In class last Wednesday, we began to touch upon Brecht’s comment on the economic and social development in society. We decided that there was a definite disconnect between the corporate or big business half of society and the private ownership half. More specifically, Brecht places a huge emphasis on the faulty system of Capitalism in his society through Marxist analysis. Marxism, according the ever-faithful Wikipedia, is essentially the inquiry and analysis of what in society creates the Capitalist system, and if it is beneficial or not. In The Good Person of Szechwan, Brecht touches on many critiques of the capitalist system including the social consequences of Capitalism as well as the economic. The particular point the Marxist analysis stresses that Brecht seems to be heavily interested in throughout the text, is where and why conflict arises in society because of this system. The manifesto argues that friction within capitalism arises due to escalating contradictions between the big corporations run by the wealthy business man, and private ownership owned by the small minority of private owners. As the opposition becomes apparent to the wealthy business men, social unrest between the two classes intensifies, eventually leading to a social revolution. In Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan, I believe Shen Teh’s constant struggle between her own ‘good’ yet inefficient self and her productive yet unsympathetic self represents the clashing classes of Capitalism. Brecht makes it clear that neither side will thrive due to contrasting interpretations of materialism in society, therefore both will stumble along until they reach their demise, as Shen Teh did in the end of play. Basically, for all my Harry Potter lovers, ‘neither can live while the other survives’.
1 comment:
First of all, thank you for mentioning Harry Potter. The title alone made me nerd out. Also, this is a really interesting post. I did not even think about the characters representing the conflicting sides of capitalism. This point is incredibly eye opening looking back at the play. It makes complete sense that Brecht would be trying to represent the two different versions of society and how they both cannot exist at the same time. It also makes sense because of the unfortunate events that happen to Shen Teh when she tries to balance the two, like becoming pregnant and having the gods leave her.
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