45 pages • 1 hour read
Bertolt BrechtThe Caucasian Chalk Circle
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1944A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Scene 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Scene 2 Summary: “The Flight Into the Northern Mountains”
The Singer chronicles Grusha’s ascent into the Northern Mountains, the baby on her back and a stick in her hand. After some time, she comes across a peasant’s cottage and asks the old man who lives there if she can have some milk. He demands three piastres for it. Grusha tries to bargain with him, but when he won’t budge, she gives him two piastres, which is “half a week’s pay” (55). She begrudgingly tells the baby to drink sparingly, so that the milk will last.
While they are standing there, a group of rich ladies appears, and Grusha decides to try to join them. Michael’s linens are of fine quality, so it’s easy for them to blend in with the ladies who are impatiently waiting for the Innkeeper to return. When he does, they take a room that is not up to the rich ladies’ standards, but they have to make do.
Grusha starts to make pallets out of the sacks and blankets. An Elderly Lady says to her, “You seem to be rather clever at making beds, my dear. Let’s have a look at your hands!” (58). As soon as they notice that her hands are cracked, like those of a servant, they are unnerved. They threaten to call the police on her, but Grusha begs them to stay quiet. She shows them Michael’s linens, proving that while she is “from a humble family […] The child is of noble birth” (59). The ladies don’t believe her, and shout again for the police. The servant who works at the inn urges Grusha to leave while she can.
Meanwhile, the Prince’s Ironshirts are close behind. The Musician sings of their pursuit, and the scene transitions to show the Corporal leading the way, with two Ironshirts trudging behind him. The Corporal scolds the Ironshirts for their begrudging attitude. He recalls the cruelties they’ve committed over the last few days but sees a lack of passion from his soldiers. He says, “A good soldier has his heart and soul in it. He lets himself be hacked to pieces by his superiors, and even while dying he’s aware of his Corporal nodding approval” (61). He orders them to sing, and with feeling, as they continue the chase.
The scene transitions back to Grusha, who is now in front of a farm. She tells the baby, “This is far enough away from the city. They won’t want you so badly, little squirt, that they’ll follow you all this way. The woman looks kind, and just you smell the milk!” (62). She bids Michael farewell, laying him tenderly on the threshold of the home. The Peasant Woman who lives there opens the door to find the baby. After some bickering with her husband, she brings Michael inside to care for him. Grusha, seeing he will be okay, hurries away from the farm.
Not long after she leaves the farm, she comes face to face with the Ironshirts. The Corporal is a crude man who makes sexual comments to Grusha, then interrogates her about the missing child in fine linen. The Musician cries out, “Run, kind heart! The killers are coming!/ Help the helpless child, helpless girl! And so she runs” (64). Grusha races back to the home of the Peasant Woman and admits that it was she who left the baby on the threshold. She pleads with the Peasant Woman to say it’s her child. The Peasant Woman is clearly frightened but agrees to Grusha’s plan.
As soon as the Ironshirts arrive, however, The Peasant Woman falters and betrays Grusha. She tells them that she has nothing to do with the baby or with Grusha and begs them not to burn her home down. Grusha tries to tell them that the baby is her own, but the Corporal doesn’t buy her story. He leans over the crib and, in an act of desperation, Grusha takes a log and strikes the Corporal in the back of the head. She grabs Michael and runs out of the home.
She arrives at an old bridge that crosses the river. A group of people stands at the edge of the bridge and tell her that there’s no way she’ll make it across. Grusha insists she must, for her brother’s home is on the other side. She takes Michael and steadily makes the daring journey across the bridge. The Ironshirts arrive as she makes it to the other side safely. She holds the baby up in defiance, then continues her trek.
Scene 2 Analysis
In Scene 2, Grusha learns the hard way just how opposed the wealthier citizens are to associating with the servants. Although the accept her as one of their own when she first joins the rich ladies at the inn, they have a startling change of attitude as soon as they see that she’s a servant. When they threaten to call the police, Grusha pleads, “I’m not up to any mischief. I just thought you might take us a little way in your carriage” (59). This scene emphasizes the theme of Justice and How It’s Administered by exposing the role classism plays in justice. Certain members of society are more susceptible to accusations than others. Brecht heightens this with the rich ladies by depicting them as simultaneously cruel and vapid. The migraine motif, which occurs whenever a richer person is uneasy around someone who is impoverished, is mentioned in this scene, elevating the ridiculousness of the rich ladies’ characters.
Another important power dynamic that is presented in this scene is that of the Corporal and the Ironshirts. The Ironshirts are inspired by Fascist Germany, and their demand for a high sense of nationalism is a direct parallel to the Nazis that inspired them. The Corporal, a brutish and cold leader, is annoyed at the soldiers’ lack of enthusiasm when carrying out orders. He barks at them, “I know you: you limp just to show me you don’t like marching. But that won’t help you. It’ll go against you. Sing!” (61). They sing, and he commands them to sing louder, but after it all he still is not satisfied with their performance. The Corporal’s cruelty towards his own soldiers, paired with his inappropriate conduct with Grusha, provide readers with a strong antagonist to root against, one that heightens the stakes of the play.
The theme of The Bond Between Mothers and Their Children is explored in a few different ways in Scene 2. First, Grusha makes the decision to leave Michael with the Peasant Woman. She is hesitant to do so, but fears that Simon will return and not be able to find her. In this moment, it seems that Grusha is relinquishing her role of mother to the Peasant Woman out of loyalty to Simon. When she encounters the Ironshirts, however, her mind is changed, and she ends up choosing the baby even over her beloved.
Second, Grusha uses the motherly instinct as a tactic to get the Peasant Woman to go along with the lie about Michael. When the Peasant Woman says her son is in the war, Grusha asks her to think of what she would say to him if he were an Ironshirt threatening to kill a baby. She hopes that this will give the woman the courage she needs to stand up to the Ironshirts, if necessary. Unfortunately, this does not work, and the Peasant Woman does not keep her promise to Grusha.
Finally, Grusha proves that her bond with Michael far surpasses the bond she has with anyone else. The Singer says, “After twenty-two days of wandering/At the foot of the Janga-Tau glacier/From this moment Grusha Vachnadze decided to be the child’s mother” (67). Against all warnings from the bystanders, she bravely crosses the bridge, risking both of their lives, to escape the Ironshirts. Grusha has proven time and again that she is willing to sacrifice and suffer for the baby’s sake and is more than worthy of being the child’s mother.
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By Bertolt Brecht
