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Loading... The Good Woman of Setzuanby Bertolt Brecht
German Literature (58) Books Read in 2019 (778) » 6 more Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This seems like the sort of thing you could only enjoy if prolonged exposure to NPR has turned your brain into a smooth cube of calcium. ( ) There are many outstanding reviews for this book, so I'll be short. I immensely enjoy the mental stimulation this book gave me while I was reading it and keeps evoking some thoughts even after I've read it. My friend warned me that "a play should not cause the spectator to identify emotionally with the characters or action before him or her, but should instead provoke rational self-reflection and a critical view of the action on the stage", which I pass to whoever would read this review. There must be happy endings, must, must, must! Considering Brecht's Marxist views and some textual evidence (the translation I read had some sentence about "exploitation" in the introduction and some scenes in the factory play into the "evil capitalists" theme a bit) I imagine he intended it to be an anti-capitalist piece. However it comes off as propaganda for Adam Smith - only when the tobacco factory is in operation are workers able to eat without resorting to stealing, Yang Sun is able to get a new suit and the future of the Shen Te's child is secure. Before the factory, when the ideal communist Shen Te is trying to make everyone happy, everything goes to shambles. Perhaps it's an example of art rising above ideology, so to speak. Or, more likely, an example of everyone seeing whatever they want to see in any given book. I want to go with the one I love. I do not want to calculate the cost. I do not want to think about whether it's good. I do not want to know whether he loves me. I want to go with whom I love. Brecht is brutal here, situating his play in China, dangling the Gods who swing between Divine Indifference and Hypocrisy and filling the ranks with all the avarice and sloth that floats from our unctuous species. Some (may) find exception with the titular heroine and her Manichean solution to the query -- How To Serve Man: spoiler, it isn't a cookbook. I thought the device employed by the character is brilliant, a heady response to the pop-up morality of Snapchat Elysium. One came imagine Brecht seething. Sexually frank but lacking overt violence (with one exception) this play becomes a lumpen comedy of manners. Who's laughing?
"La buena persona de Szechwan" es una obra escrita por el dramaturgo alemán Bertolt Brecht en 1938. La historia se sitúa en la ciudad ficticia de Szechwan (actual Shuozhou, China) y gira en torno a Shen Te, una prostituta bondadosa pero empobrecida. En reconocimiento a su bondad, tres dioses visitan Szechwan para encontrar a una persona buena. La hospitalidad de Shen Te la lleva a recibir una recompensa económica, y ella decide utilizar el dinero para abrir un estanco y mejorar su vida. Sin embargo, al aprovecharse de su generosidad, Shen Te crea un alter ego llamado Shui Ta, una personalidad astuta y práctica capaz de enfrentarse a las duras realidades del mundo. La obra explora temas como la moralidad, la justicia social y los retos de mantener la bondad en un mundo marcado por las dificultades económicas y la explotación. Brecht emplea su característico estilo de "teatro épico", con un narrador y escenas de interrupción para distanciar emocionalmente al público, fomentando el compromiso crítico con las cuestiones sociopolíticas presentadas. "La buena persona de Szechwan" desafía las nociones tradicionales de moralidad y plantea cuestiones sobre la viabilidad de ser una buena persona en una sociedad que a menudo premia el interés propio por encima del altruismo. La obra sigue siendo un poderoso comentario sobre la naturaleza humana, la moralidad y las estructuras socioeconómicas que moldean el comportamiento de los individuos. Is contained inBrecht Plays 2 : Fear and misery of the Third Reich + The good person of Szechwan + Mother Courage and her children by Hugh Rorrison Plays Volume 1 & 2 by Bertolt Brecht (indirect) Seven Plays: In the Swamp / A Man's a Man / Saint Joan of the Stockyards / Mother Courage / Galileo / The Good Woman of Setzuan / The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht Brecht : Collected plays : Volume 6 : Dansen + The good person of Szechwan + How much is your iron? + Practice pieces for actors + Puntila and Matti, his hired man + The resistible rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht Brecht Plays 6 : The good person of Szechwan {Willett} + The resistible rise of Arturo Ui {Manheim} + Mr Puntila and his man Matti {Willett} by John Willett The Caucasian Chalk Circle + The Good Person of Szechwan + Life of Galileo + Mr Puntila and his Man Matti by Bertolt Brecht Has as a reference guide/companionHas as a supplementHas as a commentary on the textHas as a student's study guideHas as a teacher's guide
'Brecht's dark, dazzling world-view...makes an absolutely devastating impact. The play is fuelled by the brilliant perception that everyone requires such a dual or split personality to survive.' Evening StandardThree gods come to earth hoping to discover one really good person. No one can be found until they meet Shen Te, a prostitute with a heart of gold. Rewarded by the gods, she gives up her profession and buys a tabacco shop but finds it is impossible to survive as a good person in a corrupt world without the support of her ruthless alter ego Shui Ta.Brecht's parable of good and evil was first performed in 1943 and remains one of his most popular and frequently produced plays worldwide.This Student Edition features an extensiveintroduction and commentary that includes a plot summary, discussion ofthe context, themes, characters, style and language as well asquestions for further study and notes on words and phrases in the text.It is the perfect edition for students of theatre and literature. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)832.912Literature German literature and literatures of related languages German drama 1900- 1900-1990 1900-1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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