Content Warning: This section of the guide contains references to rape.

In the spring of 1624, a recruiting officer and a sergeant arrive in Dalarna, Sweden, eager to recruit soldiers for the Thirty Years’ War. They complain about how difficult it is to find recruits and insist that the civilians do not realize how good the war is for them. The Sergeant insists that it is war, not peace, that civilizes people and brings order to a nation.

A woman pulling a canteen wagon approaches. It is Anna Fierling, called Mother Courage, and her three children. The Sergeant stops her, demanding papers. In response, Mother Courage introduces herself and her children, emphasizing that as a tradesperson she is essential to the war. Her children each have a different father and are each of a different nationality. The oldest, a son called Eilif, grows angry at the Sergeant for harassing his mother and wants to fight him. The Recruiting Officer, however, thinks that Eilif should enlist.

Mother Courage protests and insists that she can predict the future. She requests the Sergeant’s helmet and places in it slips of paper. Some of the slips are blank while others are marked with a black cross.