Der gute Mensch von Sezuan

By Bertolt Brecht, with the collaboration of Ruth Berlau and Margarete Steffin

Three gods step into a world hardened by capitalism in search of a "good person" who will give them shelter. They find Shen Te, a young woman who takes them in even though she does not have the means, but cannot refuse their request. Satisfied that they have found at least one good person, the gods leave the young woman a small sum of money with which she can start her own business. Her store is up and running, but the need in the town is great. So the townspeople keep coming to her and asking for help. Shen Te, soon called the "Angel of the Suburbs", helps where she can, but more and more she is driven to her own financial ruin. When Shen Te falls in love with Yang Sun, who is dreaming of his career and is expecting a child, she makes a decision: she announces that Shen Te has disappeared and pretends to be her cousin Shui Ta, who harshly turns away those in need and keeps his own financial advantage in mind.
Is Shen Te's story one of emancipation, in which a woman learns to say no? Or does the parable tell of a woman who has to adopt male behavior in order to survive in a violent world?