The Good Woman of Setzuan

Shen Te’s shop is now a well-decorated office. Shui Ta, who has grown fat, sits in a chair talking with the old man and the old woman. Mrs. Shin looks on. Shui Ta angrily says he cannot tell them where Shen Te is. The old woman says she simply wants to thank Shen Te in writing—an envelope containing the 200 silver dollars she and her husband were owed arrived. Shui Ta says he doesn’t have Shen Te’s address and shoos them from the shop. Mrs. Shin tells him that the couple lost their shop while waiting for the money. Shui Ta declares they could have come to him for help. Mrs. Shin retorts that people dislike coming to Shui Ta.

Shui Ta says he’s dizzy. Mrs. Shin says he ought to be—he’s “in [his] seventh month.” Shui Ta says he’s nervous that people will start noticing what’s going on soon, but Mrs. Shin says that everyone will think Shui Ta is growing fat because he’s rich. Shui Ta declares that when the child is born, it must never meet Shui Ta. Shui Ta asks Mrs. Shin if the neighbors are circulating any rumors. Mrs. Shin says that as long as Shu Fu doesn’t learn the truth, there is “nothing to worry about.” She offers Shui Ta a cup of tea.

As Yang Sun enters dressed in a suit, Mrs. Shin puts on a pair of nice gloves and leaves. Yang Sun suggests Mrs. Shin is “fleecing” Shui Ta. Taking a paper from his briefcase, Yang Sun tells Shui Ta that because Shui Ta hasn’t been “at [his] best,” things at the factory are getting out of control. The police want to shut the establishment down for having twice the legal number of workers. Yang Sun offers to bribe Mrs. Mi Tzu into letting their company use her buildings for the overflow by offering her sexual favors. Shui Ta says he’ll “never agree to that.” Yang Sun suggests Shui Ta is irritable because it’s raining.

Wong knocks at the door. He enters, stating that he’s looking for Shen Te. It’s been six months since she’s been seen last, and “rumors” that something has happened to her have started cropping up. Shui Ta tells Wong to come back later. Wong says he’s seen rice sitting out on the doorstep lately, just as it used to when Shen Te gave to the needy. Wong says there are rumors that Shen Te never left Setzuan after all—she is nearby, hiding a pregnancy. Yang Sun is shocked. Shui Ta calls Wong a liar; Wong replies that “a good woman isn’t so easily forgotten,” and he leaves.

Shui Ta goes into the back room. Yang Sun, alone, wonders whether Shui Ta sent the pregnant Shen Te away so that Yang Sun wouldn’t get word of a son being born to him. Suddenly, Yang Sun hears sobbing is heard from the back room, which surprises him since Shui Ta never weeps. Yang Sun, too, admits that he’s suspicious about the bowls of rice on the doorstep.

As Shui Ta steps out of the back and opens the front door, listening for something, Yang Sun asks what’s going on. Shui Ta says that he’s listening for the sound of a plane—he asks if Yang Sun has forgotten his dreams of flying. Yang Sun retorts that he hasn’t “lost interest” in flying, or interest in Shen Te. He asks Shui Ta if Shui Ta is keeping Shen Te locked up somewhere and he implies that he’ll cause havoc at the factory if Shui Ta is. Shui Ta offers to promote Yang Sun in exchange for him “drop[ping] the inquiry.” Yang Sun demands Shui Ta’s own position. Shui Ta is hesitant. Yang Sun says he’d “like to see more” of Shen Te. 

Yang Sun leaves. Shui Ta goes into the back room and returns with Shen Te’s things. He wraps them in her old shawl. When he hears a noise at the door, he shoves the things away. Mrs. Mi Tzu and Shu Fu enter and ask why they’ve been sent for. Shui Ta says the factory is in trouble—unless he can prove he has more space for his workers, the police will shut them down. Shu Fu declares his displeasure with Shui Ta’s use of the resources that were offered to Shen Te. Shui Ta assures him that Shen Te’s return is “imminent.”

Mrs. Mi Tzu demands that Shui Ta give her Yang Sun. Shui Ta promises that Yang Sun will call on her tomorrow if she agrees to tell the police that Shui Ta is taking over her buildings. Shu Fu declares that it will be good to have Yang Sun employed elsewhere when Shen Te returns. Everything seems to be settled—but suddenly, voices from the street announce the arrival of the police. Yang Sun, Wong, and the policeman all enter the shop. The policeman says that Yang Sun has reported Shui Ta for keeping Shen Te locked up after hearing someone crying in the back room of the office. The rumor has spread quickly and the whole city is in an “uproar” over Shen Te’s imprisonment.

The policeman checks the back room but finds it empty. Yang Sun is baffled. He spots the bundle Shui Ta has stashed away and picks it up. Wong declares that Shen Te’s clothes are here. A crowd has gathered outside the door—they declare that Shui Ta must have murdered Shen Te and hidden her body. The policeman asks Shui Ta to tell him where Shen Te is. Shui Ta says he cannot, so the policeman cuffs Shui Ta and leads him away.