The Caucasian Chalk Circle

by

Bertolt Brecht

Michael Abashwili Character Analysis

The “noble child” who is at the very center of the play’s action, the role of Michael is a non-speaking one which is, in productions of The Caucasian Chalk Circle, often portrayed by a puppet or a doll. Michael is attended in his infancy by a staff of doctors who are constantly on-call and fuss over his every sneeze and cough. His mother, Natella, abandons him when she flees the capital, and the servant-girl Grusha takes Michael into her care, unwilling to leave him for the Fat Prince’s Ironshirts to find and kill. Michael is a burden to Grusha at first, but she soon resolves to raise him herself, and to do so the right way—with an emphasis on kindness and hard work. Brecht uses the fact that Michael, as a young child, can either be raised “right” or easily corrupted by wealth, greed, and power to signify the precipice he saw society facing at the time he wrote the play, with social and economic inequality on the rise. Michael thus represents the potential of the future of society, and his character arc ties in with themes of motherhood, justice vs. injustice, and corruption.

Michael Abashwili Quotes in The Caucasian Chalk Circle

The The Caucasian Chalk Circle quotes below are all either spoken by Michael Abashwili or refer to Michael Abashwili. 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:
Motherhood as Leadership Theme Icon
).
Act 1 Quotes

“Know, woman, he who hears not a cry for help but passes by with troubled ears will never hear the gentle call of a lover nor the blackbird at dawn nor the happy sigh of the tired grape-picker.”

Related Characters: Arkadi Tscheidse (speaker), Grusha Vashnadze, Michael Abashwili
Page Number: 28
Explanation and Analysis:

“Fearful is the seductive power of goodness!”

Related Characters: Arkadi Tscheidse (speaker), Grusha Vashnadze, Michael Abashwili
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2 Quotes

“She who carries the child feels its weight and little more.”

Related Characters: Arkadi Tscheidse (speaker), Grusha Vashnadze, Michael Abashwili
Page Number: 34
Explanation and Analysis:

“Deep is the abyss, son, I see the weak bridge sway. But it’s not for us, son, to choose the way. The way I know is the one you must tread, and all you will eat is my bit of bread. Of every four pieces, you shall have three. Would that I knew how big they will be!”

Related Characters: Grusha Vashnadze (speaker), Michael Abashwili
Page Number: 41-42
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 3 Quotes

“While you fought in the battle, soldier, the bloody battle, the bitter battle, I found a helpless infant. I had not the heart to destroy him. I had to care for a creature that was lost. I had to stoop for breadcrumbs on the floor. I had to break myself for that which was not mine, that which was other people’s. Someone must help! For the little tree needs water. The lamb loses its way when the shepherd is asleep and its cry is unheard!”

Related Characters: Grusha Vashnadze (speaker), Arkadi Tscheidse (speaker), Michael Abashwili, Simon Shashava
Page Number: 61
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5 Quotes

AZDAK: “I’ve noticed you have a soft spot for justice. I don’t believe he’s your child, but if he were yours, woman, wouldn’t you want him to be rich? You’d only have to say he wasn’t’ yours, and he’d have a palace and horses in his stable and beggars on his doorstep and soldiers in his service. What do you say—don’t you want him to be rich?”

Grusha is silent.

ARKADI: “Hear now what the angry girl thought but did not say: Had he golden shoes to wear, he’d be cruel as a bear. Evil would his life disgrace. He’d laugh in my face.”

Related Characters: Azdak (speaker), Arkadi Tscheidse (speaker), Grusha Vashnadze, Michael Abashwili
Related Symbols: The Saffron Boots
Page Number: 96
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Caucasian Chalk Circle LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Caucasian Chalk Circle PDF

Michael Abashwili Quotes in The Caucasian Chalk Circle

The The Caucasian Chalk Circle quotes below are all either spoken by Michael Abashwili or refer to Michael Abashwili. 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:
Motherhood as Leadership Theme Icon
).
Act 1 Quotes

“Know, woman, he who hears not a cry for help but passes by with troubled ears will never hear the gentle call of a lover nor the blackbird at dawn nor the happy sigh of the tired grape-picker.”

Related Characters: Arkadi Tscheidse (speaker), Grusha Vashnadze, Michael Abashwili
Page Number: 28
Explanation and Analysis:

“Fearful is the seductive power of goodness!”

Related Characters: Arkadi Tscheidse (speaker), Grusha Vashnadze, Michael Abashwili
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2 Quotes

“She who carries the child feels its weight and little more.”

Related Characters: Arkadi Tscheidse (speaker), Grusha Vashnadze, Michael Abashwili
Page Number: 34
Explanation and Analysis:

“Deep is the abyss, son, I see the weak bridge sway. But it’s not for us, son, to choose the way. The way I know is the one you must tread, and all you will eat is my bit of bread. Of every four pieces, you shall have three. Would that I knew how big they will be!”

Related Characters: Grusha Vashnadze (speaker), Michael Abashwili
Page Number: 41-42
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 3 Quotes

“While you fought in the battle, soldier, the bloody battle, the bitter battle, I found a helpless infant. I had not the heart to destroy him. I had to care for a creature that was lost. I had to stoop for breadcrumbs on the floor. I had to break myself for that which was not mine, that which was other people’s. Someone must help! For the little tree needs water. The lamb loses its way when the shepherd is asleep and its cry is unheard!”

Related Characters: Grusha Vashnadze (speaker), Arkadi Tscheidse (speaker), Michael Abashwili, Simon Shashava
Page Number: 61
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5 Quotes

AZDAK: “I’ve noticed you have a soft spot for justice. I don’t believe he’s your child, but if he were yours, woman, wouldn’t you want him to be rich? You’d only have to say he wasn’t’ yours, and he’d have a palace and horses in his stable and beggars on his doorstep and soldiers in his service. What do you say—don’t you want him to be rich?”

Grusha is silent.

ARKADI: “Hear now what the angry girl thought but did not say: Had he golden shoes to wear, he’d be cruel as a bear. Evil would his life disgrace. He’d laugh in my face.”

Related Characters: Azdak (speaker), Arkadi Tscheidse (speaker), Grusha Vashnadze, Michael Abashwili
Related Symbols: The Saffron Boots
Page Number: 96
Explanation and Analysis: