The play is set in the 17th century in Europe during the Thirty Years' War. The Recruiting Officer and Sergeant are introduced, both complaining about the difficulty of recruiting soldiers to the war. Anna Fierling … See more

The name of the central character, Mother Courage, is drawn from the picaresque writings of the 17th-century German writer Grimmelshausen. His central character in the early short novel, The Runagate Courage, also struggles and connives her way through the … See more

In German
The play was originally produced at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, produced by Leopold Lindtberg in … See more

The German feminist newspaper Courage, published from 1976 to 1984, was named after Mother Courage, whom the editors saw as a "self … See more

Mother Courage is one of nine plays that Brecht wrote in resistance to the rise of Fascism and Nazism. In response to the invasion of Poland by the German armies of See more

• Mother Courage (also known as "Canteen Anna")
• Kattrin (Catherine), her mute daughter
• Eilif, her older son
• Schweizerkas ("Swiss Cheese", also mentioned as Feyos), her younger son See more

After the 1941 performances in Switzerland, Brecht believed critics had misunderstood the play. While many sympathized with Courage, Brecht's goal was to show that Mother Courage was wrong for not understanding the circumstances she … See more