Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF NASILIAN CULTURE IN BLOSSOMS OF THE SAVANNAH

SOME ASPECTS OF CULTURE ARE BENEFICIAL AND OUGHT TO BE MAINTAINED. USING EXAMPLES FROM THE NOVEL, BLOSSOMS OF THE SAVANNAH, WRITE A COMPOSITION TO ILLUSTRATE THE TRUTH OF THE STATEMENT Culture defines our identity and social relationships within a certain setup. Sometimes, some cultural aspects come off as bad while others can be looked at as good. However, culture only becomes bad when compared to another that seems superior. Many African communities found themselves at crossroads when the ‘superior’ European culture was thrown down their gullets. Nevertheless, many African cultures have grown into what they are today while some have retained what can be perceived as negative cultural practices. In the book Blossoms of the Savannah, H.R Kulet presents a boiling pot of cultural confusion within the Maa community specifically the people of Nasila. As we can see, some of the Nasilian cultural practices can be beneficial to the wellbeing of society and, therefore, should be maintaine

NEGATIVE CULTURAL PRACTICES AMONG THE PEOPLE OF NASILA IN BLOSSOMS OF THE SAVANNAH

The book Blossoms of the Savannah explores both the positive and negative cultural practices. H. R Kulet describes intimately those cultural practices he believes are best and on the other hand, lets us in on some of the cultural practices he believe were injurious. Interestingly, the negative cultural practices are aimed at women. The most poignant cultural practice that negatively affects women is Female genital mutilation. Although according to Parmuat, the practice was started by women to resist the evil Ilarinkoi, it continued to cause wanton pain and torture on women. Taiyo and Resian are determined to fight it. Resian manages to evade the brutal practice however Taiyo barely makes it having been forcibly cut. FGM is a global menace affecting millions of women in Africa and Asia. Although its benefits are only anthropological, its effects are very damning and could lead to death.  Second among the negative Nasilian culture is early marriage. Resian still has goals to fu

THE THEME OF INHERITANCE IN THE PLAY INHERITANCE BY DAVID MULWA

Inheritance refers to what is left by the deceased to the family in material wealth or sometimes power. However, the word could have diverse meanings when applied to works of literature. In this respect, David Mulwa looks at inheritance in various ways. The play revolves around a three decades old Kutula under its new leadership. Having achieved independence from colonial masters, Kutula is now governed by Lacuna Kasoo-the son of pre-independence King Kutula XV. Lacuna ascended to power after the death of his father. Although the King has adopted Princess Sangoi as his successor, he dies mysteriously thus handing the power to the greedy, self-centred Lacuna. As it were, Lacuna conspired with the colonial masters to assassinate his father King Kutula XV. Having assumed power with the help of colonial masters, Lacuna runs the government under the influence of Kutula’s former imperialists. He receives hefty loans aimed at ‘developing’ the country. However, the loans are meant to make Kutu