Brecht's 'The Good Woman of Setzuan'

Paper Summary:

An analysis of Bertolt Brecht's play 'The Good Woman of Setzuan.' Throughout the play Shen Te juggles her promise to be good with the necessity to be bad. The author finds through the protagonist and the creation of her doppelganger, 'The Good Woman of Setzuan' portrays the struggle to be good while living in a corrupt society, and the delicate balance needed to survive within it as seen in Shen Te's struggle as a good woman leading the life of a prostitute.

From the Paper:

"Shen Te, a good woman, a prostitute, and the only one willing to take three gods into her home is rewarded with 1000 silver dollars, with which she is to "above all be good"(712). This mission tears her in two. Shen Te and her doppelganger Shui Ta are in a delicate balance of power. Shen Te needs to keep her promise to the gods by being a good woman, helping those around her in need. Because Shen Te is too good, those she helps threaten to ruin her own survival. To remain a good woman Shen Te must create someone to fight for her. Like parents, both Shui Ta and Shen Te make up the whole of one unit. Shen Te is a nurturing, sweet mother-type while Shui Ta becomes a strict, disciplinarian, father-type. Through the protagonist and the creation of her doppelganger, Brecht's The Good Woman of Setzuan portrays the struggle to be good while living in a corrupt society, and the delicate balance needed to survive within it."

More papers on Brecht's 'The Good Woman of Setzuan':

• Book Review # 108974 : "The Good Woman of Setzuan: Female Gender Roles"
• Comparison Essay # 101508 : "The Good Woman of Setzuan" and "Pygmalion"
• Analytical Essay # 85154 : "Sophocles and Brecht"

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