s Eilif away. Here, the conflict is clear. As a mother, she wants to save Eilif. As a tradeswoman, she focuses on business. In the end, she loses her son to the army.

Warning Eilif, but Enjoying His Success: Later, the Commander praises Eilif for bravery. He killed peasants and stole cattle. Eilif sings proudly, 

“The soldier laughs and loads his gun.”

Mother Courage scolds him: 

“Didn’t I teach you to take care of yourself, you Finnish devil, you?”

This shows the conflict again. As a mother, she worries that Eilif risks his life. As a tradeswoman, she smiles when the Commander rewards him. She feels proud of the same war that may destroy him.

Bargaining over Swiss Cheese’s Life: When Swiss Cheese is captured with the regimental cash box, Mother Courage runs to save him. She tells him, 

“Don’t forget they made you paymaster because you’re honest.”

She knows honesty makes him valuable. But as a tradeswoman, she bargains too long to reduce the ransom money. While she delays, the soldiers execute Swiss Cheese. Here, the mother wants to save her son. But the tradeswoman counts coins. Her business mind kills the very child she loves.

Protecting Kattrin but Risking Her Safety: Mother Courage is protective of her mute daughter, Kattrin. She warns her not to fall for soldiers. She fears Kattrin’s weakness. But she also takes Kattrin into dangerous war zones because the wagon must move. Soldiers attack Kattrin, scarred, and finally killed when she beats a drum to save the villagers. The conflict between protection and profit destroys her daughter.

The Tragic Ending: Alone with Her Wagon: At the end, Mother Courage has lost Eilif, Swiss Cheese, and Kattrin. Yet she takes up her wagon. Earlier, Mother Courage had sung a fortune-telling song with slips of paper. She said, 

“So shall we all be torn asunder if we let ourselves get too deep into this war!”

That warning becomes true. Here, the conflict is final. The mother has nothing left, but the tradeswoman still continues. She chooses survival through business over grief. The wagon remains, but her children are gone.

The story of “Mother Courage and Her Children” is built on the conflict between the mother and the tradeswoman. She sings for trade but loses Eilif. She bargains and loses Swiss Cheese. She protects, but also risks Kattrin. At the end, she drags her wagon alone. Brecht shows that in war, love and profit cannot live together. The mother loses to the tradeswoman.