Prologue

Two groups of peasants sit in the ruins of a Caucasian village along with a delegate from the State Reconstruction Commission. It is shortly after WW II. The peasant group on the right originally owned the valley and herded goats there, and now that war is over they want to return to their valley. The peasant group on the left is a group of fruit farmers from another valley but hopes to take over this valley in order to plant fruit trees. The Delegate agrees to listen to both groups' arguments as to why they should take over the valley.

The peasants on the right unpack some cheese and argue that the taste is different since they had to leave their original valley. They also claim the land as a matter of law, arguing that since they have always been in this valley they have a right to reclaim it.

The group on the left speaks next. They have Kato, an agriculturist, explain that they have drawn up irrigation plans that would allow them to produce ten times as much fruit as before the war. He shows the other group the plans and explains that it would even convert 700 acres of infertile land into fertile land. Everyone looks at the plans and exclaims how good they are. The delegate asks the peasants on the right if they will give up the valley, and they agree.

In order to celebrate the peaceful resolution to the problem, the peasants on the left provide a singer named Arkadi. He agrees to sing a song called the Chalk Circle which comes from the Chinese. Everyone goes into the Club House to eat and be merry and to listen to the Singer.

Analysis

This short parable that opens the play also sets up the structure of the play. There are two disputing parties, the goat-herders and the fruit farmers. Each group wants to claim the valley. However, the goat-herders have the claim that they were there first and should therefore keep the land, whereas the fruit farmers argue that they could put the land to better use. The Delegate moderating the debate chooses the fruit farmers because it is more logical for the person who can put the land to better use to get it.

This entire prologue is extremely Communist in its message. Any capitalist society would argue that whoever originally owned the land should get it. Brecht instead argues that whoever can best use the land should get it. It is because of the Communist overtones in the prologue that Brecht originally did not allow the prologue to be printed while he was living in the United States.

The prologue serves yet a third function of allowing Brecht to present his ideas before the play even starts. This is extremely clever of him because the audience receives the moral of the play without even having to watch it. Thus, he gets his Communist message across immediately and only after he has presented the message does he actually allow the play to begin.

Act One

The Singer from the Prologue begins the story of the Chalk Circle. It begins in a city ruled by the Governor Georgi Abashwili who is married to Natella and who has a son named Michael. The Governor and his family are going to church, but so many people have arrived to see Michael that the soldiers are forced to shove the common people away from the church doors. Before entering the church, the Governor is greeted by his brother Prince Kazbeki, otherwise known as the Fat Prince. The Fat Prince remarks that Michael already looks like a future Governor.

Michael is attended by two doctors who fuss over the child and are desperate to keep him in good health. Everyone enters the church except for the Governor and a messenger who has just arrived. The messenger has important news for the Governor, but the Governor refuses to hear it, telling the messenger to wait until later.

Grusha Vashnadze, the main character of the first half of the play, enters with a stuffed goose under her arm. She is greeted by Simon Shashava, a soldier who has guard duty outside the church. The two of them flirt for a while and Simon reveals that he often hides behind a bush and watches Grusha washing the linen so he can see her dip her legs in the river. After learning this, Grusha is embarrassed and runs off.

The Fat Prince appears and makes a sign to some Ironshirts (soldiers). They disappear and within minutes the entire city is surrounded. The Governor and his family soon appear coming out of the church. He returns to his home in order to speak with some architects who are to build a new section onto his palace. The architects arrive, but they soon realize that the Fat Prince has committed a coup. They run away before they are captured.

The Governor is soon led onstage in chains. The Singer, who narrates the events to follow, comments that the Governor does not need an architect, but rather "a carpenter will do." The servants soon rush out of the house as well and start to run away. Even the two doctors who attend to Michael rush out and run away.

Simon returns and searches for Grusha until he sees her. He informs her that he will remain loyal to the old regime and that he will protect the Governor's wife as she flees the city. Grusha tells him he is being "pigheaded" by obeying orders instead of mutinying with the other soldiers. Simon then turns to Grusha and asks her several questions that indicate he is interested in marrying her. She replies to all of them and then anticipates his last question, telling him that her answer is yes. He ignores her answer and quickly tells her about himself before asking her for her hand. She again accepts.

Simon gives Grusha a silver cross to wear as a sign of their engagement. He then leaves to go protect the Governor's wife and Grusha leaves as well. The Governor's wife arrives with numerous boxes of her things and her child Michael. She makes another woman hold Michael while she runs around and packs her clothes. She realizes that she needs help so she makes the other woman put Michael on the ground in order to help her pack. The Adjutant arrives and forces her to leave immediately. In her haste to save her dresses, she leaves her child Michael behind. One of her servant woman sees Michael and hands him to Grusha. She is told by several other people that it would be safer to simply leave the child. The Cook goes so far as to tell her, "if he had the plague he couldn't be more dangerous."

Grusha watches as everyone runs away. She then hides the child under a blanket and waits to see what happens. The Fat Prince arrives with his soldiers, who carry the Governor's head on a lance. They nail the head over a doorway. The Fat Prince remarks that it is too bad he was unable to kill Michael. After the soldiers leave, Grusha goes to sit down next to the child. She sits with the child all through the night until dawn. By that point she is "seduced" by Michael and so she takes him away. Brecht ends the Act by having the singer comment, "As if it was stolen goods she picked it up. / As if she was a thief she crept away."

Analysis

The Caucasian Chalk Circle opens on Easter Sunday, a time for the Resurrection of Christ. This is important because instead of a resurrection, there is an insurrection. The Governor will get killed by his brother. The fact that it is Easter Sunday is thus the first of the many religious themes present in the play. For example, the fact that the Fat Prince is the Governor's brother brings to mind the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. Brecht will continue to undermine religion throughout the play in both subtle and obvious ways; notice that the act of entering the church is juxtaposed with the image of the soldiers pushing the common people out of the way, thus undermining the religious aspects of going to church.

It is important to note that the Fat Prince greets his brother. This is so unusual the the Governor remarks on it, "But did you hear Brother Kazbeki wish me a happy Easter?" Soon thereafter the Fat Prince usurps power and takes over the city. The relationship between the brothers is thus foreshadowed by the Governor's comment, in which he expresses surprise at being greeted by his brother.

Another important moment is when Natella, the Governor's wife, tells her Adjutant how jealous of Michael she really is. She is desperate for attention from her husband. "But Georgi, of course, will only build for his little Michael. Never for me! Michael is all! All for Michael!" This jealousy of her child is important since she abandons him later in the Act.

Brecht's sarcasm towards religion is reintroduced when the Governor is led onstage in chains. The Singer remarks, "And now you don't need an architect, a carpenter will do." This alludes to the fact that Jesus was a carpenter; the Governor needs Jesus to intervene and save him on this Easter Sunday. This will of course not happen.

Throughout the play are dispersed the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church. The first one appears when Simon and Grusha agree to become engaged. The engagement is sealed when Simon gives her his silver chain. This represents the act of Confirmation, and it is the first of the seven Catholic sacraments that will appear in the play. The others that will follow are Baptism, the Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction (the Anointing of the Sick), Holy Orders, and Matrimony (not in that order). For information on the sacraments, see The Seven Sacraments.

Brecht has a tendency to make one character the "good" character. This character represents the type of person that we should all strive to be. However, because of the cruelty of the world, the "good" character is often abused or taken advantage of. Brecht's play, The Good Woman of Setzuan deals with this theme as its main topic. In The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Grusha represents this "good" character. She places value on human life unlike the other people who advise her to give up Michael. The Cook goes so far as to say, "if he had the plague he couldn't be more dangerous." She replies with, "He hasn't got the plague. He looks at me! He's human!" Brecht is quick to point out that this kindness is taken advantage of. The old woman comments, "You're a fool - the kind that always gets put upon."

The Act appears to end with Grusha's act of charity when she picks up Michael and takes him with her. Instead, Brecht points out to the audience that they should not be seduced by how good Grusha appears to be. In reality, she is a thief who has stolen a child. "As if it was stolen goods she picked it up. / As if she was a thief she crept away." Brecht destroys the audience's image of Grusha for a particular reason: he does not want the audience to be seduced by her the way she is seduced by the child. Instead, he wants the audience to use logic much the way logic is used in the prologue. The audience must decide for itself whether Grusha is a thief and should be punished or whether she is a hero who should be rewarded with keeping the child. This sets up a direct analogy to the valley in the prologue; Grusha represents the peasants on the left who wish to steal the valley and put it to better use.

Act Two

The next act, Act Two, follows Grusha as she flees with Michael and saves him from the soldiers who want to kill him. She enters the stage singing "The Song of the Four Generals." When she is done singing, she spots a peasant's cottage and goes there to buy some milk. The peasant charges her two piasters, the equivalent of a week's wages for her.

She keeps heading north, all the while being followed by several Ironshirts who want to kill Michael. She soon arrives at the River Sirra and comes across a farmhouse. When she sees that the peasant woman has milk, she decides to leave Michael on the doorstep since she knows that the peasants can feed him. She then goes to hide behind a tree in order to watch what happens.

The peasant woman finds the child at her door and brings Michael into the house. Her husband tells her to give it to the local priest, but she indicates that she will take care of it. Grusha hurries off in the opposite direction. However, before she gets very far she encounters the Ironshirts who are chasing her. The Corporal makes several crude sexual comments to her before becoming serious and demanding to know where Michael is. Panic-stricken, Grusha turns around and rushes back to the cottage where she left the child.

She runs inside and tells the peasant woman to hide Michael in order to keep him safe. The woman tentatively agrees, but she is frightened by the soldiers. The Corporal arrives and demands to know why Grusha ran. When he turns to the peasant woman, the woman falls to her knees and reveals that Grusha left the child on her doorstep. She is led outside by the other soldier, and the Corporal goes to take a look at Michael. Grusha, in despair, seizes a log and hits him over the head with it, knocking him out. She then grabs Michael and rushes out of the house.

She eventually reaches a glacier that has a deep ravine in it. The only way across is a broken rope bridge where one rope has snapped and is hanging down the abyss. Several merchants are using a stick to try to grab the broken rope in order to repair the bridge. Grusha tells them that she must get across because Ironshirts are pursuing her. They try to stop her, telling her that the drop is two thousand feet and that she cannot possibly get across with the baby. Grusha ignores them and steps onto the ropes. She succeeds in getting across and triumphantly laughs at the Ironshirts when they arrive on the other shore and realize they cannot catch her.

Analysis

The amount of money used is an important issue in the play, both in this act and in subsequent ones. For instance, Grusha is forced to pay two piasters for milk. Notice that this is an entire week's salary that she is sacrificing for Michael. This is a huge sum for her. However, contrast that amount of money with the later acts. Azdak, in Act Four, is offered 100,000 piasters for one night's lodging. This drastic difference is meant to highlight the inequalities between the rich and the poor. It is Brecht's way of denouncing the capitalist society that focuses on money rather than on kindness.

Grusha goes through ten developmental steps that start in this act. Each of these steps requires that she sacrifice a part of herself to Michael. She does this financially, emotionally, in terms of her promises to Simon, and in terms of her life. The first step occurs when she gives up her money for the child, paying two piasters for milk. The second is when she decides to go back for Michael after leaving him with the peasant woman. The third is when she hits the Ironshirt over the head. Four is when she adopts Michael, "the helpless girl adopted the helpless child." Five is when she is offered the chance to leave the baby with the merchant woman so that she can cross the bridge and save herself. Six is when she risks her life and Michael's life to cross the bridge. The remaining developmental steps occur in the next act.

As was mentioned earlier, each of the seven sacraments is performed at one point in the play. Another sacrament occurs here, that of Baptism: "I'll wash you, son, and christen you in glacier water." This is a secularized version of baptism, meaning that it has been stripped of all its religious significance.

Act Three

Grusha walks across the glacier for another seven days until she reaches her brother's house. Her brother Lavrenti greets her. When he realizes that she has a baby, he asks her if there is a father. She tells him no, and he asks her not to tell his wife Aniko that there is no father, explaining that his wife is "religious." Aniko tries to come up with several excuses for why Grusha cannot stay with them, saying that the countryside is too boring for city folk or hinting that Grusha might have scarlet fever or tuberculosis (consumption). Lavrenti persuades her to allow Grusha to stay.

Grusha remains with her brother through most the winter months. As spring approaches, she tells Michael that they must be "small as cockroaches" so that Aniko will let them remain until it is springtime. Lavrenti enters her room and asks Grusha if it is too cold. She hastily pretends that it is warm enough for her. In his desperation to get her out of his house, Lavrenti informs Grusha that must marry a dying man from the other side of the mountain. That way she leaves the house and Michael is made a "legitimate" child since he will then have a father.

She protests, but Lavrenti explains that "you don't need a man in bed - you need a man on paper." Since the man is dying, Grusha finally agrees to marry him so that she can become a widow. She crosses the mountain and meets with the man's mother. Lavrenti has agreed to pay the woman 400 piasters to arrange the marriage. When the woman discovers that Grusha has a child, she demands more money. Lavrenti agrees to pay an additional 200 piasters in order to ensure that Grusha can live on the farm for at least two years after her future husband dies.

A drunk monk arrives and performs the ceremony. The dying man does not even move, but his mother says "yes" to the marriage for him. As soon as the marriage is over, the monk asks the mother if she wants him to perform Extreme Unction, a sacrament for anointing the dead. The mother refuses, saying that the wedding already cost enough.

The peasants that have arrived to watch the wedding and eat the reception food comment on Jussup's condition. They indicate that everyone originally thought that Jussup was only faking his sickness in order to avoid getting drafted into the war. However, now that it appears that Jussup is about to die, they regret having felt that way. While all the guest continue to talk and eat the food, Jussup suddenly sits up and then sinks back into the bed again. Suddenly all the guests start talking about the latest news which has just arrived. It turns out that the Grand Duke has gathered together a new army and is returning to fight with the princes that rebelled against him the previous year.

When one of the guests remarks that the war is over and that the army can no longer draft anyone, Jussup suddenly sits upright in bed. Jussup then gets out of bed and throws out all the guests. After several weeks Jussup demands that Grusha start to have sex with him, that she perform her "wifely duty." She reluctantly agrees. Many months pass and Grusha starts to slowly forget about her promise to Simon.

One day she is washing linen by the stream. Michael is with her and he goes to play a game with some children. They reenact the beheading of the Governor, Michael's father. However, instead of playing the part of the Governor like the other children want him to, Michael insists that he be allowed to behead the fat boy, who represents the Fat Prince.

Grusha laughs at the children playing, but when she looks up she sees Simon. He has returned to marry her. She sadly informs him that she is now married and she tries to explain that Michael is not her real child. He first demands that she give him the silver cross back, but she refuses. Simon then waits while two Ironshirts grab Michael. The soldiers ask Grusha is Michael is her child. Grusha is forced to say that Michael is in fact her child. As soon as she makes this claim, Simon leaves her. The Ironshirts state that the child actually belongs to Natella, the Governor's wife, and they take Michael with them. Grusha follows them back to the city where the her case is given to Azdak, the city judge.

Analysis

Throughout this act Brecht makes fun of religion again. Jussup is meant to represent Joseph who married Mary when she was already pregnant. The depiction of him as a draft dodger is actually quite comical when performed onstage. Lavrenti's wife Aniko is constantly described as religious, even to the extent that she uses "religion" as an excuse for kicking Grusha out of her home. The final parody of religion is presented in the form of a drunk monk. The monk who performs the wedding ceremony is a "cheap monk" who does not do a very good job.

Three more sacraments are presented in this act, those of marriage, holy orders, and extreme unction. All occur when the monk is present. He himself represents Holy Orders, or at least a parody of Holy Orders. He then performs the marriage ceremony and immediately thereafter, he asks the mother if she would like him to perform extreme unction, a sacrament in which the dead are anointed. She refuses, claiming that the wedding cost too much already.

Grusha now completes her development in the plot by going through the last four steps. The seventh step is when she gets denies to Lavrenti that she is cold. This allows her to stay in her brother's house for a while longer. Eight is when she gets married, thus breaking her promise to Simon. Nine is when she agrees to have sex with Jussup, thereby losing her virginity. Ten is when she is confronted by the Ironshirts and must choose between claiming Michael as her child and losing Simon or disclaiming Michael and getting Simon. She chooses Michael, thereby sacrificing Simon. At this point she has given away everything that she has to give in order to keep Michael.

The children's game is important because it not only makes a mockery of the adult world, but it also foreshadows the death of the Fat Prince. Michael is initially asked to play his father and allow the older boys to behead him. Instead he chooses to behead the Fat Prince, indicating that there will be soon be a change in the regime. It is important to realize that the children are foreshadowing only the action in the play; in terms of sequential action the Fat Prince has already been beheaded since the Grand Duke returned to power several months earlier during Grusha's wedding.

Act Four

The play now goes back two years to the time when the Governor was beheaded by his brother the Fat Prince. A scrivener named Azdak finds a fugitive and agrees to protect the man. He takes the man back to his hut. The man promises to pay Azdak 100,000 piasters for a night's lodging. When Shauwa, a policeman, arrives and demands that Azdak give him the fugitive, Azdak slams the door in his face and makes him leave. The fugitive takes off the next morning.

Azdak, realizing that he has given shelter to the Grand Duke, goes and makes Shauwa arrest him. He then drags Shauwa into the city and denounces himself, informing everyone that he protected the Grand Duke and therefore must be killed. The soldiers think that he is a fool and refuse to believe him. When he asks for the judge, they show him that the judge has just been hung. Azdak then sings a song for the Ironshirts, but the song is about the injustice of war.

The Fat Prince arrives with his nephew. He is planning on appointing his nephew to be the new judge. However, because his power is not yet solidified, he offers to allow the soldiers to choose the next judge, thinking that they will obviously choose his nephew. They do a mock trial in which the nephew pretends to be the judge and Azdak pretends to be the Grand Duke. When accused of running a war badly, Azdak blames the princes rather than himself. This implicates the Fat Prince as well. Azdak continues to speak the truth, much to the delight of the Ironshirts, but he eventually causes the Fat Prince to demand that they hang him. Instead, the Ironshirts make Azdak the new judge.

Azdak next proceeds to give judgment on four very unusual cases. He begins all his cases by saying, "I accept," meaning that he is willing to be bribed. The first case is between an invalid and a doctor. The Invalid claims that he paid for the Doctor to study medicine and that he then had a stroke when he heard that the Doctor was practicing for free. He blames the stroke on the Doctor and wants to be paid back the money he spent in getting the Doctor trained. The other case is that of a Blackmailer who demanded money from a landowner who had raped his [the landowner's] niece. However, the Blackmailer refuses to divulge the name of the landowner. Azdak rules that the Invalid must pay 1000 piasters as a fine, but that the doctor must treat him for free if he suffers a second stroke. The Blackmailer is required to pay the court half of his blackmailing fees since he would not give the landowner's name. Azdak then advises the Blackmailer to study medicine.

The next case is that of an Innkeeper who is bringing suit against his stableman, whom he claims raped his daughter-in-law, Ludovica. The Innkeeper claims to have caught the stableman in the act. Azdak tries to get a bribe from the Innkeeper by asking for a "little roan," but the Innkeeper refuses to pay him. Azdak then has Shauwa drop and knife which he makes Ludovica pick up. He watches as her hips sway. He then says, "The rape is now proven...you have raped that unfortunate man." Azdak then fines the Innkeeper the little roan that he wanted and lastly takes Ludovica to the stables on the pretext of investigating the scene of the crime.

The last case is that of Granny, an old peasant woman who has had several miracles occur. She claims that she miraculously was given a cow, that she had a ham fly into her house through a window, and that her landlord waived her rent. Three farmers are also present, each claiming that Granny's brother-in-law Irakli has stolen a cow, stolen a ham, and killed the landlord's cattle until the rent was waived. Azdak rules in Granny's favor, and fines the farmers for not believing in miracles. He then has wine with Granny and her brother-in-law.

After two years the Grand Duke returns to power and Azdak fears for his life. He tells Shauwa that the rich and powerful want to kill him because he has always ruled in favor of the poor people. The Governor's wife soon arrives and demands to have her child back. Azdak promises to oblige her, bowing all the while.

Analysis

The amounts of money become much larger in this act than before. This is purposefully done by Brecht to show the difference in the levels of wealth between the various social classes. Because of these differences in wealth, Azdak becomes a "Robin Hood" figure, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Thus, he fines the rich Invalid, the Blackmailer, the Innkeeper, and the Farmers, all of whom have wealth or land.

Another sacrament that appears in this act is that of Penance. Azdak is primarily a truth figure, and thus the Penance serves as a representation of his telling the truth. The brilliance behind his confession is the way he does it: all the soldiers ignore him and think that he is a fool. Even when he sings them a song against war, he gets away with it by claiming the song was taught to him by his grandfather. And in front of the Fat Prince, Azdak directly blames the war on the princes, but again instead of being punished he is rewarded. His truthfulness is revealed through the way he takes bribes; he is bribed publicly so that all can see rather than secretly.

The last sacrament of the Eucharist, or the Holy Supper, also appears in this act. Azdak shares wine with Granny and Irakli. The Singer comments that "Broken law like bread he gave them." This is almost a direct comparison of Azdak to Christ. Brecht will continue this comparison in the next act, when Azdak is "killed", "resurrected" by the Grand Duke, and finally disappears.

Like Grusha, Azdak goes through ten developmental steps as well. A quick list is given here: first, he protects the Grand Duke, second he denounces himself, third he is made the judge, fourth he judges the case of the Doctor and the Invalid, fifth he judges the case of the Blackmailer, sixth he judges the case of the Innkeeper, and seven he judges the case of Granny and the miracles. The remaining three stages of development occur in the final act.

Act Five

Grusha has returned to the city where she is about to face a trial for having taken the Governor's son. The Cook from the first act tells her that she is lucky that Azdak is the judge, since that means she will have a chance at winning the case. Simon is also present, and he tells Grusha that he will swear he is the child's father. The Ironshirts are still present and one of them recognizes Grusha. It is the corporal she hit with a piece of firewood. He leaves cursing, afraid to say anything because then he would have to admit that he wanted to kill the child.

The Governor's wife, Natella, arrives and comments on how much she hates the smell of the common people. Her lawyers advise her to not say anything against the poor until they are certain that the Grand Duke has appointed a new judge. Azdak is then led onstage in chains, having been arrested because he worked for the Fat Prince. The soldiers rip off his gown and start to beat him. The Governor's wife claps her hands while this occurs.

Suddenly a messenger arrives with news from the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke appoints Azdak to be the new judge. This is done to pay off his debt to Azdak for having saved his life. Azdak is immediately put back into his judicial position and the soldiers stop beating him. He gets up and gets ready to judge the case.

He starts the case by taking a bribe from the prosecutors, who are working for Natella. They explain that Grusha has stolen Natella's child and refuses to hand it over. Grusha claims that Michael is her child and that she brought him up. The lawyers point out that Grusha does not claim to be a blood relative of Michael's. One of the lawyers then also adds that Natella needs to get Michael back in order to take over the Governor's former estates.

Azdak questions Grusha and discovers that she was forced to marry to protect Michael. He also learns that she and Simon are in love, even though Simon is not her husband. Both Grusha and Simon get mad at Azdak because they think that he has already decided in Natella's favor. Simon starts quoting folk wisdom to Azdak, who finally fines Simon indecent language. Grusha then accuses Azdak of taking bribes and calls him a "drunken onion." Azdak fines her thirty piasters for her rudeness and moves on to another case.

The other case is that of an old couple who have been married forty years. They claim they always disliked each other and now they want a divorce. Azdak tells them he will think about their request and then returns to Grusha's case. He calls Grusha to him and asks her why she will not give Michael up. He points out that Michael would be very rich since Michael would inherit the estates. Grusha remains silent and Azdak tells her that he understands her.

Michael is brought into the courtroom and Natella accuses Grusha of dressing the child in rags and raising him in a pigsty. Azdak watches as Natella throws herself at Grusha, but is restrained by her lawyers. He then orders Shauwa to take a piece of chalk and draw a circle on the floor. Michael is placed in the middle and both women are ordered to take an arm. Azdak tells them that whichever woman can pull the child out of the circle will get him. Natella pulls hard and yanks the child out of the circle; meanwhile, Grusha has refused to pull. Grusha then apologizes to Azdak for having insulted him earlier.

Azdak orders them to make the test one more time. Again Grusha lets go of the child's arm. Azdak then says that it is now obvious who the true mother is. He gives Michael to Grusha and advises her to leave the city. He then orders Natella to disappear before he fines her for fraud. Michael's estates fall to the city and he decides to have them called Azdak's Garden. His last act is to sign the divorce papers. However, Azdak "mistakenly" divorces Grusha instead of the old couple. Everyone present then starts dancing. During the dancing Azdak slowly is hidden from view until he disappears by the end. The Singer ends the play by describing Azdak's reign as a "brief golden age, / almost an age of justice." He then concludes with the lines, "Children to the motherly, that they prosper, / Carts to good drivers, that they be driven well, / The valley to the waterers, that it yield fruit."

Analysis

The development of Azdak is completed in this act. His eighth step is his reinstatement as judge by the Grand Duke. Nine is his ruling in favor of Grusha and divorcing her, and his tenth and final step is his disappearance at the end.

There is a strong circularity to the play, with the ending returns to beginning. Thus the last line of the play, "The valley to the waterers, that it yield fruit," is a return to the Prologue where the fruit farmers receive the valley. This circularity, or rather continuity is present in other respects as well. For instance, the Ironshirts are still present in the final act. Brecht is trying to make the audience realize that although the regime may change, the army always stays the same. Thus Grusha sees the Corporal whom she knocked out, and he is still working in the army.

Azdak mimics Christ throughout this final act. He is first shown being beaten and then lying "dead" on the ground. The arrival of the messenger is a form of resurrection for him, and soon thereafter he gets up and puts on his gown again. The final moment of the act is his ascension into heaven, represented by having Azdak simply disappear. His reign on earth is remembered, we are told, as a period of justice, a "brief golden age."

Brecht takes the religious connection even further by having Azdak represent Solomonic wisdom. This story is similar to the story of Solomon where he must choose the real mother of a baby. He says that he will cut the child in half and give each woman one part. The true mother chooses to give the other woman her child. Thus, Solomon knows who the real mother it. The same thing happens here, except that this time it is Grusha who would rather lose the child instead of the real mother. Azdak justifies his decision the same way King Solomon did, by choosing the mother who does not try to harm the child.

Even though Azdak is gone at the end, it is important to notice what he has left behind: Azdak's Garden. This represents a return of the Biblical Garden of Eden. Thus Azdak as a character is actually a spiritual figure; he alone leaves behind a memory of his reign and the justice that it created for the people.

• Biography of Bertolt Brecht
• About The Caucasian Chalk Circle
• Character List
• Short Summary
• Full Summary and Analysis
• Summary and Analysis of Prologue
• Summary and Analysis of Act One
• Summary and Analysis of Act Two
• Summary and Analysis of Act Three
• Summary and Analysis of Act Four
• Summary and Analysis of Act Five
• Related Links on The Caucasian Chalk Circle
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources
• Purchase The Caucasian Chalk Circle and Other Works
• Test Yourself! Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! Quiz 2
• Message Board on The Caucasian Chalk Circle