How we cite our quotes: (Scene, Line numbers)
Quote #7
THE CHAPLAIN: I'd say there's peace in war too; it has its peaceful moments. Because war satisfies all requirements, peaceable ones included, they're catered for, and it would simply fizzle out if they weren't. […] No, the war will always find an outlet, mark my words. Why should it ever stop? (VI, 102-120)
Are we scared yet? Okay, well let's imagine if war were able to encompass everything. Imagine if war become so good at providing for our needs that we couldn't live without it. That we would fear its end. Well, the chaplain thinks that's just about where his people are.
Quote #8
THE CHAPLAIN: It's not them I blame. They never went raping back home. The fault lies with those that start wars, it brings humanity's lowest instincts to the surface. (VI, 240-243)
Soldiers occupy a weird position in Mother Courage. They're directly risking their lives for the war, in a way Mother Courage and most of her friends aren't. They're not necessarily profiting off of it. So what motivates them? What accounts for their frequently nasty deeds? Here, the chaplain places the blame on the head honchos in charge of the war. They're only in it for their own good, and don't seem to care if they dehumanize the population along the way.
Quote #9
MOTHER COURAGE: What I call a historic moment is them bashing my daughter over the eye. She's half wrecked already, won't get no husband now, and her so crazy about kids; any road she's only dumb from war, soldier stuffed something in her mouth when she was little. As for Swiss Cheese I'll never see him again, and where Eilif is God alone knows. War be damned. (VI, 279-285)
Now, we know Mother Courage is one of war's biggest fans. But we see a different Mother Courage here than what we're used to. Instead of celebrating war as the source of her livelihood, now she has some pretty harsh words about it. But if you think it stops her from continuing to try to capitalize on the war even after it's killed one of her children, then you're wrong. This is the closest Mother Courage comes to expressing her anger about the ongoing war.