Prof. Mandakini Dubey
Forms of Literature
8th May 2018
Peace and War
Horace’s unabashed glorification of war in his line “dulce et decorum est pro patria mori”, which translates to ‘it is sweet and fitting to die for the fatherland’, encapsulates a large reason behind why, historically, man has gone to war with his own kind (Horace III.2.13). Preconceptions of glory, prospects of immense material gain, and in some cases, the will of the Gods, have all made it a worthwhile endeavor to launch bloodbaths against each other. Sophocles’ ‘Antigone’, and Bertolt Brecht’s ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’ are two plays that take place in a war-torn environment. Both extoll several aspects of what it means to be in a state of war, especially since only one is a tragedy. These two plays offer an enlightening outlook on the morality attached to the state of war and it’s consequences. Mother Courage and King Creon are two characters traditionally pigeonholed as corrupt and lacking honor for their actions, but this paper makes the case that in a state of war, their actions are beyond good and evil. This paper also explores the different aspects of war and analyses the ethics underlying them.
Antigone and Mother Courage provide two particularly enticing perspectives at the consequences of war. The former focuses primarily on the aristocratic class, the people responsible for waging the war and the ones with the most to lose or gain. Mother Courage and Her Children, on the other hand, focuses on the base of the base- the ones at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. The war affects both classes in the same way. It pushes them to act in ways they might not have otherwise. This is precisely why the state of war must be treated as completely distinct from a peaceful state. Beneath the brusqueness of Mother Courage lies a warm heart that never abandons her dumb daughter. From Antigone, a dialogue by the sentry whose life is under threat perfectly illustrates the point. He says, “It’s pure joy to escape the worst yourself, it hurts a man to bring down his friends. But all that, I’m afraid, means less to me than my own skin. That’s the way I’m made” and indeed, he is right (Sophocles 486-489). The natural law of self-preservation that is automatically bequeathed to every human implies that one, at his core, most values his own continued existence and comfort. The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was enshrined in the US Constitution keeping this very thing in mind. It is also why rights and duties are suspended in a time of conflict, because the same rules do not apply anymore. Our conceptions of right and wrong are based on ideal scenarios where nobody has to kill, loot, or cheat to sustain or preserve themselves. However, in a state of war, all of these and more are necessary due to the no-holds barred nature of war. Moral weakness in carrying out such tasks could mean death, or worse. Mother Courage epitomizes this spirit of amorality, while maintaining some semblance of her humanity. King Creon’s belief in the absolute authority of the king is a complimentary aspect of this, since it is the only thing that can, according to Hobbes, keep men in line and dissuade them from tearing each other apart. Like the sentry says, in such a state, a man’s own skin is the only and most important aspect of his existence. In peacetime, when existential threats are accidents rather than routine, it benefits us a society to maintain a benchmark for acceptable behavior, which, according to every constitution in the world, does not apply to war.
We begin with the root cause of war. In the two plays, the exigencies of an authority fulfill this cause. In Antigone, the exigency is evidently the throne of Thebes. In Mother Courage, the Thirty Years War was caused by attempts of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II to repress the activities of his Protestant subjects. The war would only come to a halt with the historic Treaty of Westphalia, a fact that will bear significance later in the paper (Britannica 1998). Both plays shine an interesting light on the concept of authority and agency, and how leaders hide behind the aegis of deities during war. In Antigone, King Creon repeatedly refers to the will of Zeus and the Hellenic Gods as the reason he won the war, while Brecht writes of a war between Protestants and Catholics. Only the latter is prudent enough to admit that religion is always just a cursory attribute assigned to veil the true motive: material gain (Brecht 24). Religion adds a noble embellishment to a selfish cause, inspiring mass action. In the Encyclopedia of Wars, author Charles Philips only ascribes 123 wars in our to religion entire recorded history (David Schell 2016). The religious undertone presents an interesting hierarchy, wherein war is seen as a result of the will of the Gods first and the king second, while Brecht portrays his characters to be at the mercy of the unnamed aristocrats in charge of carrying the war, supposedly in the name of “all that is good and lovely” (Brecht 24). King Creon routinely hides behind the guise of the Gods, while Mother Courage is happy to ascribe the evils of war to the truly responsible, humans themselves. “After all, they aint wolves, just humans out for money. Corruption in humans is same as compassion in God. Corruption is our only hope”, she says (Brecht 35). In Mother Courage, the characters have nobody to blame but other humans and the conditions that war creates for them. It recognizes that war brings out, and is a result of the worst in us, and is not a mere figment of divine pass-time. While King Creon could technically use the Eichmann defense in any court of law, he alone is responsible for his actions. But were they, or Mother Courage’s wrong?
In the events succeeding his ascension to power, King Creon makes several decisions that result in great misfortune to him, regardless of how much of it was decided upon independently or by considering God’s will. The state of war has still not receded for him. His decisions to kill Antigone persist with his decision on Eteocles, and turning on his trusted seer all seem foolish in hindsight, but whether they can really be justified is the aim of this paper. Mother Courage is looked down upon for her forthright parasitical exploitation of war, a thorough abandonment of principles that would be commonplace in peacetime. However, this behavior is observed in several other characters throughout the book. The Armorer says this, “I don’t trust him, he’s a pal of mine” (Brecht 19). Yvette benefits handsomely from the war by marrying the brother of colonel. Mother Courage is faced with several tough choices throughout the course of the play, and while her response might seem cruel, her motive is obvious. Be it when she refused the Chaplain her linen, or when she chose to protect her cart in favor of chasing Yvette, or her bargaining/playing with Swiss Cheese’s life, her reasons are always looking at the bigger picture. Her role as a mother to three children leads to this notion that her children must come first, but the existential threat to herself is also something she needs to consider. When the Chaplain flirts with her, she admits that her primary goal is to take care of herself and her children through the tough times of peace coming ahead. She also shows Kattrin affection several times throughout the play despite her being sheer deadweight in a time like this. Bargaining for Swiss Cheese’s life was essentially ‘Sophie’s choice’ for her, while ignoring Yvette’s advice on the cook was another decision bathing in self-interest. Mother Courage thrives on the lawlessness that war brings, economically and otherwise, and is not ashamed of it.
Antigone too contains several such scenes where the actions of the characters are more morally dubious than they first appear. When Haemon tells his father that the public do not approve of his decision to kill Antigone, King Creon’s reaction is to undermine the relevance of this. While a democratically elected leader might have cared more, Creon is not king by the consent of the people. His claim to the throne rests in his lineage and blood. As such, when faced with apparent threats in the immediate aftermath of a war, his instinctive reaction to protect himself seems predictable even if not wholly convincing. His decision to kill Antigone for disobeying his laws would be perfectly legal anywhere else. If an offender is not punished, what incentive does it leave to anyone else to abide by the laws. This is not to say that Creon was not tyrannical, but that it was justified under the circumstances he was in. “Oh its terrible when the one who does the judging judges things all wrong”, says the sentry in another astute observation (Sophocles 366-367). However, since he is the only judge, disobeying him would normally be more counter-intuitive than the alternative. Haemon makes a compelling argument when he tells Creon that even the best, most capable and intelligent men can learn and improve. Creon’s mistake does not lie in not heeding his advice, but in alienating him and treating him like a traitor. Speaking of alienation, after Haemon storms out of the palace, the Chorus sings of how it is Love with a capital L that has “ignited this kindred strife”, and not the dynamics of power that war brings about (Sophocles 889). It is important to note that, as Brecht points out in Mother Courage, that kings in themselves are powerless. They rely on ordinary folk to preserve their power, and is the reason they often lose it. Executing Antigone could have resulted in a backlash from the public, but Creon did what he thought best, and attaching a moral attribute to it is dicey at best. In the Athenian model of democracy, Creon would and should invite scorn for his deeds, but all’s fair in love and war.
The one scene from Mother Courage that most heavily influences the reader’s image of the nature of war is the discussion between her and the Chaplain regarding whether the war will ever end. The Chaplain answers negatively, saying that the war has no reason to end, even if there are intervals of peace. The passage echoes the sentiment expressed by Winston in 1984 when he mulls over whether peace is interrupted by wars, or vice versa (Orwell 12). The Treaty of Westphalia marked a suspension of hostilities after a cataclysmic war initially about religion had enveloped every possible related problem into account to prolong the war. The War ended due to the sheer depravity and horror it had caused to all the countries involved, and sustaining the war became impossible (Britannica 1998). In effect, the Chaplain was correct to predict that the war had no reason short of total destruction to end, and some European powers came close to it. “The horror became a way of life and when the war finally ended, the mercenaries and their womenfolk complained that their livelihood was gone”, writes Richard Cavendish (Cavendish 1998). After Chaplain’s monologue, Mother Courage was persuaded to purchase more supplies shortly before peace was to be declared, unbeknownst to her. When peace is declared, she grumbles at the comprehension that her livelihood was about to evaporate. The scene supposedly shows her humanity at its most depraved, but the war will always breed those dependent on it. If nobody ever profited from wars, nobody would sacrifice resources to win them. Mother Courage did not start the war, nor is she contributing to its preservation in any way. She is doing what needs to be done to stay alive and well in a country torn by conflict. The only difference is, for Mother Courage and her kind, life goes on whether the war is lost or won, but for King Creon and Antigone, it is a matter of life and death.
This ensures that Mother Courage and Her Children is not a conventional tragedy since the characters are resigned to their fate. Antigone, on the other hand, is a perfect example of one according to Aristotle. Brecht uses war to extrapolate the resilience and versatility of humans to sustain themselves somehow, even in the worst circumstances. “Wherever life has not died out, it staggers to it’s feet again”, and that is precisely what Mother Courage does after ensuring Kattrin’s burial (Brecht 84). This sentiment is echoed by the chorus in Antigone, who sing, “Numberless wonders, terrible wonders walk across the earth but none the match for man” (Sophocles 376-378). King Creon and Mother Courage are fairly easy to characterize at first glance. However, a deeper look into the motives behind their actions proves the moral dilemmas they face, and the decisions they take are in their best self-interest, which is not necessarily evil. This does not excuse Mother Courage her constant hypocrisy or King Creon’s pride, but it does excuse the will to survive and live another day.
Works Cited
Brecht, Bertolt. Mother Courage and Her Children. London: Methuen, 1980. Print.
Cavendish, Richard. "The Treaty of Westphalia." History Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 May 2018.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Thirty Years' War." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., 20 Nov. 2017. Web. 7 May 2018.
Horace. "III." Odes. Trans. David R. Slavitt. N.p., 2014. Web. 6 May 2018.
Orwell, George. "Chapter 3." 1984. New York: Harper Collins, 1984. Print.
Schell, David. "Fact Check: Religious Wars: Only 123 of 1763?" David M Schell. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 May 2018.
Sophocles. "Antigone." The Three Theban Plays: Antigone ; Oedipus the King ; Oedipus at Colonus. Ed. Bernard Knox. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Classics, 1984. 59-128. Print.