Mother Courage and her children"Mother Courage and her children", by Bertolt Brecht, is a play that can be seen from different angles. Some see it as a commentary on the socio-economic aspects of the war, others as a critique of bourgeois capitalism intended to encourage change in modern society. The somewhat tragic events of the play allow critics to consider it a "tragedy", but one which, to some extent, deviates from the Aristotelian definition. Aristotle believed that tragedy should revolve around a central character: the "tragic hero", on whom the plot focuses and who exhibits certain characteristics, which lead to his downfall, but in this particular case, to her. The role of such a character is essential to the presentation of a play as a tragedy; However, it is not really clear which character in the play this identity belongs to: Mother Courage herself, or her daughter, Kattrin. Perhaps the most obvious potential tragic figure is the play's main character: Mother Courage. She demonstrates an ability to survive, through which the audience recognizes her strength of character and her instinct for self-preservation. This is closely related to her sense of capitalism, which she prioritizes the alternative, more virtuous qualities presented in the play, such as Swiss Cheese's honesty and Kattrin's selflessness. Mother Courage's rigid capitalist position can be interpreted as her "tragic flaw", or "hamartia", the term Aristotle uses to describe the error that led to the protagonist's downfall. This is a flaw that Mother Courage constantly exposes and a mistake that occurs three times upon the deaths of her children, as she is absent doing business on all three occasions. However, despite her apparent detachment from her children, it is evident that Mother Courage genuinely cares about her children's well-being: during a discussion with Cook about future prospects, she states: "everything what I'm looking for is (to) get myself and my children out of all this with my cart." In the juxtaposition created by the reluctant combination of the roles of mother and shopkeeper, it may be -being primarily a tragic contradiction in Mother Courage's character, rather than her role as a tragic heroine, this is emphasized. Alternatively, this contrast could be interpreted as an indication that Mother Courage is morally "unsound." neither entirely good nor entirely bad" ... middle of paper ... her tragic flaw There is an obvious obstacle in Kattrin's position as a tragic heroine in that she is not the central character, this. which makes it difficult to envision her as the true tragic heroine of the play. However, she could not realistically play the lead role in such a play due to her muteness, as this would hinder characterization and plot development. Nonetheless, Kattrin is on stage for a considerable portion of the play, suggesting that although she does not occupy the most important position, she acts as a tragic antithesis closely related to the lead role, Mother Courage. In conclusion, one could argue that either of these two women in "Mother Courage and Her Children" could be loosely described as a tragic heroine, but I believe that Kattrin demonstrates heroism and virtue which are necessary to be considered worthy of this title: Mother Courage is absorbed into a society. where the possession of heroic qualities is not only impossible, but unimportant. The combination of tragic circumstances with Brecht's "Verfremdung" technique prevents the tragedy from dominating other aspects of the play, which explains the difficulty in identifying..