"Capitalism's Grip: Analyzing its Impact in Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children "

Abstract

Brecht’s play, “Mother Courage and Her Children” shows that capitalism influences the life of individuals and society. Against the background of the Thirty Years’ War, the play presents the adventures of Mother Courage, a canny and realistic entrepreneur, while she moves across war-torn territory. Mother Courage's actions are often connected to the capitalist way of thinking as she is looking for profit and economic survival during the war in her head. With the help of characters that the main character met, Brecht exposes the unscrupulous nature of capitalism and its harmful results on human relations. The play presents several ideas such as the ethics of benefiting from war, and how capitalism makes rich people richer. Brecht employed ''epic theater'' techniques, such as alienation effects, for the audience to see the capitalist system and its effects with a critical eye. But, the play also demonstrates the complexities of capitalism since Mother Courage's capitalist force is both an element that sustains her and a tragic flaw. Overall, "Mother Courage and Her Children" is a figurative representation of the capital minting that not only courts destruction, but also presents particularly difficult moral dilemmas in times of war.