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Similes
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.
Related Themes:
