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  • Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht book cover
  • Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht book cover
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Mother Courage and Her Children

by Bertolt Brecht

War, commerce and Brecht’s theatre

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AlbakiReads Editorial

War, commerce and Brecht’s theatre

Set during the Thirty Years War, the play follows a canteen woman who travels with an army, selling provisions and liquor as the conflict unfolds around her family. Its depiction of war is closely tied to questions of commerce and profit, while Kattrin’s warning to the town of Halle brings the human cost of conflict into view. This student edition pairs John Willett’s translation with an introduction covering the historical contexts, themes and epic-theatre devices, as well as production history, critical reception and Marxist, feminist and postmodernist debates. Further-study material makes the volume useful for examining both the play and the interpretations it has prompted.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Students studying Brecht, drama or epic theatre
  • Readers interested in plays addressing war, capitalism and family
  • Those seeking a student edition with contextual and critical material

Themes

War and its human costCommerce and profitEpic theatreMarxist, feminist and postmodernist interpretation

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

This new Student Edition, featuring the classic John Willett translation of the play, includes an introduction by Katherine Hollander, which explores the following:

* Contexts (Thirty Years War, 1618-1648; World War II and exile; sources; influential figures such as Brecht, Margarete Steffin, Helene Weigel and Karin Michaelis)
* Themes (war; nature; capitalism)
* Dramatic devices (epic theatre)
* Production history and critical reception
* Academic debate (Marxist, feminist and postmodernist)
* Further study

Widely regarded as Brecht's best work, Mother Courage and her Children was written in 1938-9 and received its premiere in Zurich in 1941. Mother Courage - a canteen woman serving with the Swedish Army during the Thirty Years War (1618-48) - follows the armies, selling provisions and liquor to the troops. Both her sons die in the war and her dumb daughter, Kattrin, is mortally wounded as she beats a drum to warn the town of Halle of an impending attack. Yet, all the while, Mother Courage continues her travels with her wagon, indomitably businesslike, calculating how she can make material profit from the war and turn conflict into capital.

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