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The Wagon
Alcohol represents the futility and indignity of war. Throughout the play, soldiers go and risk their lives for a meager salary, then waste that whole salary on Mother Courage’s brandy in an effort to forget the horrors they have witnessed. When they actually experience war, they realize that war is not worth it—but it is already too late to leave, so they drink instead. This is clear from the play’s first lines, in which Mother Courage sings to an imaginary army captain, offering his men the opportunity to “drink before they die.” She points out that, if the captain gets his men drunk, they might be willing to do what is asked of them in war—which presumably includes taking on dangerous tasks or even losing their lives. In this way, Mother Courage describes alcohol as a trick to grease the wheels of war: not only does it get smart men to do stupid things in a pointless war that does not benefit them, but it also helps them forget what they have done and seen. By the end of their service, most of the soldiers are either dead or broke, and alcohol has helped with both. So it’s little surprise that, from the play’s events, alcohol seems to be Mother Courage’s best-selling product. And yet she lives out the same futile cycle, profiting in the short term but losing out both financially and personally in the long term, and she also ends the play penniless and desperate.
Alcohol Quotes in Mother Courage and Her Children
The Mother Courage and Her Children quotes below all refer to the symbol of Alcohol. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Prologue
Quotes
HERE’S MOTHER COURAGE AND HER WAGON!
HEY, CAPTAIN, LET THEM COME AND BUY!
BEER BY THE KEG! WINE BY THE FLAGON!
LET YOUR MEN DRINK BEFORE THEY DIE!
SABERS AND SWORDS ARE HARD TO SWALLOW:
FIRST YOU MUST GIVE THEM BEER TO DRINK.
THEN THEY CAN FACE WHAT IS TO FOLLOW—
BUT LET ‘EM SWIM BEFORE THEY SINK!
CHRISTIANS, AWAKE! THE WINTER’S GONE!
THE SNOWS DEPART, THE DEAD SLEEP ON.
AND THOUGH YOU MAY NOT LONG SURVIVE,
GET OUT OF BED AND LOOK ALIVE!
YOUR MEN WILL MARCH TILL THEY ARE DEAD, SIR,
BUT CANNOT FIGHT UNLESS THEY EAT.
THE BLOOD THEY SPILL FOR YOU IS RED, SIR,
WHAT FIRES THAT BLOOD IS MY RED MEAT.
FOR MEAT AND SOUP AND JAM AND JELLY
IN THIS OLD CART OF MINE ARE FOUND:
SO FILL THE HOLE UP IN YOUR BELLY
BEFORE YOU FILL ONE UNDERGROUND.
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Scene 3
Quotes
I’m letting you have the bullets for two guilders. Dirt cheap. ’Cause I need the money. The Colonel’s been drinking for three days and we’re out of liquor.
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MOTHER COURAGE. I must get you two something to drink, or you’ll be making improper advances out of sheer boredom.
CHAPLAIN. That is indeed a temptation—said the Court Chaplain as he gave way to it. And who is this captivating young person?
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Alcohol Symbol Timeline in Mother Courage and Her Children
The timeline below shows where the symbol Alcohol appears in Mother Courage and Her Children. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue
...the harmonica, and her sons join the refrains. The song describes how she sells soldiers beer and wine , which gives them the courage to face sure death in battle. She sings to...
(full context)
Scene 3
The Chaplain and Cook enter, looking for brandy. The Chaplain explains that Eilif has a message for Swiss Cheese, but Mother Courage says...
(full context)
...about Mother Courage, but the Cook denies it—he just dreams about a young woman serving brandy. Mother Courage says she’ll give them their drink, lest they start “making improper advances out...
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...Mother Courage is just the woman who sold him lunch, and she offers the soldiers brandy, but they refuse. The soldiers insist that Swiss Cheese was hiding something under his shirt....
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Scene 4
...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...
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Scene 5
...soldiers are doing a victory march in the background. Two soldiers ask Mother Courage for liquor, even though they don’t have any money, and complain that their commander only let them...
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...Mother Courage furiously tells her to stop. One of the soldiers tries to steal a liquor bottle, and Mother Courage snatches his fur coat but lets him go.
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Scene 6
...riding his horse the wrong way, straight into the crossfire. She criticizes the soldiers for drinking instead of attending the funeral; the Regimental Clerk agrees, even though he didn’t go either....
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A soldier sings a “Battle Hymn” demanding a drink and a woman because soldiers have “no time to waste.” But Mother Courage says he...
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Scene 8
...put on his pastor’s robes, and Mother Courage tells Kattrin to give the Cook some brandy, but she does nothing and refuses to leave the wagon. Mother Courage brings the Cook’s...
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...might be a crime now, but it was considered heroic during wartime. Eilif asks for brandy, but the soldiers won’t let him have any. He tells the Chaplain not to tell...
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