Mother Courage and Her Children Rules and Order Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Scene, Line numbers)

Quote #10

THE ENSIGN: Look at her laughing at us. I'm not having that. I'll shoot her down, and damn the consequences. Fetch the harquebus. (XI, 168-170)

One thing's for sure: laughter is forbidden. Kattrin's big offense, in the eyes of the ensign, is that she ignores his orders to stop drumming and laughs in his face. And then, he himself goes against the rules by shooting her, having received no orders to do so. Kattrin's drumming is not only an act of insubordination; it breaks down the rule-governed structure of military power, and brings out the soldier's uncontrolled violence.