The Good women of setzuan

Brecht is known for his creation of what he called the “alienation effect,” which forced the audience to view a play objectively rather than experiencing its content emotionally. In The Good Woman of Setzuan, the epilogue calls upon the audience to decide for itself how goodness can exist in a world that is inherently not good.

The epilogue, which was added after the Viennese premiere of the play, implores the audience to write their own ending. It acknowledges that the current ending of the play is not quite satisfactory, since nothing is fixed. The gods are unable to accept that their rulebook must be changed in order to make it possible to be good in the world, and they leave in denial of Shen Te's situation. This technique of addressing the audience directly is an example of alienation, which forces the audience to see the play for what it is rather than think of it as an analogy for real life.