The Exception and the Rule

Main Ideas

• In "The Exception and the Rule," Brecht masterfully exposes the contradictions between power and powerlessness, showing how law and justice become tools of the strong, while truth falls victim to circumstance.
• Through the concise plot of the merchant and porter's expedition, the author reveals the mechanisms of exploitation and alienation, where human life loses its value in the face of greed and fear.
• The play becomes an allegory of class struggle, where the exception is not an accident but a regularity in a world built on inequality.
• Brecht calls on the audience to think critically, shattering the illusion of an objective court and emphasizing the need for social responsibility and solidarity.
• At the heart of the work lies epic theatre, where the distance between stage and audience becomes a space for reflection rather than empathy, allowing the structure of injustice to be seen in all its starkness.