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THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE: MOTHERHOOD AND BIRTH

“True motherhood is not necessarily biological.” Write an essay illustrating this statement using Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
The epic Solomonic judgment of two mothers who were fighting over the motherhood of a live child determined a real mother as caring and selfless. In the same spirit, the play The Caucasian Chalk Circle, speaks of a mother who cares for a child that she was willing to let him go than tear him apart.
Although true motherhood is biological, sometimes a true mother, as Eric Bentley says in the poem within the book’s preface, “is a bitch.” Natella Abashwili acts like a bitch when she does not consider holding the child while servants mill around her. She acts foreign to the child and even has the audacity to call one of the servants to follow her with the child when she makes her quick exit from the city.
On the other hand, Grusha comes in handy and offers the protection only a mother can for Michael Abashwili yet she was not the mother. She nurses the child and ensures that the child is not brought to harm. In order to ensure Michael’s safety, Grusha makes the ultimate sacrifice of Marrying Jussup. The thinking behind this is that if people see Michael has a father and a mother, the will be little doubt of his validity as Grusha's child. This could have only worked well if Jussup had died but he never does.
Furthermore, When directed by the court to pull the child from the chalk circle drawn by Shauwa, Grusha is reluctant and apologetic. While the governor's wife goes out of town on the child, violently jerking him out of the circle, Grusha cries and says, “I brought him up, should I also tear him apart?”   
Grusha displays compassion that every mother should have. She displays the great length a woman can go to to make sure that the child is fed, protected and recognized by the society. On the other hand, the governor’s wife comes off as callous, self-possessed and inhuman with little regard for the well-being of the child. From the text, Grusha sets the bar high for those who are motherly and how huge their rewards are.

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