Mother Courage

[Bradford DeLong]

>Brecht was frustrated, I
>>think,
>>that the audience fatalistically affirmed her as she is in the play,
>>as a representation of "the indomitable human spirit in the face of
>>adversity" or something like that, whereas he wanted the audience to
>>take a critical look at her, examining why she "learns nothing" about
>>war and business.
>>
>
>Same with the Threepenny Opera, where Mac comes off as a glamorous 
>gangster and people tend to nod their heads approvingly at Peachum's 
>cynical songs. They don't get the identity of the two charcaters.... 
>why does the alienation effect fail? People do identify with Mac, 
>Courage, Galileo, but they're not supposed to. Is is just thatitis 
>very hard to break normal viewing and reading habits? Is it that 
>people aren't used to thinking as opposedto being entertained?

Because Brecht set himself an impossible task? Humans are very good 
at "sympathy"--at imagining how situations look through somebody 
else's eyes. Any protagonist drawn convincingly enough to be 
interesting whose motivations are realistic enough to be credible is 
someone with whom an audience will identify and sympathize.

I know that I sympathize and empathize with Pumpkin, Honey Bunny, 
*and* Jules Winnfield in the final scene of _Pulp Fiction_. If I 
sympathize with them, what chance does Brecht have of alienating me 
from Mother Courage, Galileo, or Mac the Knife? None at all.

Brad DeLong