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Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Scene 6
Explanation and Analysis—Chaplain's War Forecast:
An instance of verbal irony occurs in Scene 6 when Mother Courage—trying to decide whether she should restock her supplies—asks the Chaplain whether he thinks the war will continue. The Chaplain makes a somewhat sarcastic argument for why war will continue indefinitely:
Well, I’d say there’s peace even in war, war has its islands of peace. For war satisfies all needs, even those of peace, [...] they’re provided for, or the war couldn’t keep going. In war—as in the very thick of peace—you can take a crap, and between one battle and the next there’s always a beer, and even on the march you can snatch a nap [...]. You have your leg shot off, and at first you raise quite an outcry as if it was something but soon you calm down or take a swig of brandy, and you end up hopping about, and the war is none the worse for your little misadventure. And can’t you be fruitful and multiply in the thick of slaughter—behind a barn or somewhere? Nothing can keep you from it very long in any event. [...]
The general thrust of his very cynical argument is that war is bearable. Just about everything you can do in peace, you can do in war. Therefore, nothing incentivizes people to end the war because it does not completely block access to sleep, alcohol, or sex. Since the war makes people miserable, but not miserable enough to stop it, it continues indefinitely.
At first glance, this argument appears to use logos—that is, it uses logic to try to prove a statement. However, the logic is flawed because the Chaplain does not necessarily believe in his own argument. The argument is semi-facetious, because although the Chaplain views the fact that small pleasures (e.g. sleep, drinking, sex, etc.) still exist in war as a reason that it continues, he does not endorse the morality of such a position—even if this position ultimately benefits him. Later, when peace is momentarily declared, he dons his old pastor cloak with excitement to be able to preach again, showing that he values the unique opportunities that peacetime offers. It is also worth noting that Brecht meant the argument to be unpersuasive. Brecht’s play critiques war, arguing that war actually does make life unbearable and is not sustainable.
Even though the argument is not meant to be persuasive, it is meant to be a little funny. The Chaplain’s argument draws upon dark comedy, but the Chaplain’s remarks are perhaps too dark, as his entire argument upsets Kattrin, who feels revulsion at the thought that the war might go on forever. The logos of the argument, meanwhile, appeals to the capitalist calculations of Mother Courage—she is immediately convinced by the Chaplain’s speech and goes to buy more supplies, but if one evaluates the argument from a compassionate standpoint (i.e. Kattrin’s standpoint), the argument is repugnant. Brecht thereby shows that dispassionate calculations to maximize profit are morally wrong.
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Scene 8
Explanation and Analysis—Eilif's Execution:
During Scene 8, in an instance of dramatic irony, Mother Courage misses saying a final goodbye to her son and doesn't know he's going to be executed. Soldiers bring Eilif to Mother Courage’s wagon so he can see his mother one last time before he is executed. The soldiers intend to execute Eilif because he attacked peasants and stole their cattle. He had enacted similar deeds in wartime and was praised for them. However, since a crowd of Lutherans announced the death of their King and the coming of peace, Eilif’s act of violence takes place in peacetime and therefore is a crime.
Eilif’s act thus occurs precisely at the wrong time. War breaks out before the scene concludes. If he had stolen the cattle moments before or after, he likely would have lived. In another mishap, Eilif also arrives at the wagon at the wrong time, for Mother Courage hardly ever leaves her wagon, but she left moments before Eilif arrived. Mother Courage has no idea that Eilif is to be executed, but the audience does know what's about to happen to him. Because of the discrepancy between Mother Courage’s knowledge and the audience's knowledge, this moment is an example of dramatic irony that makes the ending even more tragic. Mother Courage ends the play by searching for what she believes to be her one living child: Eilif. The audience, though, knows Eilif has died and that Mother Courage is searching for him in vain.
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Scene 11
Explanation and Analysis—Kattrin's Matyrdom:
In Scene 11, an instance of situational irony occurs. Kattrin, whom the peasants use as an excuse for inaction, becomes a martyr. Two peasants, after being threatened by Catholic soldiers, have the following conversation:
OLD PEASANT: But being that we’re alone with that cripple…
PEASANT WOMAN: There’s nothing we can do, is there?
OLD PEASANT: Nothing.
The peasants consider warning the townspeople, but they conclude that, because Kattrin is burdening them, they can’t do anything to help. The peasants use Kattrin as an excuse for their own inaction. They are hopeless because they consider the soldiers too powerful and their own forces too weak. Therefore, the only action they take to ensure the town’s safety is prayer.
However, Kattrin, the one they underestimated, decides to take action against the soldiers. She sounds the alarm by banging a drum, and she thus gives the town a fighting chance with her warning. Her inability to speak and her meekness make her an unexpected martyr. Everyone else looks at her as something to protect, as someone incapable of being a protector. However, she protects an entire town, reversing expectations and reclaiming agency in doing so.
Her act demonstrates that anyone, regardless of their place in society or their physical abilities, can participate in a heroic act of martyrdom. Since Brecht was a Marxist, it makes sense to read Kattrin’s act in the context of revolution. Kattrin demonstrates that even dispossessed classes of people, like peasants or similarly marginalized groups, can still rise up against classes more powerful than them, such as soldiers or the bourgeoisie.
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