Who Is Good?

Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Woman of Setzuan is a very humorous play. The idea of three gods in search of a good person in order to prove that religion still exists is hilarious, especially when the gods say that this dispute is being held in heaven as well. What raised the bar, however, is the fact that the only “good” person they can find in several towns is a prostitute and she is the one that is giving the gods hope that there are good people still in the world. The whole idea of a prostitute carrying out gods will makes for a good plot, especially when the gods know her profession.
FIRST GOD: ... You proved that good people still exist, a point that has been disputed as of late—even in heaven.

SHEN TE: Stop, illustrious ones! I’m not sure you’re right. I’d like to be good, it’s true, but there’s the rent to pay. And that’s not all: I sell myself for a living... I should love to stay with one man. But how? How is it done? Even breaking a few of you commandments, I hardly manage.

FIRST GOD (clearing his throat): These thoughts are but, um, the misgivings of an unusually good woman! (10)

It is as if the first god wishes to quickly leave before they find out that Shen Te is not a good woman after all; they’re willing to settle for “good enough” and quickly leave before they can change their minds. Then they are stopped and obligated to give her money, even though it is not allowed of gods. The first god, after throwing money in her hands, that “...there’s no law against it! It was never decreed that a god musn’t pay hotel bills!” (11).

The satire continues as we are introduced to characters who are only concerned about themselves. Shen Te does good with the money, although she is often accused of letting people walk all over her. She decides to invest in a tobacco shop (apparently people need their cigarettes when the economy’s down). When Shen Te needs someone to vouch for her reputation, a lady off the street helps her concoct a “cousin” to put all the weight of the business on. But Shui Ta, the invented cousin, turns up on the doorstep of the tobacco shop. He turns out to be very harsh compared to Shen Te and ends up kicking them all out just to have Shen Te welcome them back with open arms soon after.

This is a funny play that can go in any direction. Shen Te does appear to be good, but I wonder what will happen when she marries. She claims that she is in love, but she only just met the man. When she was under the tree with Yang Sun, he caressed her cheek and said,” You’re easily satisfied, I must say” (36). Shen Te is good in the eyes of the gods right now, but she may not be able to keep it up for long.

Work Cited
Brecht, Bertolt, and Eric Bentley. The Good Woman of Setzuan. Minneapolis, Minn.: University of Minnesota, 1999. Print.