The Good Woman of Setzguan Brecht
Tee’s forced choice to become Shush Ta underscores the impossibility of good and veil’s coexistence. Through Sheen Tee’s exploitation by the family and the unemployed man and through the extravagant demands Of many Of her acquaintances, the playwright argues the selfishness and nonchalance which infect people’s public relations, creating an ominous environment for good to exist in. Hence, he provides Sheen Et with a male self to supply her with characteristics acceptable for the masculine gender such s forcefulness, aggressiveness and determination, impressively succeeding in good and veil’s parallel existence.
Undoubtedly, the writer equips Sheen Et with the indispensable weapons – on Shush Tat’s character – to survive society’s cruelty while protecting her humanity, goodness and generosity – on her real character. Further in the play, Breech brings out love’s obliteration within a selfish world through a woman’s hopeless attempts to conceal her loving feelings and the pain of betrayal behind the mask of a powerful man. Yang Son’s separate attempt to use Sheen Tee’s love for the attainment of his dreams boldly shows the estrangement and inhumanity of the capitalistic society.
On top of that, the confection of Shush Tat’s character deftly highlights how much the emotional and sensitive disposition of the feminine belies the non- emotional and tough-skinned disposition of the masculine. Admittedly, Breech stirs the audience up by roughly displaying the protagonist fighting her own male creation, fragmented between her love and her need to resist manipulation and society’s immense hypocrisy. Furthermore, Sheen Et making use of her male “other”, assures herself financially constructing a lucrative business which helps her through a rapacious society.
The protagonist appears as a former prostitute, pregnant, in need of money and with her power doomed in a stupor by society taboos. Thus, she adopts a split personality to gain the determination and social approval which allow her to work and secure her family. As we can easily perceive, Shush Ta is the “means” to achieve two genders’ coexistence despite their incompatible complexions and to display women’s inferior position in he area of employment – causing them insuperable hardships – due to society stereotypes regarding their identity,.
To conclude, Breech, through his ingenuity to create Sheen Tee’s male “other”, not only underscores love and good’s non-existence in a capitalistic and debased world, but also displays society discriminations against women who – cruelly oppressing their own nature – masculine themselves to survive. Undoubtedly, the playwright remarkably provokes audience and reader roughly revealing an appalling capitalism, unable to satisfy any kind of love, benevolence and justice.
