Characters
Principals:
• The Singer as narrator (plus other musicians)
• Grusha, our protagonist
• Michael
• Judge Azdack
• Simon Chachava
• Natella Abashvilli and the Adjutant
• Shotta, the Corporal
Other:
• Former Governor’s cook
• Ironshirts
• Two lawyers
• Three farmers
• The rider
• Old unhappy couple
Plot synopsis:
In the final scene of the play, the trial is held to decide whether Grusha or Natella Abashvilli is Michael’s true mother. The Judge, Azdack, is nearly executed before the trial can even begin, but the rider delivers a message from the Grand Duke that makes Azdack official Judge in the region, likely as repayment for Azdack helping the Grand Duke to escape.
At the start of the trial, Simon and the former governor’s cook agree to help Grusha create a lie to explain how Michael is her child. However, Grusha ends up abandoning their plans when she becomes fed up with the unfairness of the situation. Natella’s side is paying off Azdack, and he throws extra charges at Grusha for menial offenses. She explodes in anger at him, and Azdack decides to take a momentary break to see who wishes to see him next; an old couple that wishes to get divorced.
The way Azdack decides to settle the matter is to have Michael stand in the middle of a Chalk Circle with Grusha on one side of him and Natella on the other. The idea proposed was that whichever woman managed to pull Michael out of the circle first would get to keep him. However, both times the test is payed out, Grusha refuses to pull on Michael, and so ends up letting go of him. Natella easily wins the challenge, but Azdack reveals that was not the point; rather, by showing a reluctance to hurt Michael, even temporarily, Grusha has proved herself to be more of a mother. As Natella and her lawyers leave, Azdack signs the divorce papers - but instead of doing it for the old couple., he does it for Grusha and her husband in the mountains, allowing her to marry Simon. The scene ends with Azdack holding a dance for everyone, and Grusha and Simon discussing plans to start a new life together with Michael as a real family.
Also, the Abashvilli’s estate is going to be torn down and turned into a garden.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Notes on “The Caucasian Chalk Circle”: Scene 5 - The Story of the Judge
Characters
Principals:
• The Singer as narrator (plus his musicians)
• Judge Azdack
• Natella Abashvilli and the Adjutant
People from Azdack’s story (pre-judge):
• Fugitive (Grand Duke)
• Policeman Shauva (who Azdack later makes Public Prosecutor)
• Three Ironshirts
• Fat Prince Arsen Kazbeki and his nephew Biergarten Kazbeki
People from Azdack’s court cases:
• The limping man and the invalid, who are both suing a doctor
• The blackmailer
• An old bearded innkeeper, his daughter-in-law Ludovica, and a stableman
• An old woman, some farmers, and the axe-wielding bandit Irkali
Plot synopsis:
This scene takes a break from Grusha’s story, instead telling the backstory of the Judge who will be presiding her trial. The Judge, Azdack, used to have a rivalry with Shauva, a policeman at the time, back when he was just a village clerk who occasionally got in trouble with the law. Azdack takes in a fugitive and, despite initially treating him in a derogatory manner, ends up protecting him from Shauva, more so because he doesn’t want to do anything for “that brute of a policeman”. The fugitive stays with Azdack for some time before Azdack realizes that he has been harboring the overthrown Grand Duke. Ashamed of having done so much for this murderer, Azdack goes to himself over to the courts, only to learn from three Ironshirts and Shauva that the Judge of that time has been hanged. Through a song taught to him by his grandfather from Poland, Azdack warns them about the dangers of these lawless times.
It is at this point that the fat Prince appears with his nephew. The fat Prince offers to put his nephew up for the position of new Judge, and though he says it is their choice, he is very confident that his nephew will get the job. Azdack suggests that the nephew undergo a test trial, with Azdack playing the role of the Grand Duke as defendant. Azdack manages to undo all of the nephew’s arguments while cracking up the Ironshirts and nearly driving the Prince crazy. In the end, the Ironshirts appoint Azdack as their new Judge.
The rest of the scene shows some of the cases Azdack dealt with as judge, with Shauva now working for him. The main purpose of this is to show that Azdack is a Robin Hood-like figure; rather than making the truly just decision, he always does what he can to help whichever side is worse off in the eyes of society. The only case that is relevant in and of itself is the appearance of the governor’s wife, Natella Abashvilli, at the end of the scene. Azdack promises to find the woman who stole her son Michael and behead her, but the Governor’s wife seems to distrust him.
Principals:
• The Singer as narrator (plus his musicians)
• Judge Azdack
• Natella Abashvilli and the Adjutant
People from Azdack’s story (pre-judge):
• Fugitive (Grand Duke)
• Policeman Shauva (who Azdack later makes Public Prosecutor)
• Three Ironshirts
• Fat Prince Arsen Kazbeki and his nephew Biergarten Kazbeki
People from Azdack’s court cases:
• The limping man and the invalid, who are both suing a doctor
• The blackmailer
• An old bearded innkeeper, his daughter-in-law Ludovica, and a stableman
• An old woman, some farmers, and the axe-wielding bandit Irkali
Plot synopsis:
This scene takes a break from Grusha’s story, instead telling the backstory of the Judge who will be presiding her trial. The Judge, Azdack, used to have a rivalry with Shauva, a policeman at the time, back when he was just a village clerk who occasionally got in trouble with the law. Azdack takes in a fugitive and, despite initially treating him in a derogatory manner, ends up protecting him from Shauva, more so because he doesn’t want to do anything for “that brute of a policeman”. The fugitive stays with Azdack for some time before Azdack realizes that he has been harboring the overthrown Grand Duke. Ashamed of having done so much for this murderer, Azdack goes to himself over to the courts, only to learn from three Ironshirts and Shauva that the Judge of that time has been hanged. Through a song taught to him by his grandfather from Poland, Azdack warns them about the dangers of these lawless times.
It is at this point that the fat Prince appears with his nephew. The fat Prince offers to put his nephew up for the position of new Judge, and though he says it is their choice, he is very confident that his nephew will get the job. Azdack suggests that the nephew undergo a test trial, with Azdack playing the role of the Grand Duke as defendant. Azdack manages to undo all of the nephew’s arguments while cracking up the Ironshirts and nearly driving the Prince crazy. In the end, the Ironshirts appoint Azdack as their new Judge.
The rest of the scene shows some of the cases Azdack dealt with as judge, with Shauva now working for him. The main purpose of this is to show that Azdack is a Robin Hood-like figure; rather than making the truly just decision, he always does what he can to help whichever side is worse off in the eyes of society. The only case that is relevant in and of itself is the appearance of the governor’s wife, Natella Abashvilli, at the end of the scene. Azdack promises to find the woman who stole her son Michael and behead her, but the Governor’s wife seems to distrust him.
Notes on “The Caucasian Chalk Circle”: Scene 4 - In The Northern Mountains
Characters
Principals:
• The Singer as narrator (plus other musicians)
• Grusha, our protagonist
• Michael
• Simon Chachava
Grusha’s family:
• Her well-meaning brother Lavrenti
• His wife Ankio, who is very concerned with reputation
• Their stableman
• Mother-in-law and her “dying” son Yussup
People at the wedding:
• Monk who officiated the wedding
• Mourners/wedding guests/Grusha’s new neighbors
◦ two women
◦ a very old peasant
◦ drunk singing peasant
◦ another man
• Three musicians
Other:
• Children Michael plays with
◦ Tallest boy, the leader of the group
◦ Fat boy who plays the Prince
◦ Girl who plays the Governor’s wife
• Two Ironshirts
Plot synopsis:
This scene covers a period of several years, starting with when Grusha arrives with baby Michael at the farm belonging to her brother Lavrenti and his wife Aniko. She stays with them for several months, recovering from illness and weariness she contacted on her long journey. Lavrenti helps Grusha come up with a lie about where Michael came from and where her final destination is to prevent additional conflict with Ankio, whose supposedly pious nature and deep concern for her own reputation would cause her to immediately through Grusha out if she learned that Michael was not truly Grusha’s child. When Lavrenti fears that Ankio is nearing the end of her patience, he gets Grusha’s permission to set up a marriage between her and a man close to death who lives just over the mountain. The plan was that Grusha would have the land to herself once he died, and she would be free to re-marry with Simon if/when he returned from the war.
At the wedding, Grusha and Lavrenti do their best to hide the child until after the ceremony is complete. After an awkward moment with a drunken peasant, the guests begin gossiping about how the war is now over and the surviving soldiers are beginning to return home, which catches Grusha completely off guard. The dying man, Yussup, also hears some of the conversation, which leads him to get up and start bad-mouthing those around him as if he were perfectly healthy the whole time (he was probably faking illness to avoid being conscripted into fighting in the war). In the following days, Grusha and Yussup are shown to not get along at all, with Yussup calling her a cheater, treating her as less than a person, and referring to Michael as an unnatural bastard. He is aware at this point that Grusha has her heart set on a soldier, and tries to convince her that he’s never coming back.
Months pass, and Michael is now just old enough to play with other kids. They reenact the death of the Governor, with Michael attempting to play the executioner with a wooden sword. He falls over after swinging the sword and runs away in embarrassment, with the three kids chasing after him. Grusha has been casually watching them, but then she spots her old lover Simon Chachava the soldier. Their reunion starts off on a good note, but then Grusha has to tell him that she has been married. When Simon asks her about Michael, seeing his cap in the grass, she tells him that he isn’t her and Yussup’s son, but he is unable to believe her due to the sting of her betrayal. He turns to leave, bitterly, just as the other kids return to announce the arrival of two Ironshirts. The soldiers take custody of Michael but Grusha chases after them, proclaiming that he is her own child, and this leads to the trial in the following scenes.
Principals:
• The Singer as narrator (plus other musicians)
• Grusha, our protagonist
• Michael
• Simon Chachava
Grusha’s family:
• Her well-meaning brother Lavrenti
• His wife Ankio, who is very concerned with reputation
• Their stableman
• Mother-in-law and her “dying” son Yussup
People at the wedding:
• Monk who officiated the wedding
• Mourners/wedding guests/Grusha’s new neighbors
◦ two women
◦ a very old peasant
◦ drunk singing peasant
◦ another man
• Three musicians
Other:
• Children Michael plays with
◦ Tallest boy, the leader of the group
◦ Fat boy who plays the Prince
◦ Girl who plays the Governor’s wife
• Two Ironshirts
Plot synopsis:
This scene covers a period of several years, starting with when Grusha arrives with baby Michael at the farm belonging to her brother Lavrenti and his wife Aniko. She stays with them for several months, recovering from illness and weariness she contacted on her long journey. Lavrenti helps Grusha come up with a lie about where Michael came from and where her final destination is to prevent additional conflict with Ankio, whose supposedly pious nature and deep concern for her own reputation would cause her to immediately through Grusha out if she learned that Michael was not truly Grusha’s child. When Lavrenti fears that Ankio is nearing the end of her patience, he gets Grusha’s permission to set up a marriage between her and a man close to death who lives just over the mountain. The plan was that Grusha would have the land to herself once he died, and she would be free to re-marry with Simon if/when he returned from the war.
At the wedding, Grusha and Lavrenti do their best to hide the child until after the ceremony is complete. After an awkward moment with a drunken peasant, the guests begin gossiping about how the war is now over and the surviving soldiers are beginning to return home, which catches Grusha completely off guard. The dying man, Yussup, also hears some of the conversation, which leads him to get up and start bad-mouthing those around him as if he were perfectly healthy the whole time (he was probably faking illness to avoid being conscripted into fighting in the war). In the following days, Grusha and Yussup are shown to not get along at all, with Yussup calling her a cheater, treating her as less than a person, and referring to Michael as an unnatural bastard. He is aware at this point that Grusha has her heart set on a soldier, and tries to convince her that he’s never coming back.
Months pass, and Michael is now just old enough to play with other kids. They reenact the death of the Governor, with Michael attempting to play the executioner with a wooden sword. He falls over after swinging the sword and runs away in embarrassment, with the three kids chasing after him. Grusha has been casually watching them, but then she spots her old lover Simon Chachava the soldier. Their reunion starts off on a good note, but then Grusha has to tell him that she has been married. When Simon asks her about Michael, seeing his cap in the grass, she tells him that he isn’t her and Yussup’s son, but he is unable to believe her due to the sting of her betrayal. He turns to leave, bitterly, just as the other kids return to announce the arrival of two Ironshirts. The soldiers take custody of Michael but Grusha chases after them, proclaiming that he is her own child, and this leads to the trial in the following scenes.
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