Material Thirst

  “Some people usually abandon their close family members during hard times for the sake of their own material thirst.” Drawing illustrations from the play The Caucasian Chalk Circle, write an essay illustrating the truth of this statement.

  Some of the characters in The Caucasian Chalk Circle have ensured that family members do not matter as long as their comfortability is not compromised. Some go to such an extent of killing their own blood relations just to have access to power which eventually would lead them to controlling resources.

             Natella Abashwili irresponsibly abandons her son, Michael, when she is fleeing from the palace. She is more concerned with her material possession. She has earlier on complained that her husband, the Governor, only does things for Michael (Brecht 18-19). Before fleeing, she harangues the palace maids about her dresses (Brecht 24-25, 92). She is more preoccupied by what she can carry along and only occasionally mentions her son’s name (Brecht 24). This clearly shows that her material thirst overrides her motherly instinct at such times when the hapless Michael is vulnerable to the maruading soldiers.

             Natella Abashwili is more interested in inheritence written in Michael’s name. At the court session when Grusha is arraigned before Judge Azdak for abducting Michael, Natella, through her lawyer reveals her true intention of her dire need of taking Michael back. Her second lawyer states caterogically that Natella’s husband’s estate is closed to her as it is tied to the heir. She cannot do anything without Michael and she cannot even pay her lawyers (Brecht 92, 97). Despite being Michael’s biological mother, she dearly needs him for what the Governor has left behind in his son’s name.

             Lavrenti Vashnadze, Grusha Vashnadze’s brother, says nothing about the mistreatment that his sister undergoes from his wife, Aniko. After risking her life for Michael, Grusha expects warm reception from her brother. The singer tells us how Grusha expects to receive a warm embrace from the brother and the sister-in-law. The singer further shows us what Lavrenti has acquired courtesy of his marriage to Aniko (Brecht p.44). Though Grusha is described as ill from walking, Lavrenti and his wife, Aniko, torment her with so many unnecessary questions (Brecht 45-46) simply because she has a child. Lavrenti does not come to her defence when Aniko gives Grusha a cold reception. The singer refers to him as ‘the cowardly brother’ (Brecht 47) and Grusha advises little Michael that they have to make themselves as cockroaches in the house to be forgotten (Brecht 48-49). Lavrenti disposes of the sister by arranging for her some marriage to a ‘dying’ Jussup since he fears Aniko, the source of his comfortability (Brecht 48).

            The Fat Prince, Arsen Kazbeki, plots and overthrows his brother, Georgi Abashwili, the Governor. The Fat Prince is motivated by lust for power (materialism). The Fat Prince with other princes meets in the capital and plots how to overthrow the Grand Duke and other Governors (Brecht 19). At the command of the Fat Prince, the soldiers (Palace Guards) refuse to take orders from the Adjutant and soon the soldiers get hold of the Governor and slaughter. The Fat Prince and his drunken soldiers coldly carry the Governor’s head on a lance and nail it on the palace door (Brecht 27). The Fat Prince is interested in power at the expense of his brother’s life. After taking over the reigns of power, the Fat Prince is now hunting down the Governor’s heir, Michael (his nephew), in order to kill him and consolidate his power.

            Mother-in-law (the Peasant Woman), Jussup’s mother is purely after the money she will get from Lavrenti for marrying Grusha to the ‘dying’ Jussup. Lavrenti arranges for marriage for Grusha to stop people from asking questions about the father of Michael and Aniko also keeps on pressuring them about Grusha’s husband (Brecht 48-49). The peasant woman readily accepts to marry off his dying son at a fee (Brecht 49) and when she hears that Grusha has a child, she raises her fee to six hundred piasters from the initial four hundred (Brecht 48, 49). She hires a cheap Monk instead of a priest to preside over the wedding since she does want to pay a lot of money (Brecht 53). She takes advantage of her ‘dying son’s’ incapability to earn some money from Lavrenti.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in all that we undertake, we should never forget that blood is thicker than water.