The Good Man of Sezuan – Summary
«The Good Man from Sezuan» is a play by Bertold Brecht, which premiered in 1943. His play belongs to the epic theatre. This means that it contains typical dramatic elements (e.g. dialogues), but also features of the epic (e.g. narrative elements).
The play deals with the conflict between morality and survival and the attempt to uphold ethical principles in spite of all circumstances. The author addresses this by telling the story of the fate of the kind-hearted Shen Te in the Chinese province of Sezuan. Out of necessity, Shen Te is forced to slip into the role of her ruthless cousin, Shui Ta’s.
The Good Man of Szechuan Synopsis
The piece includes 10 scenes, a prelude, an epilogue and seven interludes. The setting is the province of Sichuan in China, which, according to the author, is parabola is used. This means that it is not about the real place.
The starting point is an investigation commissioned by the gods, at the end there is a court hearing and an epilogue.
The piece is triple layered. It unfolds on the level of the gods, the dramatic action and the spectator.
contents
foreplay
The water seller Wang tells of the great poverty and desperation that prevail in Sezuan. He sees a glimmer of hope when three gods appear, searching for godly people in the city. Wang then looks for them accommodation, but only the prostitute Shen Te is willing to welcome the three, despite great financial hardship. When the gods found out about Shen’s distress the next morning, the gods gave her lots of money.
- Arrival of three gods
- The gods help Shen Te out of her financial distress
1. A small tobacco shop
Shen Te uses the money to buy a tobacco shop. Even before the shop opens, they ask those in need for food and shelter, which they are happy to provide. A carpenter appears and demands money for the store shelves, which the previous owner never paid for. However, Shen Te is out of money.
Later the homeowner comes and asks for a reference. Unable to show them, Shen Te invents a cousin, Shui Ta, who can get both.
- Shen Te buys a tobacco shop
- However, she soon encounters other hardships
Interlude under a bridge
Wang dreams of the gods ordering him to return to the capital to keep an eye on Shen Te.
2. The Tobacconist
In the morning, a strange man appears at the tobacco shop, who introduces himself as Shui Ta, Shen Te’s alleged cousin. However, the cousin is unwilling to pay the carpenter the full amount he is asking for. He also sends away the family who have been looking for shelter in the store.
- The fictional cousin shows up and helps Shen Te
3. Evening in the city park
On the way to the city park, Shen Te meets an unemployed aviator named Yang Sun. She stops him from committing suicide. After that, Wang comes over and complains about the rain. This makes his business difficult. Shen Te then buys him some water.
- Shen Te helps Yang Sun and Wang
interlude
Wang dreams of the gods again. He tells them about the many benefits of Shen Te. However, when they learn that Shen has asked her cousin for help, they are disappointed and doubt that she is good enough.
- Wang dreams of the gods again and reports back to them.
4. In front of Shen’s Tobacco Shop
The next morning, some people gossip about Shen Teh not coming home. She spent the night at Sun’s, who she fell in love with. To pay her rent, Shen borrows 200 silver dollars from her neighbors.
Later she visits Sun’s mother, she reports that Sun has been offered a job as a pilot at the Post Office in Beijing. However, he needs 500 silver dollars for this.
Shen Teh gives her the 200 silver dollars she has borrowed and promises to be able to find the rest of the money.
- Shen Te is in love with Sun and tries to help him
- Her charity puts herself in a difficult financial position
Interlude before the curtain
Shen Te sings as Shui Ta «The Song of the Defenselessness of the Gods and Good».
She dons Shui Ta’s disguise, making it clear that she’s playing both roles.
5. The Tobacconist
Shen Te is disguised as her cousin when Sun visits her. He asks her to sell the tobacconist to get the missing 300 silver dollars. The homeowner agrees to this sum.
However, Shen Te now learns that Sun needs the money to bribe a friend to get him the job and that he doesn’t want to take Shen to Beijing.
Then the barber Shu Fu comes by and explains that he would give some of the houses to Shen if she marries him. However, when Sun reappears and meets Shen, she chooses him and breaks the engagement with the barber.
- Shen Te sells her tobacco shop
- Sun wants to leave Shen Te behind
- Shen Te is looking for a new man at short notice
Interlude before the curtain
Shen Te laments her financial woes. She fears that the old couple will not be able to repay the money they owe.
6. A cheap restaurant
The wedding of Shen Te and Sun is to take place in a cheap restaurant. However, when Sun learns that Shen wants to pay the couple back the 200 silver dollars and cannot give it to him, he decides to postpone the wedding. Shen Te tries to talk him out of waiting, but to no avail. Sun sings «The Song of the Never Little Day».
- Shen Te and Sun’s wedding is put on hold when Sun learns Shen can’t give him any money after all.
interlude
In a dream, Wang tells the gods about the great need of Shen Te. He asks her to help her, but she refuses.
7. Behind Shen Te’s Tobacco Shop
The wedding is canceled and Shen Te broke up with Sun. She is about to sell her shop to the homeowner. Shu Fu gives her a blank check, allowing her to fill out the required amount herself.
Later, Shen finds out that she is pregnant by Sun.
Cousin Shui Ta shows up again. He sets up a tobacco factory in the landlady’s house and gives all former petitioners a job there. He pays the rent for the shop with the check.
- Shen Te separates from Sun
- She opens – disguised as a cousin – a tobacco factory
interlude
Wang pleads with the gods for a lenient sentence on Shen Te, to no avail.
8. Shui Ta’s Tobacco Factory
The people work in the cousin’s successful tobacco factory under degrading conditions. Sun’s mother says that her son also got a job and rose from a simple worker to a supervisor.
- Sun works in Shui Ta’s successful factory
9. Shen Te’s Tobacco Shop
It is learned that Shen Te has not appeared in her shop for a long time. Sun tells Shui Ta that his factory is illegal and threatens to call the police. In the meantime, he is negotiating with the house owner and agreeing to take over new factory premises.
Wang now suspects that something happened to Shen Te. Sun learns from him that Shen Te is said to have been pregnant. Both suspect that Shui Ta is holding them captive and call the police. She finds Shen Te’s clothes on the cousin, who is then taken to the police station on suspicion of murder.
- One worries about Shen Te
- Shui Ta is arrested on suspicion of murder
interlude
When Wang tells the gods about Shen Te’s disappearance, they decide to rush to her aid.
10. Courthouse
In the courtroom, Shui Ta must appear before the three gods. They are the judges in the process. The cousin then faints until he finally reveals his true identity.
The gods cannot believe that their «good man of Sezuan» is also the bad one.
They label Shen Te confused so they don’t have to admit that their commandments on earth don’t always work. The gods then float back to heaven and praise Shen Te as the good man of Sezuan, despite her pleading for help.
- Shui Ta reveals his true identity in the courtroom
- The gods refuse to accept that their «good man» lied to them
epilogue
An actor explains to the audience that the play has an open ending. He asks the audience to think about what is happening. Everyone should answer for themselves how a good person can come to a good end.
- The drama has an open ending
The good man of Sezuan – the most important people
Shen Te
- The prostitute is willing to be good and help the gods to fulfill their mission
- However, she later learns that this would lead to personal and financial ruin.
Shui Ta
- He is Shen Te’s fictional cousin – her alter ego.
- He knows how to assert himself by any means.
- He’s ruthless.
- He and Shen Te are mirror images of each other.
The gods
- Three gods come to earth to find a good man.
- They find this good person in Shen Teh, but find that their commandments don’t work on Earth.
Sun
- Shen Te’s lover and fiancé
- Shen Te leaves him after he doesn’t want to take her to Beijing.
- He asks Shen for a lot of money, which puts her in a difficult situation.
Wang
- He’s the town’s water seller.
- In his dreams he talks to the gods and tells them about Shen’s deeds.
«The good man of Sezuan» – meaning of the work
In his play, Bertold Brecht asks whether there is a truly good person at all. Shen Te’s claim of «being good and yet living» is doomed from the start. She lives a dilemma between her own needs and her selfless drive to always want to help others.
The author addresses the inevitable moral conflict in a capitalist society. He challenges societal guidelines and calls on the viewer to take action for a new world in which it is possible to be good.
«The good man from Sezuan» – everything at a glance:
- The play by Berholt Brecht premiered in 1943.
- The setting is Szechuan Province, an unreal place in China
- The piece is triple layered. It unfolds on the level of the gods, the dramatic action and the spectator.
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