Major Barbara

Description

Considered to be Shaw’s most debated and most controversial writing, Major Barbara is a three-act play that discusses numerous important moral issues and social problems such as poverty, religion, even class struggle to a certain extent.

The plot of the play is set in London. The protagonist is Barbara Undershaft, “Major” Barbara, a young lady who comes from a wealthy family and acts as officer of the Salvation Army. She helps the poor by providing them with food and trying to find work for them and believes deeply in the significance of what she is doing. Her family’s wealth comes from a successful armament manufacturing business and even though her father wants to donate money for the poor, Barbara is not willing to accept the money she considers to be tainted. However, the Salvation Army accepts Undershaft’s money, leaving Barbra disappointed, disillusioned and with her faith shattered.

The play discusses important moral problems in an objective manner. Though Shaw was a Socialist, he does not take sides in the play, allowing the audience to decide for themselves about who is right and who is not. The rich and the impoverished characters in the play are equally complex – nor the ammunition manufacturer, neither the idealistic, young Salvation Officer is completely good or completely evil, none of them is able to come up with the perfect way to save the poor from their lot.

Undershaft provides a temporary solution for a certain group of people, while Barbara believes that it is the duty of all rich people to help the poor and she would prefer to bring this message to the wealthy, rather than accept one sizeable donation. War and pacifism, “clean” and tainted money, the search for the right way to elevate the moral standards and to improve the life of the downtrodden are all there in the play and they are all treated with the wisdom, wit and humor so characteristic of George Bernard Shaw.
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