Mother Courage and Her Children

As the play draws to a close, conditions across Europe reach their worst, advancing the theme of Commerce in War. Fields lie fallow and famine rages. Poverty and death are common among civilians and soldiers grow increasingly unethical, disregarding the “rules” of civilized combat. Despite these dire circumstances, Mother Courage restocks, confident that she will be able to find customers for her wares. She fails to realize that, thanks to the war, no one has money to spare anymore—an economy based on profiteering is unsustainable in the long term.

Like others involved in the war, the Cook seeks to make a profit: He wants Mother Courage’s help running the inn he has inherited because, it seems, Mother Courage is successful in turning a profit during wartime. The Cook’s motivations are purely self-seeking, however, and his insistence that Kattrin cannot join them ultimately reveals them to be petty: The Cook is certain her physical deformities will deter potential clientele. It seems, too, that he selfishly does not wish to divide any profits any more than is necessary.

This section sees the culmination of A Mother’s Duty to Her Children. Mother Courage’s refusal to abandon Kattrin contrasts sharply with her previous denial of Swiss Cheese and suggests that she is turning over a new leaf. Whereas she denied knowing Swiss Cheese to save herself, she stays with Kattrin even though it means abandoning a potentially lucrative business venture, prioritizing her child’s safety over personal gain for the first time. However, soon after this, she leaves Kattrin with the farmers so she can steal goods from abandoned shops to sell. This decision seals her daughter’s fate, as the farmers acknowledge when they say Kattrin might not have died if Mother Courage had stayed at the farm.

Kattrin’s death signals Mother Courage’s final failure to protect her children: Now all three are dead, and she is alone. Mother Courage mourns Kattrin but briefly, then carries on with her business. Her actions are open to interpretation: On one hand, she remains true to her name, courageously carrying on alone, determined to make her living though the task has grown increasingly difficult (not only does she no longer have help in pulling the wagon, but the war-torn economy threatens her profits). On the other hand, Mother Courage can be regarded as money-hungry and self-seeking, just as the Commander accused her of being when the play opened. She has sacrificed all her children to the war while willing the war never to end, as this would mean the end of her profit source.

The play continues to examine The Futility of Religion. The Cook discourages Mother Courage from begging for food at a minister’s home, insisting that the minister will keep anything he might have for himself—an assertion that challenges the selflessness commonly associated with the clergy. Yet the Cook later begs for food directly from the minister for himself, claiming that he is worthy of charity because he is a virtuous person, a claim at odds with his behavior throughout the play. In addition, his assertion ironically contradicts the Protestant doctrine of providence, which argues that all humans are sinners but are given mercy by their creator though they are undeserving of it, whether they perform good deeds or not.

This theme is furthered when the farmer and his wife, hearing the enemy troops advance but having no protection against them, pray to be saved. Their prayers are desperate and a last resort, and though they ask Kattrin to pray with them, she senses prayer’s futility. Instead she beats the drum, an action rich with symbolism. Having lost her voice, Kattrin finds another means to communicate. By beating the drum more and more loudly, she conveys the pain and frustration she has long held inside. Though Kattrin is repeatedly urged to be silent, she refuses to stop drumming. Instead, she drums more loudly, determined to make herself seen and heard. This action is a symbolic assertion of self, but it is also a way to alert the rest of the town of the impending danger. In drumming, Kattrin shows courage in a way Mother Courage never did: knowingly sacrificing herself for others.