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 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Scene 1 Summary: “The Noble Child”
Scene 1 introduces the play within a play, which takes place long ago in the country of Georgia (called by the Russian variant name, Grusinia in the play) and the characters within that world. First is the Governor, Georgi Abashvili, and his wife, Natella. It is Easter Sunday, and the couple is attending church with their baby son, Michael. The Singer paints the scene, saying, “For the first time on this Easter Sunday, the people see the heir./ Two doctors never leave the child, the noble child/Apple of the Governor’s eye” (36). The citizens cry out for help with various issues: high taxes they can’t pay, the discharge of an innocent family member, a starving child. Their pleas go unacknowledged as the wealthier citizens and their servants, doctors, and advisors coo over baby Michael. One of the people who makes a show of admiring Michael is the Fat Prince. He pretends to support the Governor and his wife, but time will prove that he has something else in mind.
As they go into the church, the protagonist of the play, a kitchen maid named Grusha, enters. She is carrying a goose to be prepared for the Governor’s family. A soldier named Simon flirts with her, insinuating that he has watched her bathe in the river from behind a bush. Grusha gets flustered and storms away. Simon calls after her, trying to assure her he meant no harm by it.
Meanwhile, a rider arrives with urgent, confidential papers from the capital. The Adjutant ushers him away numerous times, not wanting to disturb the Governor with depressing news of war before the banquet. Instead, he insists the Governor will only meet with the architects of the new buildings he has commissioned. When he tries to go back inside, an Ironshirt (a gestapo-esque soldier) blocks his path. The architects start to realize what happened. One of them says, “The Princes! Don’t you realize that the Princes met last night in the capital? And that they are against the Grand Duke and his governors? Gentlemen, we’d better make ourselves scarce” (42). They hurry away, as riots erupt all around the Governor’s palace.
Chaos ensues, and the servants scramble to get everything in order to make an escape. The doctors, who had moments before been so devoted to the Governor’s family, are quick to abandon their positions and flee the palace. The Adjutant orders everyone into the third courtyard to evacuate.
Simon and Grusha run into each other, and Simon asks what Grusha’s plans are for escape. She tells him, “Nothing. If the worst comes to the worst, I’ve a brother with a farm in the mountains” (44). Their time is brief, but with what time they do have they vow to find each other after the fighting is over. Grusha will wait for Simon, and when he returns, they will be wed. Simon gives Grusha a cross necklace that belonged to his mother as a token of his love, then the two are forced to part ways.
Meanwhile, the Governor’s Wife is hastily packing all of her fine dresses. At the height of danger, she is more concerned about her belongings than she is the safety of her family. She is certain to pack each of her favorite dresses, coats, and shoes, but she leaves behind her own child. Grusha finds him and takes him in her arms. She is warned against this; Michael is the heir, and the Ironshirts will undoubtedly search for him. Grusha places some clothes over him and exits.
As she leaves, the Fat Prince enters “with drunken Ironshirts. One of them carries the head of The Governor on a lance” (51). The Fat Prince commands them to place the lance in the middle of the ground. Soon it becomes clear that it was the Prince who organized the coup against the Governor. He commands the Ironshirts to search for Michael, offering a 1,000 piastres reward for anyone who finds him.
Grusha re-enters as the Fat Prince and Ironshirts leave. Grusha is left with a difficult choice. If she leaves Michael here, he will surely be found and killed by the Ironshirts. If she takes him with her, she risks losing her own life as well. After a while, she decides that she must take responsibility for the child and carries him offstage.
Scene 1 Analysis
The first scene of The Caucasian Chalk Circle works to establish each of the characters in the play within a play, and the distribution of power within that world. The first important character to note is the Governor Georgi Abashvili. The Singer says of him, “No other Governor in Grusinia/Had as many horses in his stable/As many beggars on his doorstep/As many soldiers in his service/As many petitioners in his courtyard” (35-36). The alternating pattern in these lyrics is crucial to understanding the kind of ruler the Governor is in the play. He is incredibly wealthy, but all his citizens are in need and unhappy with the way in which he governs them. This establishes a sense of unrest amongst the people, which will be especially important towards the end of the play, when the story of the Judge is told. It also introduces the theme of Justice and How It’s Administered. The tension between the working class and the wealthy will eventually lead the Judge to believe that there has been a rebellion from the workers, when it in fact is a Fascist party led by the Fat Prince that leads to the Governor’s demise.
This scene also introduces the play’s theme of Moral and Ethical Choices in Times of Crisis. When the Ironshirts attack the palace, most of the characters choose themselves and their own safety over the concern of each other. One example of this is when the doctors, who are meant to tend to the Governor’s family, abandon their duties at the first sign of danger. One of them asks the other, “Do you really think, Micha Loladze, I’m going to stay another minute in this cursed house for that little brat?” (43). Ultimately, neither of the doctors is willing to stay and help the Governor’s family, and they both leave the premises. The Governor’s Wife also abandons Michael though she is more to blame for being ignorant than she is for being cowardly. She is oblivious to the danger she and her child are in and is more concerned with packing her beloved wardrobe than she is with the well-being of her own child. These impulsive reactions when under pressure reveal much more about the true nature of these characters than the earlier half of the scene, when they felt safe and secure.
Meanwhile Grusha is shown to be more selfless when facing a crisis. She notices Michael has been left behind and wrestles with the decision to take him or not. When she is advised that taking him could mean being chased by the Ironshirts, she still chooses to see the humanity in the child, instead of the burden of potential danger. She says, “He hasn’t got the plague. He looks at you like a human being” (51). Ultimately, she can’t bring herself to leave Michael to fend for himself and chooses to take on the risks that come with raising the child.
Finally, the relationship between Grusha and Simon is established in this scene. Their banter about washing in the river will be mirrored later in the play. The loyalty Grusha feels for Simon (who does not appear again until the end of the play) sets up one of the primary obstacles she will face on her journey. Her love for Simon is true, but along the way, Grusha will have to decide between her love for her soldier, and her love for her adopted son.
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By Bertolt Brecht
