The good woman of Setzuan

143 Pages·1982·7.805 MB·English

by  Brecht, Bertolt

BERTOLT BRECHT
THE GOOD WOMAN
OF SETZUAN
RevisEendgi slhv ersion
andI ntroducbtyi on
ERICB ENTLEY
GROVEP RESSI,N C. NEW YORK
-'AcKNOWLEDGMENT. Thet ranslawtiosrh etso a cknowledge
.
-thec ontribuotfiM orns .M ajaA pelmatno t hefir stversion
oft heb ookP arabloefst heT heatraes,p ublishebdy the
UniversoiftM yi nnesoPtrae sisn 1 984.
Copyrighbty EricB entle1y9,4 7a,s a n unpublishMeSd,
RegistraNtoi.oD n- 12239C.o pyrigh©t 19561,9 61
by EricB entleEyp.i logcuoep yright© 1965b y Eric
BentleIyn.t roductcioopnyr igh©t 1965b y Eric
Bentley.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.Thi s playm ay notb ea ctedr,e ad
aloutdo a na udiencber,o adcatsetl,e vipseerdf,o rmed
orp resenint eadn yw ay,a sa wholoer in part,w ithout
permissioInn.q uirisehso ulbde a ddressteodS amuel
FrenchI,n c.2,5 W est4 5thS treeNte,w York,N ew
York1 0036
LibraorfyC ongreCsast alCoagr dN umber6:6 -14106
FirsEtv ergreeBnl acCka tE diti1o9n6 6
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
INTRODUCTION
BertoBlrte chwtr oet Derg utMee nsvcohnS ezuina Snc a­n
dinaviaatth e endo ft henin eteen-thirtieIst.w aso riginally
dedicattoedh isw ifeH elenWee igetlo,w hose playingi t
wasi dalelys ueidt.E vent hem alep art oft her olweo uld
havbeee n nothing newf orh ers:h eh adp layetdh eY oung
Comradein The MeasureTsa keYne.t in, facTt,he Good
Womanh adi twso rlpdr emieinr eZ uricdhu ringW orld
War II,w henF rauW eigewla sa refugine Amee ricaAn.d
byt hetm ie thep lawya sp roducebdy th e Berliner Ensem­
bles hew ast ooo dl fort her olMee.a nwhile thheardeb een
manyAm ericanp roductions.
In 1941Br echhta dc rosstheed U SSR ont heT rans­
SiberiaRnail way andh adth ens aileadc rotshse P acifict o
San PedroC,alif ornia. I wasd oinmgy firsyte aorf t each­
ing att het ime in theU niversiotfyC alifornia atL os
Angelesan,d oneo fm y studenwthso,h adg othim self a
hand printpinrge swsa,n tetdop rints omep oems.An other
studesnaitd th ata German poewta sin town andh ad no
transl.aTh teo nrame wasB recht-wIa sn ota waroef e ver
havingh eardi tth,o ughan othewrirt ero nB rechhtas p ic­
turemde listeningt oT hreeenypn Oerpar ecoradssa n
undergradinu attheemi ddle thirtiesI. ar ranged tos ee the
poewit th a view totr anslatsinegv eroalf h isp oemsf or
my studenptr'ess s.
HerrB rechwta sli vingin a verys mallfr ame housine
Sanat Monica,an d I wass howni nthios b edroomw,h ich
wasa lshiso studHye. hadf ewo rn o booksB.u tth ere
wasa typewritanedr c,o pioefsF reiDeesu tscdh-lwahinch
I latefro untdo b e Cao mmunistm agazinep ublisinhe d
Mexico--werset rewanb outI.n thet ypewritwears th e
5
6 I Introduction
verythin paperf,o ldeddo ublwehi,c hI lateknre w tob e
characteriosftht ei cm an.I tw as on this paper-eth kind
usedfo rc arboconp iewsh eny ouh aven oo nionskin-that
I firssta wa nyo fth e worko fB rechHte. handemde a
couploefs heeotfsi tw hileh el ookeodv ert hes ampleosf
my own workI hadb rought along.
My impressioofnth e man himself ish ard tor ecapture
atthis distance in time. Iti sp ossithbalteI took Brecht for
a trulpyr oletawririant eorn th e scoroef hi sc urretnl ack
ofc asha ndhis genersatyll eo fli ving andd ressThi.s
wouldn o doubt hbaeveen n aivoef m e.Y ett hec harm
and powero fth e encountheardt heirs ourec in justth is
naivetaen,de speciainll thye facthta tI hadn os ensoef
beingin thec ompanoyf a famousm an.Q uitaec ontrast
tot hosmeee tingwist h Brechwth ichy oungp eolpew ere
toh avei nt heni neteen-fiftiwehse,nth e croppehde ada nd
thet ielsehirts sw erew ellk nownin advancef roma score
ofp hotograpahnsd a hunddr eanecdoteFso!r al lI knew,
Brechmitgh t haveh ada trunkfuolf t ise undetrh eb ed,
andi tc ouldh aveb een by chanceth ath ew asti elesast
thet ime. ..o r,a sI sayi,t c oulhda veb eenb ecauhsee
wasa "proletariwanri ter."
Mostf amousw riterosf,c oursweo,u ldh avem ades ure
thatb eforIe l efatf teoru rfi rsti nterviIe diwd have
a sensoef th eirf ame.R emarkabalbeo uBtr echwta sth at
hed idnb'ott hearb outhits . Herew e seet her eahlu man
valuoef w hatI came latetror ecognizea sa certaind elib­
eratdee personalizaotfit ohnin gsw hich Brechbtr ought
aboutH.e didn ott ryt ofin d outm ucha boumte .H e did
notin vitmee tofin d outm ucha bouhimt. As in hisp lays,
two peoplweo uld encounteearc ho therf ort hes ake of
whatt hehya vet od ot ogetheIrw .a sa studenotf G erman
ando fp oetry.H e wasa Germana ndh adw rittesnom e
poemsI.w oultdh ereftorraen slsaotmeeo fh mi.
On thsep otA.n d withhis collaboraFtoiroh ne. al ­
ready knew enough Ehnagvlieas hp rettot y shrewd idea
whethear g iveenx presscioornr espontdothe ed German.
The GoodWo man ofS etzuan I 7
"Frecilih,i chl ebine finstereZne itenT!h"a tw ast hefi rst
lineo no neo ft heb itosf t issupea pehre h adh andmeed.
Whatd idi t mea"nF?ins terZee iteanr"e " dark agWeass. "
ther eferetnocet heD arkA ges?( Ih adn o ideao ft he
contxet.) "Neinn,e in!s"a itdh es taccvaotioceT .he na,f ter
a pufaftt hcei ga(rn ofotr m e "thfeam ousc igar:" ")Nein,
ichm eined ieZseei teHne,rr B entleuyn,s ere-auinc Lho s
Angeles kann esfin stesre in,ni chwta hr?H"e wast easing
mea li ttleT.h att,o oI,w ould latreerg aradsc h aratcesrit.i c
Atth etim e itw ass implyn ew. ... Wel,lw hata bou"tf rei­
lichw,h"ad ti do nes ayin Englifsohr t haIt s?u ggested
many things: "actuall"yo,f"c o urse," "oh, yes," "it's
trueT."oe ach onet,h eq uieytet s harvopic e said":N ein!
Nein!"An d Brechsth ookh ish eadv ery decisivWeel y.
wered iscovetroingge thtehrain t o ure ffortto t ranslhiast e
poetryw e coudl nogte pta sthte v erfiyr swto rd.
The poetry, saysR obertF rosits,th e untranslatable
part.Thi s truthw ase mpiricallcyo nfirmed byB rechatn d
myselbfu,tl u ckiliyti sa t ruthw hicalh la rea greeind a d­
vancteo d efya,nd ah alf-trauttth ha .tA lootf p oetrjyu st
asp roblemataiscB arle chhtas'c som ed ownt ou sin more
languagethsa no ne-witwhh atevcehra ngaelso ntgh ew ay.
Although somethingm usth avheap penetdo m y student's
handp resfso,I rn evesra wan ything in prin tf romi tI,h ad
begun translaBteinrgt oBlrte chatn d am stilld oing so
now,n earlya q uartoefra ce ntury later.
Fora while nothing wass aiad bouptub lication.B ut
thenB rechwta ntehid sp oem "To the German Soldiers
in theE astt"o c omoeu .tW ith him itwa sal waysa m atter
oft hep laacen dth e time top ublish something, c.onsidered
notp ersonaolrl"y l iterarbiultyp o,li"t ialcly: peopline
Americas houlndo w readw hath eh adt os aya boutth e
German armiesin RussiSao. I translattheadt p oema nd
senittt oP artiRseaivne wT.h ec hoicwea.sp oltiicallyin ept,
sinceth e editwoerrsev iolenatnltyi -Communisbtu,tt hen,
beinga nti-Communitshte,yk newa bouBtr echwth,i cah t
thatd ateoth ere ditors dIni dnfa'ctt,.P artihsadaru nn a
8 I Introduction
"biga"r tiacbloeu himt in1 941I. wa sa littlupes ewth en
DwighMta cDonalrde,j ecttihnepg o emf orth e magainze,
tolmde howo utrageso huec onsideirste cdo ntenttobs e .
(In1 96a5n e ditoofrP artiwsasa tno a skm e pleansoet
tofi ght the ColdW arw hen criticitzhieBn rge chthte atre
in EastB erlinW.e ll,i ti sg oodt hattim esc hange".T)o
theG erm an Soldieinr st heE astfi"n allya ppearine dR ay
B.W est'msa gazine,th e Rocky MountaRienv iew.
Meanwhile,I hadm y firsts izable assigntm efnrom
Brechtto:t arnslate,if notf orc asohn t helin e,a ta nyr ate
forp ossibplubel icaantdi opne rrmfaonce,hi s full-length
plaTyh eP rivLaitfeoe ft hMea stReacre .This sequenocfe
scenesa boulifte undert he Nazish adj usbte ens tageind
German in New YorkC itbyy B ertholdV iertewlh,o m I
had gott ok nowan,d itw asV iertewlh ou rgeudp onB recht
thep ossibiliotfany English-langupargoed uctthieorne if,
a translwaatsoi noh nan d.B y this timeI wast eachinagt
BlacMko untainC ollee ing North Carol,inan ad the first
performancoef theE nglish-languPargiev aLtieft eo ok
placine theunlik ely environmento ft heS outhM.y stu­
dentansd I evenb roadcaa gsoto dd ealo fi to nth e Ashe­
viller adiAnod. whenw ed ida stagreeda dinogf t hew hole
plaayt t hec ollegthee, c omposFerirtz Cohepne rformeadt
theo rgaInr .e caall v ersioofnt heH orsWte sseSlo ngwi th
magnificendtilsyt orted harmonies.
Thep latno d ot hepl ay in New Yorkdi d notd ieb ut
unfoldetdo os low.l Thye warw asa lmosto verw hen
finally itw asp uto n,a ndt hep ubliwco uldn otw isht o
hearan othewro rda boutth eN azis forfi fteeonrt wenty
yearAsl.s ot,h es howi tsewlfa sb aldy messeudp .B recht
musth aves uspecftreodm t he beginning thatit w ould be,
forw henh ea skewdh att he productoiuotfint w as called,
andw ast ol"dTh e Theatroef Al l Nationhse,h "a dr e­
plied":I tt'oso m any."
ButB rechptu blicaint iAomne ricah adb egun tog et
undewra y.U p to1 94o0nl y the ThreepeNnonvyeh la d
beenp ublishaenddth, atb ya publishwehro sein tereins t
TheG oodW omano fS etzuan I 9
Brechwta sn onexisteTnhte.fi rsptu blisthoes rh owr eal
interewsats J ayL aughlin, foundearn do wnero f New
DirectioHnes .h adb roughotu ta translatoifoM no ther
Coureai gn1 941He. h adP rivLaitfeoe ft ehM asteRra ce
readiny 1944A.ro undthis timee venw armerin tereins t
Brechwta ss hownb yth e firm ofR eynaaln dH itchcock,
andB rechsti gneda contracwti tht hemf ora ne ditioofn
his collectweodr kso,f w hichI w ast ob eg enereadli tor.
How muchh appi,e arsw ell as simplerth,e history of
American Brechptu blishwinogul d haveb eenh adt he
plan gonethr ough!B utC urtiHciet chcowchko,s e brain­
child itw asd,i esdo onaft er;t hefi rm wass oltdo H arcourt,
Bracean;d Harcoudirtd nott akoev ert heB rechptr oject.
Itp roveimdp ossibtloei nteraensyto thepru blisahte r
thatt imine takingo nt hec ollectweodr kos fB rechFta.c ed
with thisn ews ituatiBorne,c hastk edm e tog etin dividual
playpsu blishwehde nevoeprp ortunityo ffereda ndb yw hat­
everp ublishinhgo useU.n til 1960I foundo nly one
publiswhheorw ouldt akoen a volumoef B rechatt al l,
andI g othim publishleardg elbyy t hed eviceo fc hoosing
hisp layfso ri nclusini omny ownd rama anthologieEsv.e n
thiss ometimess eemeedc centritco p ublisheFrosr.e xam­
plea,t D oubledayw'hse,n T hreepOenpenrywa a sin cluded
in my Modern Theatmry ee,dit or-in-chJiaesfoE,np stein,
who otherwisen eveorb jectteoda nyo fm y choiceins­,
quired":W hata rew e doingp ublishinang operliab retto?"
Theo nep ublishteora greteo b ringo uta volumeo f
Brechint th esel eany earwsa st heU niversoifMint ny esota
Pressw,hi ch issuePda rabfloetrsh Te heatirn1 e9 48I.t
cannobte s aidt hep ublicactrieoaetnd a sensatioortn h,a t
the Presesx pectietdt o.B utin the fiftieBsr echcta ught
on.T he GoodW omanan dC halkC ircle-tthweo P ara­
bleosf t heM innesovtoal ume-wee rtriumphantly pro­
duceind manyc ountriesan,d Minnesotwaa sa blteo l ease
paperbaricgkh tosn theirb ookt oGr ove Presins New
Yorka ndL ondonT.h ereafttehrib se camet heb esknto wn
ofal lB rechbto oksi nE nglish-speackinogu nteris.An d
10 I Introductoin
the twop laysw erepe rformedf amr oreth ana nyo fB recht's
otheinr sB rtisihan d Americatnh eaetsr.
The worlpdr mieere of The CacuasiCahna lCki rcle
wasa tC arleton CoNlloergtehfi,e lMdi,n nesota, int he
sprionfg1 948.Th e samesp ring The GoodW omanha d
itAmse ricanp remieraet H amline UniversSitt.yP ,a ul,
Minnestoa. Allth e moreen terprisincgo lleges thenbe gan
doingt he parables, andp rofesisonala ctiviftoyl lowaleodn g
ati tlso werra toef s peed.I accetped an invitattoid oirne ct
the firsptr ofesisonalp roduction ofT heC acuasiaCnh alk
CircatlH eed georw Theatren,e aPrh iladelpinhi thae, s um­
mero f1 948.M eanwhile Uta Hagen hadd onea staged
reaindg ofT heG oodW omanin New Yorks;h e wasl ater
top lay thet itrloel ien t hefi rsftu lplro ductoin oft hep lay
in New YorkA.r oun d 1950T he CaucasiCahna lCki rcle
wasa mongt hes mallgr oup ofp laysw hicbhr uogh tt ogether
in Chicagto heg iftepde oplweh ow oullda tbeeri dentified
asm emberso f" SeconCdi ty"a nd" The Compas.s" (Iw ell
recatlhle s truggwlee h adg ettinagn yr oyatlieso uto f
them.B)o tht hep arableevse ntuablleyc amep laytsh aaltl
them orea mbitiopurso fesisonal theatrethse yknh eawdt o
do.T heA ctorW'so rkshop ofS an Francisocffoe read
lavipsroh ductoni ofT heC ausciaaCnha lkC irciln1 e96 3.
The MinnesotThae atreC ompanyin Minneapolis didt he
plaayt t he Tyroen GuthrTihee atinre 1 965.
A worda boutth et extI.t ,t ooh, asd eveloped with
the yearWhsa.t Brechstai dh ew antefdo,hr i fisr satp pear­
ances in printin theU nitedS tast,ew asa faithwfourld ­
for-worrepdr oudctoni oft heG ermanT.h ish eg ots,a ve
forso mee rrors which cawueghrtel ateirnt, h efi rsetd ition
publisbhyeM din nesotTah.e o nlys ignificant omissiofnr om
the booka tt hatitm e was thato fth e PrologtuoeT he
CaucasiaCnh alCki rcFloert .h em anuscriwpats d elivered
toth e publishersa ta boutt het imeo fB rechtap'psae rance
beforteh eH ouseU n-AmreicaAnc tivitiCeosmmi tteei n
Washingt on (Octobre 1947). Itw aso na dvicef romh im
thatt hea ppearanocef th isP rolouge wasp otsponed.F rom
The GoodW omano fS etzuan I 11
whichin cidenhta vec omet wof alserum ors: onet,h atth e
Prologwuaes w rittelna tearn ds oh adn otb eenp art of
Brecht's odrirgainfaotlf t hep laytw;o , thatth eo mission
wasm adeo n my initiativea nds o constitutedeidt orial
interferIetsn hcoeu.l bed addethda tw henan authosra ys,
"Let'nso tin cludseu cha nds ucha passatgilell aterh,e"
mayw elnlo tf oresfeoehr o wl ogn hei sp ostponinigt isn ­
clusioTno. in serta prologutehe, p rinterh ast or edoa
wholpel ayTh.e Prologuteo T heC aucasiCahna lCki rcle,
thougfho unind theG erman manuscriBprte chste nmte
in 194d5i,dn ota ppeainr E nglishu ntilth e TulaDner ama
Reviperinwt edi ta tm y requeisnt1 95S9oo.n thereafter,
itt urnedu p in theG roveE vergrepeanp erbaecdki tioofn
the play.
Perhapasl lg oodf oreipglna yssh oulbde published
first in vae ryli tertarla nslaatnidos nu bsequeinn tvlariy­
ousa ttemptast a trueeq uivaleenvte,,n if necessainr y,
"adaaptitosn."S omep laycsan havehi gh literaqruya lity
in anothelra nguaagned a tt hes ametim e bef airllyi teral
transcriptiOotnhse.r hsa ven ot provesdo amenable(.I
to
puti tt hucsa utiousalllyo wf ort hep ossibyi tlihtasto me
oral l ofth em mightp roveso a menablaets omef uture
with
time.)B rechtto yed thei deoaf hi s playasl waybse ing
literatrlalnys latfeodrp ublicna tanido freealdya pted for
performanceB.u te venthi s isn ota perfectf ormulaW.h en­
evetrh es tagvee rsiiosnm orep lausihbalsem ,o rec harac­
term,o rec harm,vi vacitedyg,e , orw hatnotr,e asonable
readewilrsl prefeirtn oto nly in thet heatrbeu tin the
iti s
studyf:o r morer eadaeb.Hl encew,h enI hadt o
discathred literatlr anslatioofnT heG oodW omanfo r
stagpeu rposest,h en onliteralt extth arte sultewda sa d­
judgepdr eferabbyl peu blisheanrds readearssw ell as
producearnsd s pectatFoorrsth .e PhoeniThxe atrep ro­
1956)
ductio(nN ewY or,k I decidteodi gnoret hel iteral
translaatlitoong ethaenrdw ,o rking agaiwinth the German,
tom akea completneelwyr enderingf ort hes tagSein.ce
allt hel argliebrr ariheasv ec opieosft hefir stMin n esota