Galileo’s Narrative: Translating History’s “Conditions” in Brecht’s Life of Galileo

Abstract

Chapter 3 examines Brecht’s understanding of the need to convey “conditions” from one time to another, from one culture to another. Focusing on the telescope as the central metaphor and agent of change in the play, I argue that Brecht models the structure of the play after it: creating a telos-shaped arc that forces the audience to consider their future actions. Thought about in this way, and juxtaposing it with notions of history, I argue that Brecht forces his audience to suffer what Alasdair MacIntyre calls an “epistemological crisis,” by pitting historical narratives against one another. The resolution of this created epistemological crisis gets to the very heart of Brecht’s notion of what epic theatre attempts to do.