Bertolt Brecht, Der kaukasische Kreidekreis [The Caucasian Chalk Circle]

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Brecht's

Der kaukasische Kreidekreis

[

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

] takes its name from a test used to discover which of two women is the real mother of a child. In the Bible, King Solomon decides such a dispute by threatening to divide the contested child with a sword, at which point the true mother offers to cede the child to the fake mother. The trial in the Buddhist tradition follows similar lines: the judge places the disputed child in a chalk circle and asks each claimant to hold one of the child's hands. He announces that the woman who tugs with most force will prove who is the child's biological mother, but of course the test works in the opposite direction to what most people in the court presume: not wanting to hurt the child, the true mother will let the child go rather than…

3069 words

Citation: Yang, Peter J.. "Der kaukasische Kreidekreis". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 June 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11582, accessed 19 March 2024.]

11582 Der kaukasische Kreidekreis 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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