The Good Woman of Setzuan

Wong, a water seller standing by the gates of the city of Setzuan, addresses the audience and he introduces himself. In Setzuan, Wong says, water is often scarce—when this is the case, he must travel long distances to find it, but when water is plentiful, he laments having no income. Poverty is not unusual in Setzuan, and many locals believe the gods are the only ones who can “save the situation” there. Wong has heard a rumor from another traveling merchant that the gods are due to arrive soon. Every day, he has been standing out at the city gates in order to welcome the gods—he wants to be the first to greet them.

Three people dressed shabbily and traveling barefoot approach. Wong realizes they must be the “illustrious ones” he has been waiting for. He throws himself at their feet, promising to do for them anything they might need. The first god speaks up and states that the trio is in need of a place to stay for the night. Wong asks what kind of place they’d like to stay in. The first god says that Wong should simply lead them to the nearest house. Wong leads the gods to the home of Mr. Fo. He knocks, but Mr. Fo calls out “No!” without even opening the door.

As Wong leads them from door to door, the gods find themselves refused time and time again. The gods eventually step away from Wong to talk among themselves. The second god laments that this is the third village from which they’ve been turned away. The first god insists that a “good person” might be just around the corner. The third god, unfurling a scroll and reading from it, reminds the others of the mission—to determine whether the world can “stay as it is.” The world will remain untouched only if enough people are found to be living “worthy” lives. The third god suggests Wong is a good person, but the second god points out a false bottom in the cup of water Wong gave them to share. The first god insists that they’ll be able to find someone who “can be good and stay good.”

Wong returns to the gods and he sheepishly admits he hasn’t found a place for them to stay. As a villager passes, Wong asks the man if he’ll seize the “rare opportunity” to shelter a trio of gods for the night. The man laughs off Wong, whom he believes is trying to swindle him into hosting “a gang of crooks.” Wong, defeated, announces that there is only one person left in the village—a prostitute, Shen Te, who can never say no to a guest.

Wong approaches Shen Te’s building and he calls out to her. She comes to the window. Wong tells Shen Te that the gods have arrived and they need a place to stay. Shen Te protests—she is expecting a gentleman soon and she needs the money. Wong begs Shen Te to take the gods in. She relents and she tells Wong that she’ll hide until her gentleman has come and gone—then she’ll take in the gods.

Wong returns to the gods, who have not overheard his exchange with Shen Te. Wong excitedly tells the gods that he has found them a room but that they’ll need to wait a moment while it’s cleaned and tidied. While the gods take a rest and they sit down in a doorway, Wong excitedly tells them they’ll be staying with the “finest human being in Setzuan.” The gods ask Wong what life is like in Setzuan. He tells them that good people and no-good people alike have a hard time getting by.

Shen Te’s gentleman approaches her building and he whistles for her. She does not come to the window and so he leaves. Shen Te calls for Wong. When Wong, who is hiding in the doorway with the gods, doesn’t answer, Shen Te goes off down the street looking for him. Wong sees her leaving the building and he runs after her, lamenting quietly that he has “failed in the service of the gods” yet again. Ashamed, he runs away to his den in the sewer pipe down near the river to hide from them. Shen Te returns and she finds the gods sitting in the doorway. She introduces herself to them and she invites them to share her “simple” room. The gods, noticing that Wong has left and abandoned his carrying pole, deduce what must have happened. They bring the pole in so that Wong can retrieve it from Shen Te later.

The lights dim and then rise again—it is morning. Shen Te leads the gods outside. They thank her for her hospitality and they call her a “good human being.” Shen Te insists that she isn’t good and she reveals that she hesitated at first when Wong asked her to shelter the gods. The first god tells Shen Te that it’s okay to hesitate on the way to completing a good deed. He tells her that she has proved to all three of them that good people still exist.

The gods all bid Shen Te goodbye, but before they can leave, she stops them. Shen Te tells the gods that she’s not sure they’re right about her being a “good” person. She says she’d like to be good but she must sell herself for a living in order to make ends meet. She doesn’t honor her mother and father, she often lies, she sometimes covets her neighbors’ things, and she sleeps with many men. The first god nervously insists that Shen Te’s thoughts and reservations are nothing but “the misgivings of an unusually good woman.”

The gods again bid Shen Te farewell and they urge her to “be good.” Shen Te says she doesn’t know how she’ll be good when everything is so expensive. The second god insists that gods don’t “meddle with economics.” The third god, though, suggests that maybe Shen Te would have an easier time being good if she had more money. The gods huddle together for a minute in discussion. The first god then approaches Shen Te, thrusts money into her hands, and insists on paying for the room. Shen Te accepts the money, and the gods leave.