Saint Joan of the Stockyards

Summary

In the play «Saint Joan of the Stockyards», Bertolt Brecht transposes the biblical figure of Joan of Arc into the industrial reality of early 20th-century Chicago. The young and sincere Joan Dark, inspired by ideals of justice, joins the Black Straw Hats Army to alleviate the suffering of slaughterhouse workers plunged into poverty and despair. She confronts the heartlessness of capitalists, the hypocrisy of religious institutions, and the cruelty of economic laws. Joan tries to reconcile morality with reality, but her sincerity and faith are shattered by the cynicism and greed of the world. The play, imbued with irony and tragedy, exposes the illusory nature of good intentions in a society ruled by money and power, where human fate becomes a bargaining chip in the game of interests.