122 Chapter V Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle: Dramaturgic Use of a Chinese Fable The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Brecht’s last major endeavor has been acclaimed both as a 'masterpiece of Brecht's technique of the epic drama' and a 'parable for the theatre'. When 'Good Woman of Setzuan' catapulted Brecht into fame, The Caucasian Chalk Circle entrenched him on the pedestal of success. Written in 1945 the theatrical piece manifests contemporary preoccupations and concerns. The play perpetuates the human image etched out in Good Woman, though with meaningful modifications, greater perception and comprehensiveness. The manifest difference lies in the theme of 'goodness rewarded'. Max Spalter mentions in ‘Brecht’s Tradition’ that the play also repeats several prominent and recurrent Brechtian motifs. Satire of the class driven selfish, immoral high society, the fascinating bait provided by goodness and virtue, compassion for the deprived, miserable, and downtrodden were some of Brecht’s perennial themes. He remarks in connection with Caucasian Chalk Circle: In the Caucasian Chalk Circle Brecht came close to writing the kind of escapist theatre against which he had once inveighed, theatre that serves to entertain and reassure rather than to disturb the audience that it compelled to make decisive reformulations of attitude (196).
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122
Chapter V
Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle: Dramaturgic
Use of a Chinese Fable
The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Brecht’s last major endeavor has been
acclaimed both as a 'masterpiece of Brecht's technique of the epic drama'
and a 'parable for the theatre'. When 'Good Woman of Setzuan' catapulted
Brecht into fame, The Caucasian Chalk Circle entrenched him on the pedestal
of success. Written in 1945 the theatrical piece manifests contemporary
preoccupations and concerns. The play perpetuates the human image etched
out in Good Woman, though with meaningful modifications, greater
perception and comprehensiveness. The manifest difference lies in the
theme of 'goodness rewarded'. Max Spalter mentions in ‘Brecht’s Tradition’
that the play also repeats several prominent and recurrent Brechtian motifs.
Satire of the class driven selfish, immoral high society, the fascinating bait
provided by goodness and virtue, compassion for the deprived, miserable,
and downtrodden were some of Brecht’s perennial themes. He remarks in
connection with Caucasian Chalk Circle:
In the Caucasian Chalk Circle Brecht came close to writing the
kind of escapist theatre against which he had once inveighed,
theatre that serves to entertain and reassure rather than to disturb
the audience that it compelled to make decisive reformulations of
attitude (196).
123
Klabund’s Circle of Chalk was a probable primary source of the play. Its
roots date back to a 1300 A.D ancient Chinese drama which carried a similar
name. The initial translation by Eric Bentley closely followed the original
German text but omitted the prologue. In all probability Brecht who lived as an
exile in United States restrained the inclusion of the prologue due to the
notoriety the drama received as a piece of brazen communist propaganda.
Simplistically scrutinized The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a droll and
ironic commentary on greed and corruption. The background of the play is
provided by civil strife, political unrest, uprisings and the disenchantment of
the populace with the rulers. Amidst this chaos Brecht plants his multiple tales.
These fictional territories are skillfully woven into the dramaturgic fabric,
effectively foregrounding the value structure of the central tale of the Chalk
Circle. The multiple fictional boundaries begin with the generous hearted
Grusha, a kitchen maid at the Governor’s house, who is perpetually surrounded
by misfortunes. Countering this principle of goodness is the Governor’s wife
Natella who abandons her only child as she organizes her wardrobe for flight to
safety from the enemy. The two years of uprisings, strife and chaos conclude
with the restoration of the Grand Duke to his seat. Natella the Governor’s wife
marshals together ‘ironshirts’ to search her abandoned son who is now heir to
her former husband’s fortunes. The final story of the chain is ‘Azdak’s reign’
as a judge and his surprise judgment of imparting custody of the infant to
Grusha instead of the biological mother. These major incidents which
constitute the play become the embodiment of Brecht’s collective creativity.
124
The conclusion of the Chalk Circle manifests Brecht’s communist
ideology that ‘whosoever makes best humanitarian use of resources deserves
final possession of the same’. The parable, a variant of the Biblical story of the
‘Judgment of Solomon’, is employed later to determine the identity of real
mother. Brecht radically inverted the old story in order to arrive at the moral:
That what there is shall go to those who are good for it, (Thus)
Children to the motherly that they prosper (207).
The inversion of not just the fable but the entire feudal system is witnessed in
the play. The issue of disposition of land is decided in favor of the farmers
instead of goat herds who were the traditional owners and inhabitants of the
valley. As for the judicial system, the trappings are replaced and Azdak is
converted into a judge. He forthrightly disregarded the code of law and uses the
large law book as a cushion to sit on. His sense of judgment is equally weird
and strange.
Therefore, in Brecht's version it is not the real mother who is identified
by Solomonic judgment of the Chalk Circle. Azdak awards the child to Grusha,
his foster mother who risks her happiness, interest and very existence to rescue
and protect him. The climax is singular for Brechtian drama as Grusha’s
sufferings unexpectedly end. This tale is narrated by the Singer, Arkadi
Tsheidze and his musical troupe who stand outside the play to annotate the
events and create an atmosphere and milieu for the forthcoming events.
125
A play within a play, it commences with a story teller's narration of the
old Chinese legend of the 'chalk circle' which was used to determine the true
mother of a disputed child. Set in a Caucasus mountain in Grusinia, medieval
Georgia, the tale takes its ideological cue from the curtain raiser. The
Caucasian Chalk Circle begins with the prologue which dramatizes a dispute
over the possession of the valley abandoned in the Second World War during
German invasion. The State Reconstruction Commission sends a delegate to
arbitrate. The goat-herders group on the right side of the representative assert
their claim based on well-established domicile and extensive use of the land for
grazing their herd. The warring set from the neighboring valley which
specialized in fruit and wine growing, had drafted an irrigation project to
convert the contentious tract into a vineyard. After deliberations it was
unanimously decided to award the fruit farmers the possession of the land as
that would make it more productive. A Georgian folk Singer is invited to
illustrate the ethics of this decision and celebrate the triumph of the decision
through a musical performance. The renowned Singer Arkadi arrived only to be
informed by the duty conscious officer to abridge the performance as the
delegate has to return to town. Underscoring the alienation technique still
further Brecht punctuates the discourse with terms regarding Arkadi’s
remuneration and his repast. Emphasis on such details was Brecht’s technique
of keeping the audience alert to the fact that they were witnessing a
performance arranged for the entertainment of the officer. Commencing with
Arkadi’s melody the play is frequently interjected with songs; each occurring at
126
crucial junctures to aid in the progression of the drama. Brecht conveniently
interpolates the story of the Chalk Circle as a theatre metaphor into this space.
Experimenting with an innovation in the technique of play within a play the
playwright skillfully employs the prologue as a dramatic strategy. The fable of
Caucasian chalk circle with two discrete though noteworthy tales the story of
Grusha and the tale of the Judge are related in sequence before the spectators.
With the preamble as the external framework the story of the chalk circle
becomes the core play in the drama. The actors remain in their designated roles
and do not substitute as audience. The Singer links each episode and
externalizes some tacit thoughts and sentiments which aid in promoting the
evolving drama.
The Caucasian Chalk Circle originates in a preamble; a dramaturgic
strategy similar to The Good Woman. Essentially this stage manoeuvre is one
long speech narrated by a single character. Brecht thwarted audience’s
perception by converting it into a spectacle, comprising of characters,
arguments, conflicts and a concluding resolution. Thus the stagecraft provides
ample introduction to the main plot and serves as a preamble to the principal
play. However prior to the prologue there is an excerpt from an anonymous
Chinese drama. The citation is possibly employed to explicate or make the
readers familiar with the famous 'Chalk Circle' as a reference point in
identifying the biological mother of the baby. It initiates the subject and
anticipates the principal plot. The playwright used this Chinese legend as a
metaphor for the exposition of the theme.
127
The beginning of the prologue, establishes the issue of the dispute which
is later decided by the delegate. In the discussion the playwright scripts a
'pause'. Two entirely different subjects are stated before and after the 'pause'. It
is employed prior subsequent and between dialogues where disparate views are
discussed. The placement offers it multiple explications. For example:
Lavrenti is in conversation with Grusha while she is sitting with the
child in a terribly cold room:
LAVRENTI. If it's too cold, you shouldn't be sitting here with the
child...Aniko would never forgive herself! (Pause) I hope our
priest didn't question about the child? (156)
The frequent use of 'laughter' at the end of several dialogues is also
significant. Very similar to the forced and false laughter of modern tele-shows,
this mock amusement targets the goat-herders delusion that the decision may in
all probability favor them as they were the original owners of the land.
OLD MAN, right (sighing): ... (A peasant woman from right
takes from a basket an enormous cheese wrapped in a cloth.
Applause and laughter) OLD MAN, left (suspiciously): Is
this a way of influencing us?
OLD MAN, right (amid laughter)...everyone knows you'll take
the cheese and the valley, too. (Laughter) (116)
128
Stage directions also play an important role in modern drama providing
details of the playwright’s vision of the environment and atmosphere.
Structurally different from the actual story, they are the playwright’s attempt to