The Good Woman of Setzuan by Bertolt Brecht

Can goodness survive in a corrupt world? In “The Good Woman of Setzuan,” Bertolt Brecht weaves a parable of morality, poverty, and self-preservation. When three gods reward Shen Te, a kindhearted prostitute, for her virtue, she must create a ruthless alter-ego to survive in a society that punishes compassion. Sharp, funny, and deeply unsettling, Brecht’s play confronts the collision between idealism and reality with timeless relevance. Eric Bentley’s revised English version preserves Brecht’s biting wit and epic theatre style in vivid, accessible form.

A daring examination of virtue in an unjust world — provocative, poetic, and profoundly human.