Brecht’s Galileo: Hero or Coward?

🎭 Bertolt Brecht’s play “The Life of Galileo” centers on Galileo Galilei, one of the most striking figures in the history of science. However, this Galileo is neither a true hero nor an ordinary victim. In Brecht’s writing, Galileo is a thinker riddled with contradictions, both a bearer of enlightenment and a prisoner of fear.

🔍 The Man Who Discovered Truth

Galilei, through telescopic observations, defended the Copernican system, which proved that the Earth revolved around the Sun. This scientific truth directly challenged the authority of the Catholic Church at the time. With this knowledge, Galilei not only initiated a scientific revolution but also a rebellion for freedom of thought.

In this respect, Galileo appears as a hero: a scientist who fought for knowledge and challenged authority.

⚖️ But Then He Backed Down

The Church puts Galilei before the Inquisition. Under threat of torture, Galileo denies the facts and abandons his defense of Copernicus. Here, Brecht confronts Galileo with his lack of courage.
By denying scientific truth, Galileo saves his life, but he pays a moral price.

🧠 Brecht’s View of Galileo

Brecht’s Galileo is not one-dimensional. He is neither a glorified scientific hero nor a pathetic coward. He is a figure drawn with human nature, bargaining with the system, wanting to live, yet unable to let go of the pursuit of knowledge.

His student Andrea’s words echo throughout the play:

“Misfortune creates heroes. But cowardice creates more misfortune.”

This sentence also reflects Brecht’s judgment of Galileo: The silence of those who know the truth prolongs the darkness.

🧩 Hero or Coward?

Brecht’s Galileo may not be a hero. But he is a figure who, knowing the possibility of becoming a hero, gives up on it, and that’s why it disturbs us and makes us think. In other words, according to Brecht, the most dangerous thing is not those who believe in what is wrong, but those who know what is right and remain silent.