I have been thinking a lot about what exactly Brecht was trying to convey with the differences between Shen Teh, and her cousin, Shui Tai. Shen Teh as Shui Tai is treated with much more respect and seriousness than Shui Tai, so I immediately thought it was simply a matter of feminism. Shen Teh’s lack of authority as a woman and prostitute in contrast to Shui Tai’s dominant personality was Brecht’s way of critiquing society’s suppressive attitude towards woman. However, a good point was made in class that the character of Mrs. Mi Tzu, the landlady, seems to be even more commanding that Shui Tai and is respected just as much as any man in the town. Therefore, I started playing with the theme of the ideal oriental woman. During the 1900s, the western culture created this steryoipical image of the perfect oriental woman; characterized by naivety, beauty, and her ability to be easily controlled. I found many of these traits in Shen Teh as I was reading the second section of The Good Person of Szechwan, and think this theme could possibly be one Brecht was trying to convey to his audience.
3 comments:
That's interesting, I hadn't considered that archetype before. It seems interesting that this is only one aspect of her identity, perhaps the contrast provided by her embodiment of Shui Ta can be interpreted as a challenge to this stereotypical category?
I hadn't actually thought of this concept before, and it does make some sense. However, this still doesn't explain why Mrs. Mi Tzu is such a strong and commanding woman in this society. Is she supposed to be the exception to the stereotype or is the character of Shen Teh supposed to be defying that archetype?
I think that Shen Teh can still portray an oriental woman stereotype while other women in the play don't. Perhaps the fact that Mrs. Mi Tzu isn't the typical oriental woman is another way to emphasize the Brechtian acting style. Or, maybe her character serves a different purpose, such as to show there are more than one type of woman in the oriental culture. Maybe the contrasts between Shen Teh and Mrs. Mi Tzu are just another way to highlight the characteristics of a typical "oriental woman".
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