Resumo de Caucasian Chalk Circle

A proponent of ?Epic Theatre?, Bertolt Brecht wrote ?The Caucasian Chalk Circle?, a communist play reiterating the philosophy that whoever can make the best use of resources in order to provide for others deserves to get those resources. The play opens with a Prologue where a dispute is getting settled between two parties of peasants for a valley, each claiming their right on the valley. The valley was abandoned during WWII when the Germans invaded and from that time onwards, it has been inhabited by a group of herdsmen who herded their goats there. The second group is from a neighboring land and has great plans of growing plants and fruits in the disputed valley by irrigating its land. The first party claims that they have more right on the land as they have been living there from so many years now. But the decision is made in favor of the fruit growers as it is felt that they will utilize the land much better. The happy peasants of the second group celebrate this by having a small party and the singer narrates the story of chalk circle to others.
The play is two stories intertwined into one play. One story deals with Grusha and the other with Azdak. The first story begins when the Governor (who also serves the Grand Duke of the city) of Caucasian town being blessed with a son, Michael. He loves his son no end and this irritates and makes his wife, Natella jealous. Governor?s brother, the Fat Prince, revolts against him and on Easter Sunday, kills the Governor and forces his wife to run away. The wife runs away leaving behind her son in a hurry. The Grand Duke and many of his soldiers flee too. In the meantime, the Governor?s son comes in the hands of Grusha, a kitchen maid. She is engaged to a soldier Simon. She takes the child and runs away from the city, thus protecting the child from the Governor?s brother and his soldiers. Risking her own life and without money, she somehow manages to reach her brother?s house who allows her to stay with him for winters.
During spring time, Grusha?s brother forces her to marry a dying man named Jussup from neighboring mountain. On the reception day, Grusha comes to hear that the Grand Duke has come back in power and when the dying man hears that, he becomes overjoyed with happiness and recovers soon as now he will not have to join the army for the intended war. Poor Grusha is stuck up with a husband she never wanted and has to live like an obedient wife. When Simon comes to know about Grusha?s marriage and a son, he becomes very upset. But Michael is soon taken away from Grusha and she is told that Michael belongs to the Governor?s wife. Grusha goes back to the city to claim back Michael.
The scene returns to the second story of Azdak that also took place on the day of Governor?s brother, the Fat Prince?s revolt. Azdak had that day saved the life of a fugitive who turned out to be the Grand Duke himself. In order to save himself from being called a traitor, Azdak tells everyone that he saved grand Duke?s life. Nobody believes him and he is released. The Fat Prince wants his nephew to take up the position of the judge now. But he does not want to be unfair to the soldiers so he leaves it on the soldiers to decide. The soldiers vote for Azdak and he becomes the judge. He judges four strange cases all of which are in the favor of the poor. People start liking him for supporting the poor. For two years, he judges the cases till the time the Grand Duke returns back when he is arrested by the soldiers as a traitor to be killed. But the Duke recognizes him to be the person who saved his life and restores him on his position of the judge.
The case of Grusha and the child comes to him. He hears both the sides-Grusha and the Governor?s wife- and gets a chalk circle drawn to solve the case. The Governor?s wife is just after her dead husband?s land and estates and has no genuine interest in the child. Grusha wants the child because she has raised him and looked after him for the last two years aand has come to love him like her own child. Simon too supports Grusha in her cause. After getting the chalk circle drawn, Azdak puts the child in the middle of the circle and orders both the women to pull the child in their respective directions. Whoever pulls the child better will get the custody of the child. He asks them to do it twice. Both times, Grusha leaves Michael?s arm as she feels that pulling too hard is hurting the child.
Azdak gives the custody of the child to Grusha and confiscates all Michael?s estates turning them into public gardens. In the last act, he gets Grusha divorced from Jussup and allows Simon to marry her.

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