About The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Written in 1944 while Brecht was living in America, The Caucasian Chalk Circle was initially intended for Broadway. It never quite made it there, but was instead premiered by students at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota in 1948. Brecht's source for the play is most likely Klabund's Circle of Chalk, which was based on an ancient Chinese play written in 1300 A.D. with the same name. Brecht adapted this story into parable form and changed the setting to Soviet Georgia near the end of World War II.

Brecht wrote the play for the Viennese actress Luise Rainer, who already had experience playing a figure like Grusha in Klabund's play. Unfortunately, she and Brecht quarreled and parted company forever before the play was produced.

The play was initially translated by Eric Bentley. The first edition of The Caucasian Chalk Circle was mostly true to the German text with the only serious omission being that of the Prologue. The reason for this omission is related to the fact that Brecht was forced to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington in October, 1947. Since the play was about to be published at this time, the publication of the Prologue was postponed at his request. This caused two false rumors to start: one, that the prologue was written after the original text, and two, that Bentley himself had initiated the omission. Neither of these rumors was true.

The play itself is unusual for Brecht because it has a relatively happy ending; everything works out for Grusha. At the same time, The Caucasian Chalk Circle is clearly a Communist play: whoever can

make the best use of resources in order to provide for others deserves to get those resources. Implicit in this Communist moral is also a secularized version of the Biblical Christ story. With typical anti-religious fervor, Brecht parallels Christ's story through the life of the drunken judge Azdak. Furthermore, The Chalk Circle is itself a version of Solomonic Law, based on the Biblical story of Solomon and the baby. When two women came to Solomon, both of them claiming the same child, he ordered the child cut in half. The true mother chose to instead give the entire baby to the other woman, thereby revealing to Solomon that she was in fact the mother.

The play did not gain popularity in the United States until the 1950s. The first professional production took place at Hedgerow Theater in Philadelphia in 1948 and was directed by Eric Bentley. Soon thereafter The Caucasian Chalk Circle became Brecht's most popular parable in the United States.

The Caucasian Chalk Circle Summary

The Caucasian Chalk Circle begins with a Prologue that deals with a dispute over a valley. Two groups of peasants want to claim a valley that was abandoned during WW II when the Germans invaded. One group used to live in the valley and herded goats there. The other group is from a neighboring valley and hopes to plant fruit trees. A Delegatehas been sent to arbitrate the dispute. The fruit growers explain that they have elaborate plans to irrigate the valley and produce a tremendous amount of food. The goat-herders

claim the land based on the fact that they have always lived there. In the end, the fruit farmers get the valley because they will use the land better. The peasants then hold a small party and a Singer agrees to tell them the story of the Chalk Circle.

The Caucasian Chalk Circle is actually two stories that come together at the end. The first story is that of Grusha and the second story is that of Azdak. Both stories begin in a Caucasian City ruled by a Governor, who serves a Grand Duke. The Governor has just had a child,Michael, and his wife Natella is incredibly jealous of the attention that he gives to his son. The Governor's brother, the Fat Prince, stages an insurrection on Easter Sunday. He kills the Governor and forces the Governor's wife to flee. In her haste, she leaves behind her child. The Grand Duke and many of the soldiers flee as well.

Grusha, a kitchen maid, becomes engaged to a soldier named Simon. Soon thereafter, during the coup, she has Michael handed to her. She hides the child from the Fat Prince and his soldiers, thereby saving the child's life. She then takes Michael with her and flees the city, heading north. After spending most of her money and risking her life for the child, she arrives at her brother's house. He allows her to live there over the winter.

When spring arrives, Grusha's brother forces her to marry a "dying" man from across the mountain. They hold a wedding, but during the reception the guests learn that the war is over and that the Grand Duke has raised an army and returned. The "dying" man,Jussup, realizes that he can no longer be drafted into the war. He miraculously recovers and throws all the guests out of the house. Grusha,

now stuck with a husband she did not want, is forced to become a good wife to him.

One day Simon returns and learns that she is married. He is even more upset when he sees Michael, whom he thinks is Grusha's child. Some soldiers soon arrive and take Michael away from her, claiming that Michael belongs to the Governor's wife. Grusha follows them back to the city.

The next story that is told is that of Azdak. The plot returns to the night of the Fat Prince's insurrection. Azdak finds a fugitive and saves the man's life. The man turns out to be the Grand Duke. Realizing that he could be branded a traitor, Azdak walks into town and reveals that he saved the Grand Duke's life. The soldiers refuse to believe him and he is released. The Fat Prince soon shows up with his nephew, whom he wants to make the new judge. However, he agrees to let the soldiers decide who the next judge should be. After staging a mock trial, they choose Azdak.

He then judges four very strange cases, ruling in each case in favor of the poor person. Azdak soon gains a reputation for supporting the poor. However, after two years as a judge, the Grand Duke returns. Azdak is arrested as a "traitor" by the soldiers and is about to be killed by them. However, the Grand Duke, remembering that Azdak saved his life, reappoints Azdak to be the judge, thereby saving his life.

Azdak now takes over the case of Grusha and the child. The Governor's wife wants Michael back because without Michael she cannot take over the former Governor's estates. Grusha wants to keep the child, whom she has raised for the past two

years. Even Simon goes to the trial and promises Grusha that he will support her.

After hearing all the arguments and learning about what Grusha has done to take care of the child, Azdak orders a Chalk Circle to be drawn. He places the child in the middle and orders the two women to pull, saying that whichever woman can pull the child out of the circle will get him. The Governor's wife pulls whereas Grusha lets go. Azdak orders them to do it again, and again Grusha lets go. Azdak then gives Michael to Grusha and orders the Governor's wife to leave. He confiscates Michael's estates and makes them into public gardens. His last act is to divorce Grusha, thereby allowing her to marry Simon. During the dancing that follows, Azdak disappears forever.

Character List

Peasants on the RightGoat-herders to whom the disputed valley in the Prologue used to belong.

Peasants on the LeftFruit farmers who wish to irrigate the disputed valley in the Prologue.

DelegateA man sent by the state to mediate the dispute between the peasants over who owns the valley. He gives the valley to the fruit farmers in the end.

SingerThe man who sings the parable of the Caucasian Chalk Circle to the peasants after the delegate has decided to give the valley to the fruit farmers.

Georgi Abashwili

The Governor, he is beheaded after his brother the Fat Prince successfully stages a coup.

NatellaThe Governor's wife, she leaves her baby Michael behind when she flees the Fat Prince. She later tries to get Michael back in order to reclaim the Governor's estates. The judge Azdak rules against her, however, and chooses to instead give the child to Grusha.

MichaelThe Governor's son and heir to the Governor's estates. He is raised by Grusha who rescues him after his mother Natella abandons him. Grusha later claims him as her own child and Azdak allows her to keep him.

ShalvaAn adjutant

Arsen Kazbeki, the Fat PrinceThe brother of the Governor, he stages a coup and kills his brother. After ruling for two years he is deposed and beheaded by the return of the Grand Duke.

MessengerA man sent by the Grand Duke to reinstate Azdak as judge even after the Fat Prince has been deposed. The arrival of the Messenger saves Azdak's life since the people were about to kill him.

Simon ShashavaA soldier who remains loyal to the Grand Duke; he and Grusha fall in love and she promises to marry him when he returns from the war. Instead, she is forced to marry another man before he returns. However, Azdak "mistakenly" annuls the marriage, thereby allowing Grusha and Simon to get together at the end.

Grusha VashadzeA kitchen maid in the palace, she rescues the Governor's son Michael and takes the baby with her. She cares for the child for two years until Natella reclaims Michael. Both women are forced to appear before Azdak who chooses to give the boy to Grusha.

Old Peasant with milkWhile fleeing with Michael, Grusha tries to get rid of the boy by leaving him with an old peasant woman. She is forced to reclaim the child in order to save him from some soldiers who want to kill him.

Lavrenti VashnadzeGrusha's brother, with whom she stays for an entire winter. He finally gets rid of his sister by making her marry a "dying" man.

AnikoGrusha's sister-in-law, described as a religious woman. She tries everything to get Grusha out of her house.

JussupA "dying" man that Grusha marries in order to protect Michael. As soon as the war ends, Jussup miraculously recovers and demands that Grusha perform her "wifely duties".

MonkA drunk monk, he is paid to perform the marriage ceremony for Grusha and Jussup.

AzdakOriginally a village recorder, he accidentally saves the Grand Duke's life. He then goes into town and confesses his crime, but the soldiers refuse to believe him. When the Fat Prince arrives and offers the soldiers the chance to choose the new judge,

they pick Azdak. He becomes known for arbitrary judgments. He presides over the case where Grusha claims Michael and has them draw the Chalk Circle. After awarding Grusha the child and annulling her marriage, he disappears.

ShauwaA policeman who becomes Azdak's assistant after Azdak is made judge.

Grand DukeA man who ruled the entire province and under whom many men, including the Governor, served. He is forced into exile for two years when the Fat Prince takes over but returns with an army and kills the Fat Prince. He then saves Azdak's life by allowing Azdak to remain a judge.

LudovicaA good-looking peasant woman who has had sex with the stable boy. She is brought before Azdak by her father who accuses the Stable boy of raping her. Azdak rules in the Stableboy's favor and then tries to get Ludovica to sleep with him as well.

Poor Old Peasant WomanShe is part of another case tried by Azdak in which "miracles" keep happening to her. Some farmers claim that these "miracles" are all being done by a bandit, her brother-in-law, at their expense. Azdak rules in her favor.

Old Married CoupleThey have been married forty years and want a divorce. Azdak hears their case along with the Chalk Circle case. He agrees to annul their marriage, but "accidentally" annuls Grusha's marriage instead.

Use of Characters in The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

The characters of the play The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht are presented to the audience as living in a society where people of a particular class are dominant over others. Hegemonic societies such as this present unseen inequalities towards the lower, working class, the class viewed as inferior or submissive in opposition to the dominant upper class or the aristocracy. In order for the audience to have the opportunity to question their society, this injustice must be visibly presented through issues of class and gender, as well as the construction of several characters such as Grusha, Natella Abashvilli, Simon Chachava, and Azdek. By viewing the inequalities of the society created in The Caucasian Chalk Circle, the audience is challenged to argue the necessity for change in their own. 

There are two particular classes made apparent in The Caucasian Chalk Circle, one dominant, the other submissive. The first of these is the aristocracy, the higher class to which Georgi and Natella Abashvilli, Michael, and the fat prince all belong. This class holds all the wealth, all the power, and all the benefits of Nukha, the city in which the play is set. The characters belonging to this class seem to fill all the expectations of it, they remain well-dressed, composed, and entirely self-centered throughout most of the play. Natella Abashvilli proves her immense conceit and self-involvement in Scene 2 of the play. Her husband has been murdered, her son’s life is in danger, however her attention remains solely focused on the state of her wardrobe and her haste to save her dresses, to carry her dresses out to the carriage rather

than her son. Instead she leaves the son in the care of her servants, concerned only with her safety and appearance. These actions are presented to and therefore believed by the audience to be typical of upper-class mothers. Their child is simply another possession, and everything it says and does, even the way it looks, reflects solely on the parents. Yet although the child is believed to be a ‘possession’ of Natella’s, she shows little or no care for it, rather, she leaves it in the hands of its two doctors. She needs not look after the child, as her status is so great others are willing to do so for her. A quote from Natella on page 11 reads; “He’s coughing! Georgi, did you hear? He’s coughing!†Natella feels no responsibility �towards the child, instead ordering everyone else around her to tend to him. Another quote from her on page 11 “But do take better care of himâ€Â, suggests that� the fact that Michael is coughing is everyone’s fault but her own. As the child is apparently not her responsibility, she cannot be blamed for his coughing, and instead instructs the doctors to take better care of her own child. The governor, Georgi Abashvilli, also shows absolutely concern or care for his son in his short appearance in the play.

"The Caucasian Chalk Circle" by Bertolt BrechtBERTOLT BRECHT - "THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE"Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) a non-conformist German playwright, was the most important single influence in the development of epic theatre. His political beliefs and

experiences were his motivation to try to change the world through drama. Through the theatre he created he made people realise the wrong doings of the society in which they lived. Brecht was a pacifist and, therefore, wrote a number of plays with strong political messages to intellectually stimulate and politically motivate his audiences. Brecht's plays were originally rejected by the society in which he lived because they were unconventional and against the ideological beliefs that his society embraced.In his work, Brecht explored themes related to war, ownership, sacrifice, the notion of justice and the theme of the inequalities produced by 'superior' people in power over the 'inferior' lower class. He challenged society's opinion of the oppressed. Brecht tried to teach his audiences not to accept the world as they found it. He also tried to teach his actors the same thing."... above all s/he [actor of Brechtian theatre] must be aware of the theme with which the play is concerned."Brecht's "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" is set in the time of a civil war. It contains two parallel stories. One centers around AZDAK, a drunken peasant, who is put into the powerful role of judge. The other deals with a peasant named Grusha who saves an abandoned child and claims it as her own. The two stories unite to conclude the play. AZDAK must decide whether the child should be under the custody of his natural mother - a wealthy, upper-class woman who abandoned him, or Grusha, who saved him from certain death.The attached extract from "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" clearly demonstrates and exemplifies the Brechtian style, showing evidence of alienation, historification, epic structure and the use of a narrator, chorus and song. Furthermore the themes it contains reflect Brecht's personal ideologies, which were strongly influenced by Marxist theory.

"As I read Das Kapital by Karl Marx, I understood my dreams. I want a wider public for this book. I did not suddenly discover that I had written a whole collection of Marxist drama without knowing it, but Marx was the only audience I had come across in dramas. A man of his interests would have been interested in such plays. Not because they are brilliant, but because he was.""The Caucasian Chalk Circle" has an epic structure. It is a collection of independent incidents which, when put together, show a process taking place. Each individual incident focuses on a particular sociopolitical lesson. This particular extract serves to teach the audience that the wealthy are not always right - that in fact, the underprivileged poor people are often the most honest people of our society. It serves to reinforce the notion that people can not be judged by their class and that to give preferential treatment to wealthy people or to discriminate against poor people should not be accepted or tolerated by our society.

Bertolt introduction

Bertolt Brecht (German:10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956) was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.

An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the Berliner Ensemble—the post-war theatre company operated by Brecht and his wife, long-time collaborator and actress Helene Weigel.[2]

"dying" man,Jussu p, realizes that he can no longer be draftedinto the war. He miraculously recovers and throws all the guestsout of the house. Grusha, now stuck with a husband she did notwant, is forced to become a good wife to him.One day Simon returns and learns that she is married. He is evenmore upset when he sees Michael, whom he thinks is Grusha'schild. Some soldiers soon arrive and take Michael away from her,claiming that Michael belongs to the Governor's wife. Grushafollows them back to the city.The next story that is told is that of Azdak. The plot returns to thenight of the Fat Prince's insurrection. Azdak finds a fugitive andsaves the man's life. The man turns out to be the Grand Duke.Realizing that he could be branded a traitor, Azdak walks intotown and reveals that he saved the Grand Duke's life. Thesoldiers refuse to believe him and he is released. The Fat Princesoon shows up with his nephew, whom he wants to make the newjudge. However, he agrees to let the soldiers decide who the nextjudge should be. After staging a mock trial, they choose Azdak.He then judges four very strange cases, ruling in each case in

favor of the poor person. Azdak soon gains a reputation forsupporting the poor. However, after two years as a judge, theGrand Duke returns. Azdak is arrested as a "traitor" by thesoldiers and is about to be killed by them. However, the GrandDuke, remembering that Azdak saved his life, reappoints Azdakto be the judge, thereby saving his life.Azdak now takes over the case of Grusha and the child. TheGovernor's wife wants Michael back because without Michael shecannot take over the former Governor's estates. Grusha wants tokeep the child, whom she has raised for the past two years. EvenSimon goes to the trial and promises Grusha that he will supporther.After hearing all the arguments and learning about what Grushahas done to take care of the child, Azdak orders a Chalk Circle tobe drawn. He places the child in the middle and orders the twowomen to pull, saying that whichever woman can pull the child

out of the circle will get him. The Governor's wife pulls whereasGrusha lets go. Azdak orders them to do it again, and againGrusha lets go. Azdak then gives Michael to Grusha and ordersthe Governor's wife to leave. He confiscates Michael's estates and

makes them into public gardens. His last act is to divorce Grusha,thereby allowing her to marry Simon. During the dancing thatfollows, Azdak disappears forever.About The Caucasian Chalk CircleWritten in 1944 while Brecht was living in America, The CaucasianChalk Circle was initially intended for Broadway. It never quitemade it there, but was instead premiered by students at CarletonCollege in Northfield, Minnesota in 1948. Brecht's source for theplay is most likely Klabund's Circle of Chalk, which was based onan ancient Chinese play written in 1300 A.D. with the samename. Brecht adapted this story into parable form and changedthe setting to Soviet Georgia near the end of World War II.Brecht wrote the play for the Viennese actress Luise Rainer, whoalready had experience playing a figure like Grusha in Klabund'splay. Unfortunately, she and Brecht quarreled and partedcompany forever before the play was produced.The play was initially translated by Eric Bentley. The first editionof The Caucasian Chalk Circle was mostly true to the German textwith the only serious omission being that of the Prologue. Thereason for this omission is related to the fact that Brecht was

forced to appear before the House Un-American ActivitiesCommittee in Washington in October, 1947. Since the play wasabout to be published at this time, the publication of the Prologuewas postponed at his request. This caused two false rumors tostart: one, that the prologue was written after the original text,and two, that Bentley himself had initiated the omission. Neitherof these rumors was true.The play itself is unusual for Brecht because it has a relativelyhappy ending; everything works out for Grusha. At the sametime, The Caucasian Chalk Circle is clearly a Communist play:whoever can make the best use of resources in order to provide

for others deserves to get those resources. Implicit in thisCommunist moral is also a secularized version of the BiblicalChrist story. With typical anti-religious fervor, Brecht parallelsChrist's story through the life of the drunken judgeAz dak.Furthermore, The Chalk Circle is itself a version of SolomonicLaw, based on the Biblical story of Solomon and the baby. Whentwo women came to Solomon, both of them claiming the samechild, he ordered the child cut in half. The true

mother chose toinstead give the entire baby to the other woman, therebyrevealing to Solomon that she was in fact the mother.The play did not gain popularity in the United States until the1950s. The first professional production took place at HedgerowTheater in Philadelphia in 1948 and was directed by Eric Bentley.Soon thereafter The Caucasian Chalk Circle became Brecht's mostpopular parable in the United States.