45 pages • 1 hour read
Bertolt BrechtThe Caucasian Chalk Circle
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1944A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Scene 5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Scene 5 Summary: “The Chalk Circle”
Ironshirts lead Michael into court, and once there is enough distance between them, Grusha is admitted next. She is standing with the Cook, one of her former coworkers at the Governor’s palace. He tells her she is lucky to have Azdak, who is a drunkard known for mixing things up and not ruling in favor of the rich.
The Cook promises to help Grusha in the trial, saying, “I’ll swear to anything you like, because you’re a decent person” (114-15). Soon, Simon arrives, and the Cook tells Grusha that he’s still very upset. He comes over to them and offers to swear that he is the father of the child although he is not ready to be bound to Grusha again beyond the trial.
The Judge is nowhere to be found, and as a few of the Ironshirts leave to go find him, Grusha is horrified to see that one of them is the Corporal whom she attacked. He now has a large scar across his face. His comrade asks if he recognizes Grusha, and if he does, he may be eligible for a large reward. The Corporal stares at Grusha, but eventually says he doesn’t know her and exits. The Cook explains that it’s better for him to keep his mouth shut now that the Fat Prince is no longer in power, or he will have to admit that he was trying to kill the Governor’s child.
Azdak is brought back in chains, and the Ironshirts strip him of his Judge’s robes. The beat him until he is bruised and bloody. They are set to appoint a new judge when a rider arrives with special orders from the Grand Duke. He has announced the Judge he has appointed is Azdak. The Grand Duke is grateful for Azdak hiding him when he was a fugitive and now asks that he be made Judge again. Azdak wipes the blood from his face and asks for the Statute Book to sit on. As he does, the proceedings begin.
The Governor’s Wife’s lawyers make the case that the child should be returned to his biological mother. They speak at length about the bond between mothers and children and how devastated The Governor’s Wife was at finding Michael missing. When Grusha is allowed to give her own piece, she only says, “He’s mine” (120). Azdak prompts her to elaborate, and she tells the court that she always kept him fed, raised him as her own, and did everything to love and protect him. The lawyers let it slip that the ownership of the Governor’s estates is also at stake, for Michael will inherit them. The case begins to get heated, and eventually Azdak declares that he’s heard enough. He decides there will be a test to determine the true mother of the child.
A circle is drawn on the floor, and Michael is placed in the middle. Azdak instructs the two women to pull on each of his arms, like tug-of-war, and whoever is strong enough to pull Michael to the other side of the circle will be declared the true mother. The women take their place, but as soon as the Governor’s Wife begins to pull Michael, Grusha releases him. Azdak asks them to do it again, and again, Grusha releases Michael. She cries out, “I’ve brought him up! Am I to tear him to pieces? I can’t do it!” (127). Azdak is pleased with her answer and announces that Grusha is the true mother. He tells the Governor’s Wife, “Your estates fall to the city” (127), and he plans to turn them into a playground for children, which will be named after him. The Governor’s Wife faints at the news and is carried out of the room.
Azdak then takes off his robe and invites them all to have a celebration of dancing for the night. He is reminded that during the excitement he has forgotten to divorce a couple that came to him before the test of the Chalk Circle. He draws up a document and “accidentally” divorces the wrong couple. Instead of the older couple who came to him earlier, he has divorced Grusha and Yussup. When the mistake is mentioned, Azdak says, “I’m sorry, but it will have to stand. I never retract anything. If I did, there’d be no law and order” (127). With that, Grusha and Simon are free to marry each other at last. The play ends with merriment and dancing, and a happy ending for the new family of Grusha, Simon, and Michael. The Singer brings the story full circle to the framing device, explaining that the valley should go to the Rosa Luxemburg kolkhoz, for they will care for it the most.
Scene 5 Analysis
Grusha’s selflessness and good character pays off at the end of the play in several ways. First, the Cook, an old friend and coworker of hers, agrees to lie in court for her sake. He doesn’t understand why she wants to keep the child, but after hearing how Grusha talks about Michael, he softens and says, “And a borrowed coat keeps one warm too, eh?” (114). Once again, Brecht is establishing The Bond of Mothers and Their Children does not have to be biological.
Grusha’s case is that of the selfless mother versus the selfish mother. When asked to tell her story, she says, “I went to all sorts of trouble for him. I had expenses, too. I didn’t think of my own comfort. I brought up the child to be friendly with everyone” (120). Even though the Cook and Simon agree to lie for her, she only tells the precise truth to the Judge. As the case gets more tense, Grusha becomes irritated and worried that she will lose. She does not hesitate to expose just how selfish the Governor’s Wife is, saying “you want to pass the child on to her. She who is too refined even to know how to change its nappies!” (123). The only argument the Governor’s Wife has going for her is the biological bond between them. The sob story they paint for the court of a mother losing her child is nothing compared to the sacrifices Grusha has made for Michael. The court is presented with two entirely different outcomes for the child, and it is up to the court to determine which decision is just.
The theme of Justice and How It’s Administered and the character development of Azdak are two of the most prominent parts of this scene. When it seems like the Ironshirts will be allowed to anoint a new Judge, they quickly turn on Azdak, mocking his approach to justice and physically beating him for how he has been ruling. Azdak’s heated speech against the Ironshirts correlates to Brecht’s condemnation of Fascist party in his own time. Azdak shouts, “You, you dogs! […] Good morning, dogs! How are you, dogs? How’s the dog world? Does it stink good? Have you got another boot to lick? Are you back at each other’s throats, dogs?” (117). After he has worked to bring true justice back to Grusinia, it seems like the Ironshirts might have one of their own back in power, which enrages Azdak. While he is afraid of being found guilty by his own class, he does not hold back on how he really feels about the Ironshirts.
Azdak, while a good judge in that he favors the poor, still has his flaws. He implies that Grusha should bribe him like the wealthy do if she wants justice. He makes suggestive comments to Grusha and gets in a comical battle of wits with Simon and the Cook, only to fine them for disrupting court. This is important to see, for even a flawed, drunken Judge is capable of making the right decision in the end.
Azdak’s rulings at the end of the scene function as a deus ex machina (a literary device in which all loose ends are miraculously tied up) in that he rules in favor of Grusha and divorces her from Simon, leaving audiences and readers with a perhaps surprisingly happy ending. This shows that justice is possible and should not be difficult, both messages the audience should take with them after reading or watching this play. This is why it is important that the Singer addresses the audience once more, saying “what there is shall belong to those who are good for it” (128). Here, Brecht reminds the audience that this applies not only to Grusha and the child but also to the fruit-growing kolkhoz and the valley. Additionally, audiences should apply this to their own lives and their own systems of justice.
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By Bertolt Brecht
