The Good Woman of Setzuan: Scene 7 Summary & Analysis

In the yard behind Shen Te’s shop, Shen Te and Mrs. Shin do laundry. Mrs. Shin tells Shen Te to “fight tooth and nail” to keep her shop. Shen Te replies that she must sell the tobacco to pay the old couple back today. Mrs. Shin declares that without a husband, tobacco, and a place to live, Shen Te is going to be destitute. Mrs. Shin pulls a pair of pants off the line—she declares that they are Shui Ta’s. Shen Te says that Shui Ta has many pairs of pants and he must have left these behind after his last visit. She collects them hurriedly from Mrs. Shin.

Shu Fu enters. He tells Shen Te that he has seen her sacrifice her own happiness so as not to hurt the old carpet sellers—Shen Te truly is “the Angel of the Slums.” Shu Fu declares that he cannot let Shen Te lose her shop. Every morning, he has watched her give food to the poor. He cannot let “the good woman of Setzuan” disappear. He pulls out his checkbook and he gives Shen Te a blank check. He instructs her to fill out “any sum in the world,” and then he hurries away.

Mrs. Shin urges Shen Te to hurry up and cash the check for s thousand silver dollars. Shen Te, however, has second thoughts. She is still hung up on Yang Sun. As she gathers up the washing, she staggers beneath its weight. Mrs. Shin asks if Shen Te is dizzy because she’s pregnant. If Shen Te is pregnant, Mrs. Shin suggests, Shu Fu will never let her have the money. Shen Te caresses her stomach and she excitedly declares that she is going to bring a blessed son into the world who will conquer mountains and become a flyer on his own one day. She takes the imaginary hand of a small boy and she pretends to show him around the town, introducing him to his neighbors. 

Wong enters with a real little boy. He tells Shen Te that the carpenter has lost his home and his business—his three children are out on the streets. Wong introduces the little boy to Shen Te as the carpenter’s youngest son. Shen Te takes the little boy by the hand and she declares that he can live in Shu Fu’s cabins. She may have to go there herself, she says, as she is expecting a child of her own.

Shen Te asks Wong to go find Shu Fu. Before sending him off, though, she asks about his hand. Wong shows Shen Te his mangled hand—but he insists he can get along just fine. Shen Te begs him to take a cartful of tobacco, sell it, and go see a doctor. Wong quietly delights in the fact that Shen Te is “still good.” He goes off to get the carpenter, assuring Shen Te that he’ll take some tobacco to sell when he returns.

The husband, wife, and nephew enter, each dragging a large sack. They ask Shen Te if she’s alone. She says she is. They ask if Shui Ta is coming back. Shen Te says he isn’t—she’s giving up the shop. They ask if they can store their sacks in her new home. Shen Te says she’d be happy to let them. The husband says if anyone asks about the sacks, Shen Te should say they’re hers. When they ask where they should put them, though, Shen Te expresses nervousness about getting into trouble. The wife declares that “the good woman of Setzuan” is perhaps no longer good. The husband tells Shen Te that there is enough tobacco in the sacks to start a whole tobacco factory. Shen Te helps them bring the sacks to the back room. Alone on stage, the carpenter’s son eats scraps from a garbage can nearby.

Shen Te and the others return, making a plan to meet up at Shu Fu’s cabins soon. When Shen Te sees the carpenter’s son eating garbage, she shoos the others away and runs to the child. She declares that she will be a “tigress” if she has to in order to defend her own son from ever experiencing such a thing. She picks up Shui Ta’s trousers and she declares that her cousin must come back for one final visit. She goes inside.

Mrs. Shin, the sister-in-law, and the grandfather all enter. They lament that the shop is closing down and that they will have to move to Shu Fu’s terrible cabins. The unemployed man enters and, upon seeing the shop is closing, suggests Shen Te call upon Shui Ta to save them all. Wong, the carpenter, and the carpenter’s other children enter; as they do, Shui Ta arrives and he asks what has brought the crowd together. Wong says that the shop is closing and that they are all headed to Shu Fu’s cabins. Shui Ta, however, declares that they can’t go there—the space will be “needed for other purposes.” The group can stay in the cabins if they agree to work for Shen Te making tobacco. The carpenter and the unemployed man, willing to take up the offer, go in for the sacks.

Mrs. Mi Tzu enters with 300 silver dollars for Shui Ta. Shui Ta, however, declares that he’s decided not to sell—he will sign the lease. Mrs. Mi Tzu asks if Shui Ta can pay rent in advance. Shui Ta pulls out Shu Fu’s check and he writes it out for 10,000 silver dollars, assuring Mrs. Mi Tzu that she will have six months’ rent by tonight. Mrs. Mi Tzu expresses amazement at how quickly Shen Te has moved on from Yang Sun to Shu Fu. She leaves.

The carpenter and the unemployed man drag the sacks of tobacco back across the stage. The carpenter begrudgingly says that he’s unhappy to be doing so. Shui Ta reminds the carpenter that his children need to eat. The sister-in-law, spying the sacks, declares that they contain her family’s tobacco. Shui Ta asks if he should “consult the police”—the sister-in-law, knowing the tobacco was obtained illegally, defeatedly falls silent. Shui Ta leads the carpenter and his children, the sister-in-law, the grandfather, and the unemployed man off to Shu Fu’s cabins, leaving Wong and Mrs. Shin behind.

The old man and old woman enter. Mrs. Shin tells them that Shui Ta arrived wearing a pair of pants she found on the line just moments ago. The old woman asks where Shen Te is—Shen Te was supposed to give something to her and her husband. Wong declares that things will soon be okay—Shui Ta never stays long. Mrs. Shin, “approaching a conclusion,” declares that Wong is right.