The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Also: Interpretation and a Character Analysis

The Caucasian Chalk Circle is one of the most staged German plays today. It is an excellent play in which he employed his theatrical theory of "epic theater." Brecht uses old motifs that can be found both the Bible and in old Chinese play. However, he rewrote the story: After a coup d'état against the Grand Duke, the rich Governor Abashwili was executed. His wife could escape, but left his son Michel simply behind because she was too busy with her own safety... After long hesitation the maid Grusha took the boy and fled the city with him to the mountains because the throne successor was wanted all over and a prize of 1000 Piasters was announced for his capture. Grusha had hardly money to feed Michael. She wanted therefore to put the child in front of the door of a farmer. However, she could not leave him alone. The henchmen of the Duke Kazbeki and the iron shirts ran after Grusha. But she luckily escaped them and finally arrived at the home of her brother in the mountains who was now married with a very pious wife. In order to legally protect her adopted Michael from her increasingly suspicious sister in law, Grusha married an allegedly sick-to-death peasant although she had been engaged with the soldier Simon. The peasant suddenly proved to be in top health when he heard that war was over. The Governor’s wife came home and wanted to get her son back. The case was to be decided in court with a simple yet smart "poor people judge" Azdak who had originally been a village recorder. He ordered two women to show evidence of their motherhood. He asked to put the child inside a chalk circle. Both women should try at the same time to pull the child out of the circle. Grusha proved to be the true mother because she released the child in fear of hurting the child. The case was decided not by blood relationship nor by heritage but by true love and sacrifice of social motherhood. 

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