The Good Woman of Setzuan

The Good Woman of Setzuan

By Bertolt Brecht

The Good Woman of Setzuan is a play about a woman, Shen Te, who tries to maintain her moral integrity but struggles to do so. Three gods come to Setzuan looking for shelter, they discover Shen Te to be the only decent person in town, even though she prostitutes herself for meager pay. They give her money and insist she must always be good. She uses the money to buy a building and start a tobacco store. However, the people around her abuse her kindness for money, shelter, and food. Because her resources are limited and she's not strong enough to protect them, she creates a new identity for herself with a backbone. That person is Shui Ta, the supposed cousin of Shen Te.

I admit, I almost didn't finish this play. The only reason I read to the end is because Luke told me I had to. This is primary because while Brecht is a great writer and director, he was a despicable human being. First of all, he was terrible to women. He would find a female that was interested in him, live with them, devour their attention, take their money, and leave. Additionally, he was a vehement communist, and though I understand that many people did see communism as a viable alternative to the evils of capitalism at the time, I still oppose the ideology because it essentially eliminates individualism. It equalizes everyone at a generally mediocre level, instead of allowing those who are passionate and talented to achieve. But I digress.

It's a good thing Luke forced me to read the play, because I actually ended up quite enjoying it. The struggles of Shen Te reflect the struggles of the human condition. Shen Te wants nothing more to give rice to the poor, experience love, and live a decent livelihood. Nothing goes right though. There are too many mouths to feed, the man she loves treats her like dirt, and everyone tries to subvert her business. That is why she creates Shui Ta. He can deal with the dirty business of living and she can keep her soul.

As problems arise and the Shui Ta persona becomes more difficult to sustain. The gods think that Shui Ta is mean and they tell Shen Te to keep being a good person. Essentially they do nothing about her plight and they abandon her to suffer for her kindness.

Can we be truly good when we are desperate to survive? It's an interesting question to think about, and after reading this play, it seems to me that the answer must be no. But can there be levels of goodness varied against survival? That is something we must decide for ourselves.