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The Augsburg Chalk Circle

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109:. The child is placed inside a chalk circle with two ropes tied around him: one in the hands of each claimant. Anna is unwilling to risk harm to the child, so pulls only lightly, while Frau Zingli pulls with force that could have "ripped the child in two." Although Anna appears to have lost the contest, the wise judge rules that, having shown the greater love, Anna is the fit and rightful mother. 101:
To avoid humiliation as an unwed mother, Anna claims that she is waiting for her husband to return for her. Given the nature of the war, the ruse is plausible for a time, but eventually, to avoid suspicion and possible eviction, she feels compelled to produce a husband. She marries a man who is on
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forces are plundering the city. His wife spends too much time packing her clothes, and so is forced to flee emptyhanded, leaving the child behind. Their maid, Anna, a simple girl, rescues the child and flees to her brother's farm in the country.
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While the essential form of the story and its resolution remain the same as in the original play, there are several important differences. Most obviously, the setting is changed from Imperial China to
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The just reason to deny the wife's claim is changed from lack of biological status to neglect: she loses control of the child because she is more concerned with her clothes than with her maternal duty.
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When the war ends, Frau Zingli returns to reclaim her son. Ignatz Dollinger, a wise judge, cannot determine who is the real mother, so enacts a version of the
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The cause of the conflict is not personal (jealousy), but political (the division between Catholics and Protestants).
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The Imperial intervention at the end of the story becomes unnecessary and out of place, and is therefore dropped.
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his deathbed, expecting to be a widow soon; however, he recovers and she must live with him for a few years.
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The nature of the heroine's claim on the child is changed from biological mother to
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in the turbulent history of that country) has important consequences for the story.
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The heroine must engage in a deception to preserve her status in the community.
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Freeman, Michael (Winter 1999). "Truth and Justice in Bertolt Brecht".
86: 59: 123: 90: 62:, and can be seen as a "first draft" for Brecht's subsequent play, 119: 167:"Pacific Center for the Performing Arts performance notes for 214: 112: 189: 14: 215: 122:, but the period chosen (the greatest 192:Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature 89:of means, delays leaving his home in 238:Thirty Years' War in popular culture 24: 25: 249: 204:10.1525/lal.1999.11.2.02a00060 183: 159: 13: 1: 153: 113:Differences from the original 81:The story is set during the 7: 10: 254: 169:The Caucasian Chalk Circle 76: 65:The Caucasian Chalk Circle 52:. The story derives from 42:Der Augsburger Kreidekreis 18:Der Augsburger Kreidekreis 58:, a 14th-century play by 29:The Augsburg Chalk Circle 223:Works by Bertolt Brecht 71: 41: 233:German short stories 107:Judgment of Solomon 48:written in 1940 by 228:1940 short stories 16:(Redirected from 245: 208: 207: 187: 181: 180: 178: 177: 163: 83:Thirty Years War 55:The Chalk Circle 36: 21: 253: 252: 248: 247: 246: 244: 243: 242: 213: 212: 211: 188: 184: 175: 173: 165: 164: 160: 156: 115: 79: 74: 32: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 251: 241: 240: 235: 230: 225: 210: 209: 198:(2): 197–214. 182: 157: 155: 152: 151: 150: 147: 144: 137: 134: 114: 111: 78: 75: 73: 70: 50:Bertolt Brecht 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 250: 239: 236: 234: 231: 229: 226: 224: 221: 220: 218: 205: 201: 197: 193: 186: 172: 170: 162: 158: 148: 145: 142: 138: 135: 132: 131: 130: 127: 125: 121: 110: 108: 103: 99: 96: 92: 88: 85:. Zingli, a 84: 69: 67: 66: 61: 57: 56: 51: 47: 43: 39: 35: 30: 19: 195: 191: 185: 174:. Retrieved 168: 161: 140: 128: 116: 104: 100: 80: 63: 53: 28: 26: 46:short story 217:Categories 176:2008-08-03 154:References 93:until the 87:Protestant 60:Li Xingdao 143:adoption. 129:Notably: 124:civil war 34:‹See Tfd› 141:de facto 95:Catholic 91:Augsburg 120:Germany 77:Summary 44:) is a 38:German 72:Plot 200:doi 31:" ( 219:: 196:11 194:. 68:. 40:: 206:. 202:: 179:. 171:" 27:" 20:)

Index

Der Augsburger Kreidekreis
‹See Tfd›
German
short story
Bertolt Brecht
The Chalk Circle
Li Xingdao
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
Thirty Years War
Protestant
Augsburg
Catholic
Judgment of Solomon
Germany
civil war
"Pacific Center for the Performing Arts performance notes for The Caucasian Chalk Circle"
doi
10.1525/lal.1999.11.2.02a00060
Categories
Works by Bertolt Brecht
1940 short stories
German short stories
Thirty Years' War in popular culture

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