The Mother (Matka in Czech) is an anti-war drama written by Czech novelist and playwrightKarel Čapek, in 1938. The play is influenced by the Spanish Civil War and portrays the difficult relationship between men who wanted to fight, and their mothers and loved ones who did not want them to go. It also shows the fight against fascism, and the emotional turmoil and suffering that war brings. The play emphasizes the unnecessary difficulties of war and the complex relationships during war, emphasizing that although wars are bad, sometimes we have no choice but to fight them to protect our freedom.[1][2][3]
Heavily influenced by the Spanish Civil War, the play portrays Dolores, a mother and a wife, and her feelings as she slowly loses her husband and sons to war. The entire play is set in the house living room, which is full of ornamental pieces of war such as sabers, pistols, rifles, and monuments of colonial expeditions such as spears and shields, more closely resembling a museum than a family living room. The mother, Dolores, can communicate with her dead husband Richard, who died in what she considered a pointless battle against the natives in distant Africa, along with her son Ondra. Dolores talks with Richard the moment he dies, and Richard attempts to justify his death and insists he died in honor and duty, and in turn Dolores complains about his leaving of her and her five children. Suddenly after the communication, Andrew the oldest son and physician appears in the room (also dead) and tells his mother that he had lost his life in Africa attempting to cure yellow fever, and apologizes for his death in the progress of medicine. Her son George then appears in the room (dead) and greets his father and brothers to tell his desperate mother that he had died attempting to break the altitude record. At this moment, the news on the radio announce that the civil war in the country is growing more intense. Her sons Peter and Kornel are actively participating in this war, and later on, the two of them suddenly appear in the room to announce that both of them had died. Peter had died when he was arrested and executed by the Whites (White Terror), and Kornel was shot during a street battle.[4]
During the third and final scene, the mother struggles to let her last son go, Tony, but the radio comes on and announces that the enemy had bombed a children's school and killed innocent children; following this Dolores gives her son Tony a weapon and ends the play with the word "Go..."[5][6]
^ (in Czech). Archived from the original on 12 November 2011.
^"Book: Mother By Karel Capek". Retrieved 2015-09-05.
January 01, 1970
mother, Čapek, play, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, mother, Čapek, play, news, newspapers, books, s. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Mother Capek play news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2015 Learn how and when to remove this message The Mother Matka in Czech is an anti war drama written by Czech novelist and playwright Karel Capek in 1938 The play is influenced by the Spanish Civil War and portrays the difficult relationship between men who wanted to fight and their mothers and loved ones who did not want them to go It also shows the fight against fascism and the emotional turmoil and suffering that war brings The play emphasizes the unnecessary difficulties of war and the complex relationships during war emphasizing that although wars are bad sometimes we have no choice but to fight them to protect our freedom 1 2 3 The play by the Ljubljana Drama Theatre in 1945The Play editHeavily influenced by the Spanish Civil War the play portrays Dolores a mother and a wife and her feelings as she slowly loses her husband and sons to war The entire play is set in the house living room which is full of ornamental pieces of war such as sabers pistols rifles and monuments of colonial expeditions such as spears and shields more closely resembling a museum than a family living room The mother Dolores can communicate with her dead husband Richard who died in what she considered a pointless battle against the natives in distant Africa along with her son Ondra Dolores talks with Richard the moment he dies and Richard attempts to justify his death and insists he died in honor and duty and in turn Dolores complains about his leaving of her and her five children Suddenly after the communication Andrew the oldest son and physician appears in the room also dead and tells his mother that he had lost his life in Africa attempting to cure yellow fever and apologizes for his death in the progress of medicine Her son George then appears in the room dead and greets his father and brothers to tell his desperate mother that he had died attempting to break the altitude record At this moment the news on the radio announce that the civil war in the country is growing more intense Her sons Peter and Kornel are actively participating in this war and later on the two of them suddenly appear in the room to announce that both of them had died Peter had died when he was arrested and executed by the Whites White Terror and Kornel was shot during a street battle 4 During the third and final scene the mother struggles to let her last son go Tony but the radio comes on and announces that the enemy had bombed a children s school and killed innocent children following this Dolores gives her son Tony a weapon and ends the play with the word Go 5 6 See also editList of plays with anti war themesReferences edit Milo Urban translation 1968 of Matka Karel Capek Matka Retrieved 2015 09 05 Karel Capek biography Czech writer Britannica com Retrieved 2015 09 05 Karel Capek Matka Retrieved 2015 09 05 Matka in Czech Archived from the original on 12 November 2011 Book Mother By Karel Capek Retrieved 2015 09 05 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Mother Capek play amp oldid 1188754621, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
