The Threepenny Opera: Act 2, Scene 3 Summary & Analysis

Tiger Brown paces the halls of the Old Bailey. He speaks to himself anxiously, saying that he hopes his men haven’t been able to catch Macheath—he prays that Macheath is already far away beyond Highgate Moor. Looking out the window, Brown sees the moon high in the sky and hopes it will guide Macheath’s way through the dark country night. Just at that moment, Macheath enters tied up in heavy ropes, guarded by six men at once. Macheath is proud and haughty as he thanks his jailers for bringing him “home.”   

As Macheath spots Brown, Brown instantly begins apologizing, insisting that he did “everything he could” to stop his friend’s capture. Macheath doesn’t say anything in response, though Brown begs the thief to absolve him. Frustrated and sad, Brown begins weeping, then leaves. Macheath says under his breath how angry he is with the “miserable Brown”—and how glad he is that a simple “punishing stare” made Brown break down.

As Constable Smith enters with a pair of heavy handcuffs, Macheath reaches into his pocket and pulls out a checkbook. He asks if he can buy a more comfortable pair. Smith tells Macheath that there are a number of different cuffs available for all kinds of prices. Macheath asks how much “none” cost—Smith tells him fifty pounds will do, and Macheath writes out a check. As he does, he worries that when Brown hears about what Macheath has done to the man’s daughter, Lucy, he’ll turn into a “real tiger.”

As Macheath settles into his cell, he announces his intention to have a “fine time” while he awaits execution. He begins singing a song called “The Secret of Gracious Living,” a raucous song in which he lambasts those who want to live the “simple life” and says that “only the well-to-do can take their ease.” He could never live a simple, solitary, impoverished existence—he’d rather be “great” than “poor, lonely, wise and brave.” 

Lucy, Tiger Brown’s daughter, enters the Old Bailey. She approaches Macheath’s cell, calling him a “miserable wretch” and asking how he can even bear to look her in the face. Macheath asks if Lucy has a heart at all, to act so coldly upon finding her “own husband’ in such a condition. Lucy threatens to tear Macheath’s eyes out—she knows what he’s been up to with Polly Peachum. Macheath tells Lucy she shouldn’t be jealous of Polly, whom he says is a “silly bitch” so hopelessly in love with him that she goes around lying about having married him. Lucy appears to forgive Macheath a bit, telling him tiredly that all she wants is to be an “honest woman.” At that moment, Polly enters, calling for her husband as she approaches Macheath’s cell.

Polly berates Macheath for visiting the brothel and allowing the prostituetes there to turn him in. Lucy calls Polly a “trollop.” Polly asks who Lucy is, and urges Macheath to tell her to respect his “wife.” Lucy realizes that Macheath has played both of them and calls him a “treacherous swine.” Polly and Lucy both begin berating him, even as Macheath begs them to hush up so that he can explain everything. As tensions between the two women escalate, they burst into song, singing “The Jealousy Duet.”

Lucy and Polly debase, deride, and insult one another as they each sing about how Macheath loves them best. Both profess that with Macheath, they have “a bond that lasts forever.” They brag about their beauty and their power over the gangster, calling one another ugly and accusing each other of harlotry. At last, Macheath manages to calm the women down. He accuses Polly of “adding to [his] misery” by spreading news of their marriage all over town. Lucy threatens to beat Polly up if she continues trying to “start a row.” As the fight escalates once again, Polly declares herself “too good” for such behavior. Lucy sticks her belly out, claiming she’s pregnant—though whether she is or isn’t is not immediately clear, the provocation makes Polly break down in tears.

Mrs. Peachum arrives. Calling Polly a “filthy trollop,” she pulls her daughter away from Macheath’s cell and accuses her of embarrassing the family with her dramatic behavior. Lucy teases Polly for being a mama’s girl. As Mrs. Peachum drags Polly away, Polly begs to stay, but she is no match for her mother, who boxes her ears and orders her to be quiet. 

After Polly is gone, Macheath begs Lucy to believe that there is “no truth” in what Polly said about being married to him. Lucy declares her love for Macheath, and Macheath promises that after he escapes from prison, he will send for her. He asks Lucy to fetch him his hat and stick. She does. He thanks her and bids her farewell, urging her to remember that the “fruit of […] love” she carries in her womb binds them together forever. Lucy leaves.

Constable Smith enters, goes into Macheath’s cell, and demands he return the stick. A fight ensues, and Macheath escapes. Tiger Brown enters—when he sees that his friend has escaped, he collapses on the bench in Macheath’s cell. Peachum enters, demanding his reward for Macheath’s capture. He is bemused to find Brown sitting in Macheath’s cell, with Macheath on the run again. Brown tells Peachum how upset he is, and Peachum agrees that things are bad for Brown—if he were the sheriff, he says, he’d retire. Brown, becoming defensive, states that the police are helpless in the face of Macheath’s cunning.

Peachum asks Brown if he thinks the police will be able to catch Macheath and bring him back. Brown shrugs. Peachum says that what is about to happen to Brown is a “horrible injustice.” He tells Brown a “historical” (so probably fictional) anecdote dating back to 1400 B.C. After the death of Rameses II in Egypt, the chief of police—who was guilty of “some petty injustice toward the lower classes”—suffered mightily during the coronation of the new queen. The procession was, according to the history books, “a succession of catastrophes caused by the all too lively participation of the lower classes,” and the new queen tortured the chief of police to death. Peachum says he hopes that the Lord protects Brown before swiftly exiting. Brown, terrified, calls for a conference with the sergeant.

Macheath and Ginny Jenny step out in front of the curtain and sing the “Second Threepenny-Finale.” Macheath sings a verse in which he states that those who wish to lead men from “mortal sin” must feed the poor before beginning to preach. It’s in men’s nature, he says, to beat, cheat, and eat “some other bloke.” Ginny Jenny sings a verse similar to Macheath’s—she declares that before men begin preaching to whores, they ought to feed them first. She, too, agrees that the only way mankind can live is by “forgetting he’s a man like other folk.” The whole company delivers the song’s coda: “Men live exclusively by mortal sin.”