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Scene 8
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
The stage directions explain that, in these 16 years of war, half of Germany’s people have died, whether of violence, plague, or hunger. It’s 1634 in Bavaria’s Fichtel Mountains. Winter has hit hard and early, and Mother Courage’s business is struggling. The Cook will soon return home. One gray morning, Mother Courage and the Cook wonder if the local Parson (minister) might share food with them. The Cook shows Mother Courage a letter from home, which states that his mother has died and that he has inherited her inn. Mother Courage admits that she’s tired of traveling—she sometimes dreams that she’s wandering through heaven or hell.
Brecht yet again uses stage directions unconventionally to get the audience to respond to his work in a rational way (as opposed to an emotional one). By presenting these historical facts, he reminds the audience that Mother Courage and her children’s suffering were not the exception but the norm during the Thirty Years’ War. His point is clear: by launching World War II, the Nazis are repeating the mistakes of the darkest times in Germany’s past. The Cook’s excitement about his mother’s death is another reminder of how, thanks to the war, broken parent-child relationships pervade this play.
Themes
The Cook invites Mother Courage to go run the inn with him, and she proposes the idea to Kattrin. But the Cook quietly tells Mother Courage that Kattrin can’t come—there’s no space for her at the inn. (Kattrin is secretly listening in and hears everything.) Mother Courage suggests that Kattrin could look for a husband, but the Cook says that no man will marry her because of her age and her scar.
The Cook is cruel and dismissive to Kattrin in part because he thinks Mother Courage views her as a liability. Unfortunately, Mother Courage’s halfhearted response seems to prove him right. Even now, Kattrin says nothing but understands everything—and nobody else realizes it. Soon, audiences will learn that, despite her muteness, she is actually the most sane and compassionate character in the whole play.
Themes
The Parson’s light turns on, and the Cook and Mother Courage sing “The Song of the Wise and Good” to him. The first verse describes how King Solomon’s wisdom ruined him by showing him that “all is vanity.” The second verse is about Saint Martin killing himself through “unselfishness”—he shared his coat with a beggar in the winter, and both froze to death. Following God and the Ten Commandments has “not done us any good,” the Cook sings in the final verse, as he begs the Parson for alms.
“The Song of the Wise and Good” turns traditional moral parables on their head to show how war rewards evil and transforms virtues into liabilities. The first anecdote refers to a verse from Ecclesiastes in which Solomon claims that life without God is vain, or pointless, and the second is a famous story about Saint Martin of Tours. In short, the Cook and Mother Courage are singing to the Parson about how religion has failed them and how God has forsaken them. This adds two more layers of irony: first, the Parson, who is supposed to dedicate his life to God, is actually the wealthiest and most comfortable man in the village; second, the Cook and Mother Courage try to win the Parson’s favor precisely by insulting the religion he represents.
Themes
In fact, the Parson calls down to them, offering them soup. But the Cook again tells Mother Courage to leave Kattrin behind, and she agrees. She goes inside, but quickly returns with soup for Kattrin—only to find Kattrin outside the wagon with a bundle of her possessions, trying to run away. Realizing that Kattrin heard her conversation with the Cook, Mother Courage calls her a “stupid girl!” and promises that she wasn’t going to leave her behind—never mind the wagon. Mother Courage tosses the Cook’s things on the ground and promises never to work with a man again. She and Kattrin start pulling the wagon away, and once they are gone, the Cook comes outside.
Mother Courage’s willingness to leave Kattrin behind again calls into question whether she is really willing to put her family before herself—or if she just views her children as potential sources of labor. But her quick return shows that she actually is loyal to her daughter—even if she isn’t particularly nice to her. Aware that the Cook was using her all along, Mother Courage mercilessly leaves him behind and gets in the harness to pull the wagon herself for the first time.
Themes
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