I hope I can pull the wagon by myself. Yes, I'll manage, there's not much in it now. I must get back into business.

Relinquishing her daughter's corpse to the local peasants, Mother Courage resolves to continue her trade at the conclusion of the play, indicating for Brecht, as he notes programmatically in the Courage Model Book, that she has learned nothing. Once again she has lost a child while engaging in business. She understands nothing of what has come to pass, however, barely reacting to the peasants' accusation that she is to blame for the death of her child. Wearily, Courage presses on with business as usual, the business that serves as her material and psychical support. As with much of Mother Courage, the brilliance of this final scene lies in its staging. With the taking up of the wagon, Brecht envisions Courage crossing an empty space that recalls Scene one, showing her treading a full circle like a damned soul. The soldiers sing her trademark song, calling all to continue in the service of a war that continues across the generations.