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Scene 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Mother Courage and Her Children, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
War, Failure, and Despair
Profit, Violence, and Power
Love and Nurture
Faith and Identity
Theater, Performance, and History
Summary
Analysis
Mother Courage waits by an army tent, singing “The Song of the Great Capitulation.” A Regimental Clerk recognizes her as the woman who harbored the paymaster (Swiss Cheese). She claims to be innocent and protests that the army destroyed her wagon and fined her five thalers. The Clerk tells her to keep quiet, but she insists on complaining to the Captain.
As though confronting Swiss Cheese’s body at the end of the last scene wasn’t humiliating enough, Mother Courage must now beg his murderers for mercy so that she and Kattrin do not end up penniless and stranded. It remains to be seen whether she will learn her lesson and change her ways.
Themes
A furious Young Soldier arrives and starts cursing the Captain, who stole his reward money and spent it on brandy and sex workers. An Older Soldier tells the Young Soldier to stay in line, as the Young Soldier complains that he was the only one willing to swim in the river. Mother Courage promises that she understands the Young Soldier’s frustration, but when he insists that he “won’t stand for injustice,” she points out that he has no other option. She predicts that his rage will die down, but he promises to kill the Captain. At the Clerk’s orders, they both sit.
The Captain’s corruption underlines the way that war is really about power and self-interest—no matter what the war’s organizers say, there is no real principle behind it, least of all justice. Notably, the Young Soldier’s story suggests that he swam in the river and retrieved Swiss Cheese’s cashbox on behalf of his Captain. In this way, he becomes a foil for Swiss Cheese, who also thought that his loyalty would save him (but ended up facing punishment for it).
Themes
Mother Courage performs “The Song of the Great Capitulation” in full. She sings that she used to think of herself as special, the creator of her own destiny, until “a little bird” told her that she would have to temper her expectations and learn to compromise once she experienced war. She tells the Young Soldier to think seriously about whether it’s worth it to cross the Captain. He decides to leave. The Clerk tells Mother Courage that the Captain is free, but she decides not to complain either, so she leaves too.
“The Song of the Great Capitulation” describes humans’ powerlessness in the face of fate and reminds the audience that war inflicts profound injustice on innocent people. Little does the Young Soldier know that Mother Courage has experienced a far greater injustice than him, losing not just her money but also her son. They both realize that, with no incentive to give them justice, the Captain will probably just ignore them. So they learn to do what Mother Courage is famous for: accept injustice and move on with life.
Themes
