. He kills peasants and steals cattle. He even sings proudly,

“The soldier laughs and loads his gun.”

Mother Courage warns him, 

“Didn’t I teach you to take care of yourself, you Finnish devil, you?”

But later in the story, when peace comes, the same act of killing peasants is judged as a crime. Eilif is executed. The son who was once a hero becomes a criminal. This is tragic irony.

Swiss Cheese’s Tragic Honesty: Swiss Cheese becomes paymaster. Mother Courage says, 

“Don’t forget they made you paymaster because you’re honest.”

But this honesty leads to his death. He refuses to give up the regimental cash box when caught. Mother Courage tries to save him, but she bargains too long. At last, Swiss Cheese is shot. The tragedy is that