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Biographical note
Excerpt
User Reviews
Major Barbara, a typical play by George Bernard Shaw is a social satire in three acts. Shaw mocks the religious hypocrisy and the social norms and dogmas of the contemporary age that still hold enough relevance in the current age.
Major Barbara Undershaft is represented as an officer of the Salvation Army. She becomes disillusioned at the acceptance of funds by her organization from an armaments manufacturer and a whisky distiller. But the disillusionment flakes off when she finally concludes that bringing a message of salvation to people who have enough or more will be more rewarding and unpretentious rather than converting the starving with the lure of bread.
Through Barbara’s initial thinking of the Salvation Army’s acceptance of her father Mr. Undershaft’s money as hypocrisy, Shaw might have attempted to question people’s ideological mindset that charities can only be accepted from ‘morally pure’ sources. The solace to the reader is that any money that benefits the poor will have more practical value rather than no money and sticking to ethical goodness. The quote of a Salvation Army officer, “they would take money from the devil himself and be only too glad to get it out of his hands and into God’s” encourages readers to think and form thoughts and beliefs of their own.
The conflict between social and moral ethics and thus realism and idealism has been brought out effectively in this play by Shaw. We have Mr. Undershaft as the epitome of realism and a staunch believer that poverty is a crime. On the other hand, we find the robust, jolly and energetic Barbara intensely committed to her mission of redeeming mankind.
The play is replete with script displays that carry the unique Shavian techniques of omitting apostrophes from contractions and other punctuation nuances. It also has a didactic introductory essay that tells the readers of the theme of the play.
Major Barbara, a typical play by George Bernard Shaw is a social satire in three acts. Shaw mocks the religious hypocrisy and the social norms and dogmas of the contemporary age that still hold enough relevance in the current age.
Major Barbara Undershaft is represented as an officer of the Salvation Army. She becomes disillusioned at the acceptance of funds by her organization from an armaments manufacturer and a whisky distiller. But the disillusionment flakes off when she finally concludes that bringing a message of salvation to people who have enough or more will be more rewarding and unpretentious rather than converting the starving with the lure of bread.
Through Barbara’s initial thinking of the Salvation Army’s acceptance of her father Mr. Undershaft’s money as hypocrisy, Shaw might have attempted to question people’s ideological mindset that charities can only be accepted from ‘morally pure’ sources. The solace to the reader is that any money that benefits the poor will have more practical value rather than no money and sticking to ethical goodness. The quote of a Salvation Army officer, “they would take money from the devil himself and be only too glad to get it out of his hands and into God’s” encourages readers to think and form thoughts and beliefs of their own.
The conflict between social and moral ethics and thus realism and idealism has been brought out effectively in this play by Shaw. We have Mr. Undershaft as the epitome of realism and a staunch believer that poverty is a crime. On the other hand, we find the robust, jolly and energetic Barbara intensely committed to her mission of redeeming mankind.
The play is replete with script displays that carry the unique Shavian techniques of omitting apostrophes from contractions and other punctuation nuances. It also has a didactic introductory essay that tells the readers of the theme of the play.
George Bernard Shaw, a Nobel Prize winner for literature in 1925, is a notable playwright known for revolutionizing comedic drama and for inspiring generations. He was an Irish legend and has marked a place in history as a social spokesman. Shaw has a lot of reputation as a literary critic and is known to be a prominent British socialist. Pygmalion was undeniably Shaw’s financially most successful work.
Shaw’s quotes are some very oft repeated phrases all around. He is one out of only two people in history who have won both an Academy Award and a Nobel Prize for Literature. He shares this honour with Bob Dylan, one of the greatest songwriters of all time. While Shaw was honoured with the Nobel Prize in 1925, the committee is said to have been impressed with his work that they described as “marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty”. This quality had gained him worldwide fame and an unprecedented fan following.
Shaw has maintained a committed relationship with socialism all through his life and career. His plays, such as Mrs. Warren’s Profession and Pygmalion, deftly address mass social issues such as rights of women, poverty and capitalism. The pearls of wisdom that he dedicated to the world through his wise words are here to stay and inspire generations to come.
His urge to progress with the advancing and rapidly changing times, “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything”; or the silent warning to the most gullible minds with the words, “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance”; and also a strong line in an attempt to refrain the wise people from stooping as low as those who are mud-slinging and trying to tarnish each other’s reputation, “I learned long ago never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.”
We see a new age full of promises and hope with George Bernard Shaw’s famous line, “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
Books that Speak to us Across Time
Books have a magical and timeless appeal. They inform, educate and entertain us. We love and cherish the books we grow up with, and explore the fascinating world they present all through our lives.
Trove seeks to preserve the tradition of reading by publishing books from the past. It is a treasure chest of the most precious works across various genres. Our vision is to keep alive works that have stood the test of time and pass them on to the next generation of readers.
Readers can browse and purchase titles in the Trove collection, gleaned from the huge ocean of treasured writings in the public domain, and republished. What’s more, Trove books can be read on paper or screen as they are available in a variety of formats.
Trove goes to great lengths to recover and refurbish old content, so readers can discover them in all their glory. Some treasures are indeed found not in caves but between the covers of a book.
Books that Speak to us Across Time
Books have a magical and timeless appeal. They inform, educate and entertain us. We love and cherish the books we grow up with, and explore the fascinating world they present all through our lives.
Trove seeks to preserve the tradition of reading by publishing books from the past. It is a treasure chest of the most precious works across various genres. Our vision is to keep alive works that have stood the test of time and pass them on to the next generation of readers.
Readers can browse and purchase titles in the Trove collection, gleaned from the huge ocean of treasured writings in the public domain, and republished. What’s more, Trove books can be read on paper or screen as they are available in a variety of formats.
Trove goes to great lengths to recover and refurbish old content, so readers can discover them in all their glory. Some treasures are indeed found not in caves but between the covers of a book.
Also from Trove
1. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
2. Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce
9. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
10. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
11. Moby Dick or The Whale by Melville Herman
12. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
13. Animal Farm by George Orwell
14. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
15. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
16. She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
17. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
18. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
19. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
20. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Visit us: www.trovebooks.in
Phone: +91-72002 58368
Also from Trove
1. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
2. Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce
9. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
10. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
11. Moby Dick or The Whale by Melville Herman
12. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
13. Animal Farm by George Orwell
14. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
15. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
16. She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
17. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
18. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
19. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
20. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
1. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
2. Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce
9. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
10. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
11. Moby Dick or The Whale by Melville Herman
12. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
13. Animal Farm by George Orwell
14. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
15. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
16. She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
17. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
18. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
19. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
20. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Visit us: www.trovebooks.in
Phone: +91-72002 58368
Major Barbara
BERNARD SHAW
Newgen Knowledge Works Offices
Chennai Pondicherry Pune Kottayam Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
Leipzig (Germany) Amsterdam (Netherlands) Stroud (UK) Texas (USA)
Major Barbara
BERNARD SHAW
Newgen Knowledge Works Offices
Chennai Pondicherry Pune Kottayam Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
Leipzig (Germany) Amsterdam (Netherlands) Stroud (UK) Texas (USA)
First published in 1907 by Cox and Wyman, Ltd.
This book has been inspired from the original version of Major Barbara first published in 1907, available in the public domain. Due care and diligence have been taken while bringing out this edition; neither the author nor the publishers of the book hold any responsibility for any mistake that may have inadvertently crept in. The publishers shall not be liable for any direct, consequential, or incidental damages arising out of the use of the book.
© Trove Books Edition, 2023
Paperback ISBN: 978-81-19222-83-4
eBook ISBN: 978-81-19303-08-3
WebPDF: 978-81-19303-09-0
Published by
Trove Books
Imprint of M/S Newgen KnowledgeWorks (P) Ltd
2/579, Singaravelan Street
Chinna Neelankarai
Chennai – 600 041
India
Call: 91-72002 58368
