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Literary Devices
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Jacob and Esau:
Upon seeing Eilif and Swiss Cheese pulling Mother Courage’s cart in Scene 1, the Recruiting Officer calls them “Jacob Ox and Esau Ox,” alluding to a story from the Old Testament of the Bible. Jacob and Esau are fraternal twins belonging to Isaac and Rebekah. Through a long and convoluted tale involving deception and violence, the two brothers vie for their birthright. Initially, Esau, the elder twin, had the right to the inheritance, but he gave it up over a bowl of soup. However, he eventually wants it back.
The meaning behind the Recruiting Officer calling the boys Jacob and Esau is not immediately clear, for they do not appear to be vying for any sort of birthright. However, the Recruiting Officer could be implying that by pulling the wagon, they are competing in vain over which brother will inherit their mother’s business. Regardless, though, it seems relatively clear that the Recruiting Officer is goading Eilif and Swiss Cheese by calling them oxen, effectively taunting them while also making the biblical allusion to Jacob and Esau. He implies that the brothers are in debasing servitude to their mother’s business and that a career in the military would be much more fitting for them.
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Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Eilif as Caesar:
In Scene 2, after Eilif butchered peasants and stole their cattle, the Swedish Commander makes an allusion when he tells him: “You have the markings of a Julius Caesar, why, you should be presented to the king!” Julius Caesar, before becoming the dictator of the Roman Empire, gained fame as a general for his victories in Gaul. The Roman senate awarded him honors for his martial prowess. By making this allusion in reference to Eilif, the Commander pays him a great compliment.
However, Julius Caesar famously met his demise at the hands of his comrades. Roman senators, many of whom he believed to be his friends, waited for him to come into the senate one day and stabbed him. The senators conspired to kill Caesar because they believed he held too much power. With this in mind, the Swedish Commander's allusion to Julius Caesar in reference to Eilif foreshadows Eilif's own demise.
Indeed, Eilif does eventually meet his death at the hands of his peers. He acts very valiantly as a soldier in wartime, but he continues to act like a soldier even in peacetime. On the day the war “ends” (only to start again), Eilif repeats the deed that the Commander praised him for: killing peasants and taking their cattle. However, Eilif neglects to consider that the circumstances have changed: martial law no longer applies when there is no war. Different rules govern peacetime. So, other soldiers capture and execute him.
Brecht, by including this bit, demonstrates the hypocrisy of war. The same deeds that make a man a monster in peacetime make him a hero in a state of war. Like Julius Caesar, who was a wonderful general and thus a wonderful dictator, brutal men like Eilif become a liability when they aren’t on a battlefield. Thus, Brecht shows that war valorizes cruelty.
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Scene 6
Explanation and Analysis—Don Juan:
In Scene 6, after Mother Courage reveals she still has the Cook's pipe, the Chaplain calls the Cook a “Don Juan.” Don Juan is an aristocrat from Spanish literature who obsessively seduces women and commits other sins, such as violent crime and gambling. He acts in deceitful ways, taking on disguises and using lies to seduce women across ages and classes. The first written mention of Don Juan occurs in 1630 in Spain, making it highly unlikely that a Northern European in the early 1630s like the Chaplain would know about the character. Therefore, the allusion is an anachronism, and signals to the audience that the play does not attempt to be a genuine representation of life in the Thirty Years’ War.
The Chaplain, even though he may not know it, does have grounds on which he can accuse the Cook of being lustful. Earlier in the play, Yvette told the tale of a “Peter Piper” who seduced her and then abandoned her. The one fact she narrated about this man was his tendency to always be smoking or biting upon that pipe. The Chaplain has noticed the key clue, that the pipe is bitten, but he takes that as a sign the Cook is violent, not as a sign that the Cook was the same man who broke Yvette’s heart.
However, the choice to decry the Cook for being lecherous seems hypocritical, considering that the Chaplain also seems rather lustful. He, too, makes passes at Mother Courage and Kattrin. Likely, the labeling of the Cook as Don Juan is a way to vent his jealousy, rather than a genuine condemnation of the Cook’s behavior.
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