The Threepenny Opera: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Threepenny Opera" is a satirical musical by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill that critiques capitalist society through a cast of morally ambiguous characters. One of the central figures is Macheath, also known as Mac the Knife, who leads a gang of petty criminals in London. His relationships and escapades create tension, especially with Jonathan Peachum, the "Beggar Boss," who organizes the city’s beggars for his own gain. Peachum becomes incensed when his daughter, Polly, marries Macheath, leading to a conflict that exposes his opportunistic nature. Polly herself is a strong character who embraces her marriage to Macheath and adeptly navigates the challenges posed by her parents and rival Lucy Brown, the daughter of the high sheriff. Sheriff Brown, who has a complicated friendship with Macheath, finds himself torn between duty and loyalty as he faces pressure from Peachum regarding Macheath’s fate. Lucy, initially consumed by jealousy, ultimately shares a moment of understanding with Polly about the frustrations caused by their relationships with men. This interplay among characters highlights the themes of power, exploitation, and the complexities of love within a corrupt society.
The Threepenny Opera: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Bertolt Brecht
First published: Die Dreigroschenoper, 1929 (English translation, 1949)
Genre: Play
Locale: London's Soho district
Plot: Social satire
Time: 1837, immediately before and during the coronation ceremonies for Queen Victoria
Macheath, called Mac the Knife, the head of a gang of petty criminals in London. He manages his crooked affairs through “understandings” with Sheriff Brown. An incorrigible philanderer, he is involved with Brown's daughter, Lucy, but also entices Polly, the daughter of “Beggar Boss” Peachum, into matrimony. This act outrages Peachum, who vows to undo Macheath by working a deal with Sheriff Brown. Mac's enemies are convinced that, even when warned that a plot has been hatched against him, he will not flee far; soon, he is caught while making his habitual turn among the harlots of Turnbridge. Because Mac is an inveterate wheeler and dealer, however, he is able to bribe his way out of the charges and even to obtain recognition for service to the crown.
Jonathan Jeremiah “Beggar Boss” Peachum, the proprietor of Beggar's Friend, Ltd. He organizes London's beggars quarter by quarter, giving them territories and pitiful roles to play. Although Peachum himself is an obvious opportunist, the destitute figures under him provide a channel to convey the social revolutionary theme of the play. Peachum is distracted from organizing an unprecedented parade of beggars at Queen Victoria's coronation by the troublesome scandal of his daughter's marriage to Mac. A mixture of opportunism and pomposity is revealed in Peachum, whose concern over the poor focuses mainly on how to use them to his benefit.
Polly Peachum, the daughter of Jonathan Peachum. Polly marries Macheath in a ceremony that reflects the milieu to which her father, in obvious hypocrisy, objects: The marriage takes place in a “borrowed” stable; all accessories, including furniture, are stolen. Polly is not timid about her association with Mac's gang, prompting her mother's recollection that “even as a child she had a swelled head like the Queen of England.” When Mac is pursued by the law, he asks Polly to “manage” the gang's affairs. In her dealings with her parents, as well as in her verbal confrontations with Sheriff Brown's daughter Lucy, who also claims Mac's amorous loyalties, Polly demonstrates an uncanny ability to turn vulnerability into moral superiority.
Jack “Tiger” Brown, the high sheriff of London, Mac's friend since childhood days and a former fellow soldier with him in the colonial army in India. Brown receives a cut from all profits of Mac's gang. He suffers pangs of conscience over his friend's arrest and is only partially embarrassed when Mac escapes. He is soon caught in a quandary, however, when Peachum threatens to compromise the high sheriff by amassing hundreds of beggars at the queen's coronation. Brown learns that, unless Mac hangs, he will have to undergo the unpleasantness of removing the destitute from the shadow of regal splendor by brute force. On the other hand, the sheriff is worried that, if a public execution is carried out, the crowds that would have cheered the queen will throng to the side of the gallows. Brown outdoes himself arranging a deal, gaining not only a reprieve but also the queen's award of an honorary peerage, a pension, and a castle to Mac the Knife. This device satisfies the Peachums.
Lucy Brown, the daughter of High Sheriff Brown. She has been involved amorously with Mac. After her discovery of Mac's marriage and her first confrontation with Polly, her role is that of a frenetic woman propelled by jealousy. As the plot advances, however, and Mac must flee both women to avoid arrest, Lucy's weaknesses show through. Mac succeeds in making her believe that he loves only her, and (perhaps because she is so gullible as to believe Mac) she comes to commiserate with her rival Polly, whom she now calls “Mrs. Macheath.” Both women come to the conclusion that men are not worth the frustration that they cause.