Lennox (1978) argues that Brecht was "incapable of seeing real women in their full dimensions" perhaps due of "a terror of women such as is possessed by so many men". Accepting this, Brecht's portrayal of women is in terms of stereotypes only slightly modified by his "political concerns" (ibid). Brecht's policy of "making strange” (Williams 1987, pp. 279) therefore opposes the representation of stereotypes, since stereotypes can be defined by their familiarity. Williams (ibid) states that Brecht's aim was to show men “in the process of producing themselves and their situations” in line with the Marxist theory of history where man “makes himself”. To evaluate whether Shen Te represents a weakness in Brecht's work, then, we must consider whether it produces itself and its situations situations or conforms to stereotypes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay The Good Woman of Setzuan is one of Brecht's fables in which the familiar and simplistic elements of good, evil, justice etc. they are present but shown in a new way, as “cases of debate” (Williams 1987, pp. 284). In this mindset, Lennox may be missing the point of Brecht's demands on his viewers to think “above the flow of the play” (ibid: 279) as the presentation of the familiar (in this case, stereotypes of women) is for the purpose of “making it strange” and presenting the issue for debate. Lennox states that, in Brecht's work, women are represented in two ways; both as a woman-child and as a mother. From this perspective, Shen Te plays the role of a mother, such as providing others with rice and shelter. When Shen Te discovers that she is pregnant, her selflessness is shown in her promise to the child that she will sacrifice her goodness and be a “tiger to everyone else” (Lennox, 1978 pp. 92). Lennox argues that this represents a selfless willingness to sacrifice her defining characteristic (her goodness) to fulfill the role of mother. By making Shen Te behave in a stereotypically feminine manner, Lennox argues that Brecht fails to alienate (or “strange” to use Williams' phrase) women's behavior in the same way that he alienates other human activities. As for women, then Brecht does not consider their problems in the same way as he considers those of society as a whole. While the man's goal is to define himself in his situation, it is the woman's job to fulfill her role and Brecht sees "the tragedy of their situation in their inability, due to the conditions in which they exist, to adequately fulfill their roles ” (Lennox, 1978). Being the stereotypical woman, Shen Te struggles to fulfill the role of a mother due to the conditions (society) in which she exists. However, it differs from the female stereotype with one important exception; ShuiTa. Shen Te may have the problem of being a stereotypical mother struggling to fulfill her role, but like Shui Ta she is trying to define her situation by striving to create conditions in which other people can be good (creating the tobacco factory, providing jobs ). In political terms, then, Shen Te may fill stereotypical gender roles but, as a product of her situation which prevents her from successfully fulfilling that role, she seeks to change her situation and does so as a man. The Marxist tradition of a man defining himself (for in creating Shui Ta, he is completely defined) and his situation are respected as Shen Te/Shui Ta represent the struggle to create change.Lennox argues that this is a weakness because Brecht does not get his audience to “reflect on the historical causes of sex-related psychological traits” and therefore confirms this behavior as natural. However, this point fails to acknowledge that Shen Te is not behaving normally; impersonate a man to create changed situations. Such behavior does not fall within the definition of a stereotype, regardless of its potential to be sexist. Lennox makes many arguments to show Brecht as sexist, including some analysis of his personal life, but the aforementioned argument seems unfounded since it can reasonably be argued that Shen Te is an illustration of expected female behavior rather than an embodiment of that behavior in any way. natural way. Regardless of whether Brecht is sexist or not, the representation of Shen Te can be assessed by the above reasoning as a political force for those who are ready to read “above the flow of the work” (Brecht, trans. in Williams 1987, pp. 281). Having the character shown on stage would allow for such a critical stance as the audience questions the reasons why Shen Te changes; Lennox's argument is based on a false analysis of Shen Te and Shui Ta as separate embodiments of human nature. Such analysis can significantly alter perspectives on the work, as shown in the various translations of the title; The Good Woman can be said to point to the idea that Shen Te and Shui Ta are separate, The Good Woman shows us that Shen Te acts as Shui Ta rather than becoming him. In this way, dividing the person illustrates how morality and ethics create an incompatibility with the situation of capitalist society which is exemplified in the woman's inability to fulfill the role of mother. That said, Brecht would have had no desire to present Shen Te as adhering to natural laws, but rather as a character limited by society's expectations regarding natural behavior. Brecht may indeed have been sexist, and Lennox leaves no doubt that he was a womanizer. However, whether he chose a woman becoming a man to show us the mutability of human nature, or whether he presented us with his sexist vision of a normal woman who is exceptional in her ability to think (the inclination to think is what Lennox claims defines the woman in a 1922 Brecht poem as rare and "emancipated") is irrelevant because of what it does with the character by showing the audience alternatives to human nature than neglecting sex. The argument for portraying Shen Te as a political force is amply supported by Zimmerman's argument (out of print, but partially cited in Lennox) that the work aims to: show that, under capitalism, women's efforts. .. to realize his qualities can only emerge in terms of a 'masculine principle'... which distorts that realization... to show that the male/female polarity is simply another ideological tool of capitalism" and that by uniting these le values “polarities can be transcended.” Lennox's main criticism of Brecht is that his sexism is not a matter of different concerns but “seriously undermines his entire conception of human liberation” (Lennox 1978, pp. 84) because he fails to “consider the issues involving the liberation of half the human race” ”, but it should be remembered that Brecht, in his works, does not consider the problems but presents them good men [arrive] at a happy ending” (Brecht, 1966) rather than Brecht trying to offer suggestions himself. Ruppert (1976) suggests that the appalling conditions at Setzuan are representative of thisfact, citing Esslin's point that: it is irrelevant what [Brecht's] political beliefs were outside of his work...the truth can only be contained in the concrete action of his plays...but these do not give never concrete proof of feasibility... they are completely negative attacks on the existing order. This Shen Te/Shui Ta split is therefore representative of not only the struggle between morality and survival, but also shows a woman struggling in a terribly bad situation. conditions to be good. Although this is a stereotypical desire of women, for Brecht it works in his attempts to attack the existing order; his last cries of "help!" at the end of the play, the tragic side of the play is highlighted as Shui Ta is revealed to be a woman, suffering from her expectations once again. Evaluating the portrayal of Shen Te as a political force means that it must now be analyzed for possible drama. weaknesses and the previous point provides a useful starting point. Shen Te cries for help at the end of the opera, and the empathy this provokes was clearly undesirable for Brecht (Bentley notes that the epilogue was added only after the opera's Vienna premiere, when Brecht was motivated by media misunderstandings) . Brecht's goal of making viewers analyze rather than feel was therefore not fully achieved by the character of Shen Te and required an epilogue delivered "out of character". This unwanted response may be due to Shen Te's familiarity, she is not "made weird" because she is a stereotypical mother role as Lennox claims, and therefore was too familiar to the audience and consequently ultimately led them to feel empathy for she. Bentley (ibidem) discusses the various options for delivering the epilogue, stating that Shen Te's actress usually delivers it, but as an actress This further highlights how Shen Te's character must be disjointed or broken in the end,. and thus implies an inherent weakness in Shen Te's character or actions as these are incapable of providing the desired response on their own. That Shen Te fails to pursue self-interest as a woman furthers this dramatic weakness as it perpetuates her stereotype as a woman from the "mother role" (Lennox 1978); her cries for help at the end show that she has not broken this stereotype and has not developed as a person, she has not changed because she continues to have the conflict between being good to herself (and now with her son) and being good to others. Providing a more empowered version of a woman who can think and change may have removed some of this dramatic weakness, for example if Shen Te had learned from her experiences as Shui Ta and become a compromise between the two (e.g. more confident , better at business, but still kind). Instead, she returns to the role of mother and this makes it difficult to believe in her character when she screams for help, because the audience has seen her help herself as Shui Ta. However, the lack of credibility in the characters is not that dramatic. weakness for Brecht as it would be for other playwrights. The very nature of the play is to make the action seem strange to the audience, and while Shen Te may contain some stereotypical traits, she is not a simple character due to the way Brecht requires her to be played. For example, the actress steps out of character to tell the epilogue, and partially steps out of the role to address the audience with digressions analyzing other characters in the play ("of course, when my purse was empty, they put me out of the way, and they may be afraid that I will do the same to them. political; Shen Te's division and desperation are representative of the conflict between being good to oneself.