Shaw's Modernist Heroes

“Some men see things as they are and ask why. Other dream things that never were and ask why not.”   

A quote by Bernard Shaw which describes him as a person perfectly. George Bernard Shaw, the greatest of the many Irishmen who have written fine plays in English language was born on 26 July 1856. Shaw was the youngest among the thirteen children in the house. At the age of fifteen he realized the incapability of his father to lead the house and saw his mother’s devotion more in music than to raise her children. He then developed an independence of mind and spirit which enabled him to be a man without getting swayed away by the customs.In George Orwell's Animal Farm, Mr. Whymper a man hired by Napoleon to represent Animal Farm in human society, is loosely based on George Bernard Shaw who visited the U.S.S.R. in 1931 and praised Stalin and what he found.

The love of music that he had gained from his mother let Shaw settle in London. He was a music critic on the ‘Star’, an evening newspaper. His high quality writing and sense of rhythm made one of the most loved playwright. Unlike other modernist writers Shaw’s rhythmic flow in his long sentences were able to grab attention. Though Bernard Shaw was still depending on his mother for food and shelter as it was difficult to live by writing, he has started molding is political career. George Bernard Shaw was a socialist and part of the Fabian Society, which wanted a gradual evolutionary change from capitalism to socialism. Henry George the writer of ‘Progress and Poverty’ was the man who inspired Shaw. Mrs. Annie Besant was also a member of the Fabian Society and was inspired by Shaw. Bernard Shaw as a socialist believed in ‘the conditions of the society can be improved if the legislation aims at equality.’

This was also one of the themes in many of his plays especially ‘Arms and the Man.’ In a young age Shaw had realized that it was important to make good society only then can one have good laws. His plays certainly changed and bought about new ideologies. The theme of social evil was something new to the society, Shaw wrote subjects like prostitution (Mrs. Warren’s Profession), war (Arms and the Man), religious intolerance (the devil’s disciple)and so on. Though he wasn’t really popular until intellectual play started at the court London and Shaw came into notice.

George Bernard Shaw had a unique style of writing his plays. He changed the ways followed by most other writers. He was the first one to bring in the element of giving detail description of the setting of the play. In this play Arms and the Man the description given in the first act to Raina’s room by describing it to be ‘half rich Bulgarian and half-cheap Viennese.’ The omission of apostrophes was one more style which would be seen only in his works (Like I’ve= I have was written as Ive.) Shaw never printed a list of characters at the front of his plays. He preferred to introduce the character only when they appeared.

Arms and the Man is a play both amusing and thought-provoking. It makes us laugh and think, for it has a serious message. It is an anti-romantic comedy bounding in humour and satire. It exposes the false ideals and hypocritical pretensions that men and women fall prey to. The play is set in the background of the of the Serbian-Bulgarian war. In the nineteenth century, nationalist movement swept through Europe breaking free from Ottoman rule. In September 1885, Bulgaria’s unification with eastern Rumelia, an ottoman province making Serbia feel threatened. Serbia declared war on Bulgaria backed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Bulgaria led by Prince Alexander and supported by Russia won the war of Slivnitza. The treaty was signed at Bucharest to end the conflict.

The act begins on a night late in November 1885, in a small town near Dragoman pass. Catherine Petkoff, the wife of the Bulgarian Major Petkoff informs her daughter Raina about the victory over the Serbs. Major Sergius Saranoff, who Raina is engaged to led the cavalry charge. Catherine’s narration of the victory involves the utter destruction of the enemy. It was the narration from the victor’s point of view thus resembling the idiom of romantic tales. Raina is delighted to hear the news of “Her Hero.”

But the reality of war soon climbs up the balcony of Raina’s chamber in form of a defeated enemy. He is “bespattered with mud and blood and snow”, exhausted, starving and pursued. Blunschli is a Swiss soldier fighting for the Serbians for money, thus he writer shows how nationalism was reducing for want of money. The reality of war is highlighted in front of the protagonist Raina by Bernard Shaw. War was seen as a glorious opportunity for a man to prove his courage. Pre-modernist writers associated war with concepts of loyalty, duty and honour. Thus Shaw was seen as attacking these values. The reality of war – suffering, loss and deprivations is overlooked by the society as they are blinded by the lofty ideals set by society. Bluntschli, the enemy soldier tells Raina what a cavalry charge is really like: “It’s like sliding a handful of peas against a window pane”, which is not romantic or glorious. He is a man who speaks from firsthand knowledge and a fifteen year experience when he comments on Sergius’s cavalry charge. The man describes it as Don Quixote charging on the windmill and pulling his horse and letting his soldiers die before him.

Blunschli breaks the illusion of the perfect soldier that Raina had learnt about by the society. She is shown through Bluntschli that soldiers fear death too, as they knew if they were caught by enemy they would be slaughtered ‘like a pig.’

Shaw depicts the conflict between idealism and realism. Shaw mocks the unrealistic attitude towards war and love. He attacks the sham glamour and artificial sentiment associated with war that lead people to adopt romantic posture and act foolishly.

Shaw through Sergius sends out a message when he says: “Soldiering is the coward’s art of attacking mercilessly when you are strong and keeping out of harm’s way when you are weak. Get your enemy to its disadvantage and never fight on equal terms.” The conflict of idealism and realism is also shown in Raina and Sergius relation where they consider them to the virtuous lady and chivalric man perfect for each other by society. But they don’t really know who they are as person but only their roles.

He is also trying to explain how inherent military position doesn’t get one military intelligence too. Shaw highlights military professionalism through Bluntschli as he asked for help by Major petkoff and Sergius to plan the Philippopolis manoeuvre – as stated by the treaty signed. The play is an ‘Anti-Romantic.’ A romantic means ‘romance like’ i.e. a heroic narrative of wonderful adventure than the modern concept on love. Sergius is seen in admiration being a romantic soldier than Bluntschli, an anti-romantic. Bluntschli’s remark: “I’m a professional soldier. I fight when I have to, and am very glad to get out of it when I havn’t to. You’re and amateur and find fight an amusement.” Shaw wanted the audience to re-evaluate its attitude towards war. It was only after 1918, (end of WW1) war was never seen with the same disillusionment.

George Bernard Shaw wanted to reform the society. Art is what he saw as a medium to send out message to bring social and political reforms. His plays were known as the “plays of ideas” highlighting social evils making audience uncomfortable at times to be pointed out. Theatre was the mode of entertainment and they didn’t like to be lectured. Shaw’s wit made him use his music to sugar coat his play and unconsciously set the message in their mind.

Shaw believed in equal rights for all being a socialist. His believes were close to the Marxist theory of having a classless society. He believed that an individual should not be judged on the basis of his class but his ability. The social structure of Bulgaria in the play reflects England with wealthy gentry (like Petkoff and Saranoff) at the top of the hierarchy and peasants (like Nicola and Louka) at the bottom. The Petkoff brag about their material possession and position at every opportunity. Every boast seems to end in anticlimax like ‘the library Raina mentions to Blunstchli is not much of a library but a family room.’ The pride the Petkoffs take is not impressive for the audience as they know the European standards. Thus the playwright suggests that hereditary wealth do not make one superior to others. As the Petkoff also don’t match the standard of high class Europeans. Shaw portrays his them of class difference through his characters Blunschli (the enemy soldier), Louka (the maid-servant) and Nicola (the servant), the most able characters in the play.

In the play, Major Petkoff and Saranoff got their military rank due to inherent ability, thus he seeks help from Bluntschli (who ranks below him) for help. Sergius Saranoff jealous of the Swiss Soldier’s admires his efficiency and ability.  

Louka a low class servant defies the class system. She is the mouth piece of Shaw’s views. She feels that the injustice of class system is imposed unfairly on her. Nicola on the other hand as accepted his position in society and has a modest ambition of setting up a shop which does not require him to move beyond his social condition. Though he knows the secrets of the house as Louka he wishes to not talk about it, being a faithful servant.

Louka who is engaged to Nicola defies him for having ‘A soul of a servant.’ Louka is the opposite portrayal of Nicola as she wishes to break free from her position. In the entire play one may not come across Shaw condemning Louka’s ways of breaking free. The hypocritical action of Sergius flirting with Louka and then hurts her physically calling her “an abominable little clod of clay.” Louka possess natural intelligence allows her to see through Raina’s pretension and Sergius’s hypocrisy.

Shaw believes it not ones class that makes one despicably. There is no class for human behavior.

He saw all Labour as a valuable service to society hence as something to be respected. As Louka tells sergius,’I have to get your room ready for you: to sweep and dust, to fetch and carry. How could that degrade me if it did not degrade you to have it done for you?’

In the end of the play, Louka uses her intelligence to manipulate Sergius and gets engaged to him. It is Blunschli who makes Raina understand herself and truth, as Louka makes Sergius’s self-realisation possible. The theme of realism is brought as the characters Raina and Sergius are forced to examine themselves and discover the courage to follow their hearts instead of being another social experiment.

The ideals of realism, idealism, socialism and anti- romantic are all interwoven. He shows us how acting by false system leads to less fulfilling lives. If we look around this is the story that we would hear often. The false pretence we live in today is sometimes what makes us believe in propaganda and the society. How modern we will get idealism will always rule over the realistic perspective.