Bertolt Brecht's choice of the non-existent locale "Setzuan" as the setting for his drama "The Good Woman of Setzuan" is interesting in many respects.
First, as a German playwright, creating a work that takes place in China was a novel idea, but more importantly, one destined to remove many cultural or social concepts which his audience might overlay on a work set in his native land. Put another way, familiar issues taking place in a...
Bertolt Brecht's choice of the non-existent locale "Setzuan" as the setting for his drama "The Good Woman of Setzuan" is interesting in many respects.
First, as a German playwright, creating a work that takes place in China was a novel idea, but more importantly, one destined to remove many cultural or social concepts which his audience might overlay on a work set in his native land. Put another way, familiar issues taking place in a far distant land would allow his audience to regard them with fresh eyes, unbiased by their own attitudes and sensibilities.
Another aspect worth considering is that scholars have long associated the title location with the similar-sounding region of Szechwan (known today as Sichuan) in China. Considering that the play is a parable, the foreign setting adds to the "otherworldly" quality of the work--the focus is on the main character's moral conflict; insignificant matters, such as the daily customs of society, are thus relegated to the background where they will not distract from the point of the story.
As for the location itself, while it is unlikely Brecht was aware of it, the majority of the population in Sichuan is described as non-religious. Had Brecht known (which is purely speculative) it would make the drama that much more significant, as the main character struggles to attain moral virtue in a world which she sees as rewarding the evil and punishing the good.
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