Major Barbara: A Conflict of Idealism and Realism

International Journal of Management and Humanity Sciences. Vol., 4 (1), 4536-4540, 2015
Available online at http://www.ijmhsjournal.com
ISSN 2322-424X©2015
Major Barbara: A Conflict of Idealism and Realism
1
2
3
4
Pedram Lalbakhsh, Mostafa Sadeghi Kahmini, Kamal Abbasi, and Vahid Safiyan Boldaji*
1- Assistant Professor, English Literature, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
2- MA, English Literature, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
3- PhD Candidate, English Literature, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
4- MA, English Literature, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
*Corresponding authors E-mail: vahidsafyan@gmail.com
Abstract
The conflict between idealism and realism in George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara is
depicted by the clash between Andrew Undershaft’s viewpoints and those of his
family members who act as a microcosm of the society of their time. Being the cofounder of the Fabian Society, a social institution aimed at ameliorating the life of the
Britons, Shaw was against the idealistic tendencies which negated the realistic
portrayal of family life. He intended to shatter the idealistic foundation of the so-called
societal purity institutions like the Salvation Army which were gaining political
significance and public support. The present study attempts to show that Shaw's
preference for realistic discourse rather than idealistic discourse in Major Barbara
can be likened to the superiority of Andrew Undershaft's Cannons Trade to Barbara
Undershaft's Salvation Army. Andrew Undershaft, the special anti-idealist Shavian
character, believes that being a pauper is a crime and, as a result, poverty must be
eradicated from the society. Andrew's unique and unconventional religion is “money
and gunpowder”. He buys the Salvation Army in the façade of donating money to the
army to show that money is power. He is a foundling and it is incumbent on him to
search for a foundling so as to follow the tradition of the Trade and transfer its
leadership to him. On the other hand, Barbara Undershaft is a major in the Salvation
Army and tries to save the souls of the poor without paying any attention to their
material needs. The present research concludes that Major Barbara best represents
Shaw's philosophy in which the reality and the internal conflicts of our lives are
vivified.
Key Words: Andrew Undershaft, Barbara Undershaft, Drama of Ideas, George Bernard
Shaw, Power, the Salvation Army, the Cannons Trade, Tripartite Major Characters
Introduction
George Bernard Shaw: the Famous Irish Playwright, Social Polemicist, and Comic Melo-dramatist
George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin in 1856 and died in England in 1950. Due to his living so long a
life (94 years), he must have influenced the public with his ideas noticeably. One of the reasons for his long
life could be the fact that he had introduced himself as a vegetarian; ―I have not eaten meat fore twentyseven years; the results are before the public!‖ (Costello, vii). Thus, according to Mander and Mitchenson,
Shaw's sound body and mind helped him to be a productive playwright, writing almost 53 plays from 1885
until 1950 (23). He was widely received in public because of, as Brown says, his diverse ideas which extend
from ―vegetarianism‖ to ―Russian Communism‖ (10). At the preliminary stages of his writing career Shaw
wrote five novels and gradually began to take part in political and social gatherings which were not exempt
from hot controversial discussions and debates. Consequently, writing novels fortified his magnificent style
and the gatherings led to his polemical plays (Brown, 13-14).
In 1882, Shaw pursued the works of Karl Marx for the first time. Marx instigated him to be a reformer of
the English society and the embezzlements of its modern lifestyle. As Reynolds mentions, "Marx’s ideas
helped form many features of Shavian ―new speech‖: Shaw’s passion for social change, his attraction to
people and problems outside mainstream thinking, his hatred of idealism, and his ability to break through
surface harmony to expose the discord underneath" (52). As a result, he joined the Fabian society which was
Intl. J. Manag. Human. Sci. Vol., 4 (1), 4536-4540, 2015
a ―middle-class socialist group that aimed at transformation of English government and society by gradual
changes‖ and he tried to ―stage a biting comedy to confute the British government and the religious
institutions of his time for their self-serving political and religious premises‖ (Javadifar, 67). Reading Marx's
works led him toward dedicating his life to reconstructing his social milieu. Thus, all of Shaw's plays
represent his unique socialist themes, motifs, and viewpoints. Reynolds believes that "Shaw's prose often
explores political, social, economic, and religious ideas overlooked by other writers of his day: the necessity
of women's rights, the failure of Britain's criminal justice system, the sins of science, ..." (48).
According to Brown, poverty was the worst disaster Shaw was experiencing when he began to create
his works. Later he married a well-to-do woman to escape the ruinous effects of being poor. He had
observed that people in the society were suffering from different social calamities while the government and
religious foundations were useless for the laymen who did not get enough to eat. He had pondered that he
could solve these problems by writing acrimonious plays so that the people in charge would be awakened
and help the nation more. In accordance with what Brown says Shaw did not solely want to show the social
disasters. He did want the man to change the life for the better on his own. And this change was possible in
Shaw's opinion through, as Marshik mentions, "art- and specially theater...a useful tool for reformers" (72).
The Norwegian Henrik Ibsen, famous for his inclination to socialism, influenced the Fabians including
Shaw because it was Ibsen who presented life ―as it is really lived in contemporary society‖ and he
introduced ―discussion into drama‖, a favorite tool for Shaw (Abjadian, 557). Shaw’s plays are dealing more
with abstract ideas. Shaw ―freely uses his plays as a vehicle for his social thinking. He admires Ibsen’s use
of drama as a force to subvert the accepted social attitude. He achieves this goal by his paradoxical
presentation of social problems and the long speeches he gives his characters‖ (Abjadian, 558). He tends to
have a garrulously tiring and simplistic style of writing in which he emphasizes the expression of realities of
humanity and civilization. What is evident in almost all of his plays is that he vivifies unfashionable facts of
family life by highlighting the often neglected margins of society and thus deconstructing the common moral
discourse within his social milieu. In general, Shaw's audience often faces situations in which they are
directed toward thinking far beyond the conventions. Shaw encourages his readers to set up new outlooks
about recent political, social, religious, and scientific concerns.
Similar to Shaw, Bertolt Brecht says in The Threepenny Opera (1928) that ―food is the first thing: morals
follow on‖ (67). Major Barbara is one of Shaw’s religious plays in which he focuses on religious creeds that
affect man’s behavior in society. He also emphasizes the significance of money in life and the subsequent
disasters of poverty. He believes that being fed and housed properly must be put before religion and spiritual
ideology.
Literature Review
A review of literature pertinent to Major Barbara demonstrates that it has been studied from political,
social, and feministic grounds. John Allett (1995) compares Mrs. Warren's Profession and Major Barbara
based on the notion of "dirty hands politics" in order to portray Shaw as an active political figure whose plays
have been "inspired by important political themes" (32). Stephanie Ollevier (2012) investigates Shaw’s
concept of the ―new woman‖ in Major Barbara and concludes that Shaw uses discourse to urge women not
to deviate from social norms (5). Jasim Mohammad (2012) examines the "conflict between fanaticism and
secularism in Major Barbara" and assumes that Shaw endeavors to make an ethical equivalence between
power and morals (53). Lots of studies have been done on Major Barbara, having investigated it from various
perspectives. However, they have not scrutinized the clash between realism and idealism in it. This adds to
the significance of this research as an innovative study of George Bernard Shaw's drama of ideas.
Discussion
Major Barbara (1905) is considered to be one of Shaw's most famous plays and represents the realism
and the inherent conflicts exclusive to Shaw's style. The characters are in constant struggle with each other
and their surroundings in order to refashion them. The play contains the telltale binary opposition of idealism
and realism. Barbara's idealism is uniquely spiritual and religious. However, this idealism is defeated by
Andrew Undershaft's sense of pragmatism, realism, and materialism at the end of the play. Barbara's religion
can be thought of as a representation of idealism which is shattered later on in the play. Shaw deals with this
religious idealism pessimistically because it does not guide its believers to salvation. The play finally shows
that if the realist and the idealist consolidate, only then can they be led toward the right path.
Tripartite Characterization: Shaw's Favorite Technique
Shaw shows the multiple associations between the characters in his plays. One of his techniques to do
this is to use the tripartite major characters who voice dissimilar viewpoints with regard to social or political
concerns. In Major Barbara the triangle consists of Andrew Undershaft, Barbara Undershaft, and Adolpheus
4537
Intl. J. Manag. Human. Sci. Vol., 4 (1), 4536-4540, 2015
Cusins. In the play, which is a good representative of Shaw's drama of ideas, different sets of characters pit
their ideas against each other, accepting or refuting them. Furthermore, the Shavian Life Force is presented
by these three characters. It instigates them to choose their own ways and modify them when they are facing
new and more powerful ideologies. For instance, Barbara is a major in the Salvation Army but ends in being
her father's preacher in Perivale St. Andrews. Undershaft had been a poor man but decided to escape
poverty. Thus, he is a powerful founder of the cannons trade known in all Europe. Cusins is a professor of
Greek. He falls in love with Barbara because of her liveliness and spirituality. Because he was born a
foundling, he is capable of inheriting Undershaft's cannons trade. These are the influences of the Life Force
in which Shaw believes.
The Conflict between Realism and Idealism
The first act of the play starts in Lady Britomart Undershaft’s house in Wilton Crescent and is mainly
preoccupied with the family's urgent need for money. However, the first moral conflict starts here. The reader
is left pondering whether it is morally right to accept money from a corrupted root, referring to Andrew
Undershaft's Cannons Trade which deals with death and demolition. Lady Britomart and her son, Stephen
Undershaft, are, as Stuart E. Baker says, "the true representatives of the aristocracy, the traditional ruling
class" (92).
Lady Britomart: "And my family, thank heaven, is not a pig-headed Tory. We are Whigs and believe in
liberty" (John Bull's other Island, 246).
Stephen says that he is ashamed of his father because of his trade. He is an immature, naive, and artless
idealist who cannot see the reality and tries to escape from the unpleasant aspects of life. He is honest and
courageous in his idealistic morality in which there is no place for gunpowder. He typifies the self-esteemed
people who do not want to be against the norms of the society. His morality and idealism are at odds with his
father's pragmatic and realistic morality which is depicted by money and gunpowder. After visiting
Undershaft's Perivale St. Andrews, Stephen comes to admire his father's business as a neat and estimable
one. Andrew Undershaft enlightens him, as he does others, to be more realistic about the facts of the social
life.
Undershaft: "Well, Stephen, what do you think of the place?"
Stephen: "Oh, magnificent. A perfect triumph of organization. Frankly, my dear father, I have been a fool: I
had no idea of what it all meant-of the wonderful forethought, the power of organization, the administrative
capacity, the financial genius, the colossal capital it represents" (Shaw, 73).
Lady Britomart is also another idealist in the family who is dissatisfied with her family’s present situation,
especially with what Barbara, her daughter, has done. Lady Britomart: ―I thought Barbara was going to make
the most brilliant career of all of you. And what does she do? Joins the Salvation Army‖ (245). Lady Britomart
is a domineering and dictating character who believes that what she says is absolutely right and must be
obeyed. She asserts that Barbara must marry the man she (Lady Britomart) chooses, not the man Barbara
likes. The Undershafts' present economic situation is not much promising. She wants to save the face of the
family she has brought up alone. She does not want her children to act foolishly while their father is present
in their house. She has no real power except for her confident character. She loses against her husband,
Andrew Undershaft, who is the most powerful character of the play because of his reasonable and
persuasive discourse. Even Stephen who is her pet in the first scene resists her later when he is discussing
whether he wants to inherit his father's trade or not. He is independent now after having resisted her mother.
The whole play revolves around the three major characters; Barbara, the idealistic, spiritual, and religious
savior of the souls, Cusins, the philanthropist professor of Greek, and Andrew Undershaft, the pragmatic
realistic producer and seller of guns. This is Andrew Undershaft who metamorphoses the beau ideals of
Barbara and Cusins as well as other characters of the play. The play is mainly the depiction of the
confrontation of father and daughter who have willingly and self-supportingly admitted to convert each other
to their own religions.
Though initially imagined as a wicked and vicious man, Andrew Undershaft happens to be the exact
opposite later on. He turns to be a moderate, attentive, objective, and well-spoken preacher who voices G.
B. Shaw's true mind. Costello believes that "Undershaft remains Shaw's persuasive superman" (109). He is
on a mission to do his best, as Watson says, not to deceive himself but to help for the betterment of the
whole world. Andrew Undershaft's frankness of speech and clarity of opinions make him a captivating
character not only to other characters of Major Barbara but also to Shaw's readers. Brown asserts that "it is
evident that Shaw intends us to see Undershaft as a divine instrument" (80). Undershaft's unique ideas
about war, society, and common people are paradoxical to the socially accepted norms and make him one of
Shaw's famous revolutionary figures. This is in line with Watson's belief that Undershaft ―can save humanity
from the perils of democracy, the perils of chaos, and ineffectuality‖ (261).
4538
Intl. J. Manag. Human. Sci. Vol., 4 (1), 4536-4540, 2015
Undershaft: ―All the spare money my trade rivals spend on hospitals, cathedrals, and other receptacles for
conscience money, I devote to experiments and researches in improved methods of destroying life and
property. I have always done so; and I always shall. Therefore your Christmas card moralities of peace on
earth and good will among man are of no use to me. Your Christianity, which enjoins you to resist not evil,
and to turn the other cheek, would make me bankrupt. My morality– my religion- must have a place for
cannons and torpedoes in it‖ (261-2).
Religion is a key concept for Undershaft and Barbara. Undershaft believes that it is not an "unpleasant
subject" but "the only one that capable people really care for". It is a common ground which unites both the
father and the daughter. It is evident that Undershaft is drawn to Barbara because he knows if she accepts to
quit the Salvation Army and be his preacher, she can be the greatest messenger of his religion of "money
and gunpowder". As a result, in order to have Barbara he decides to buy the Salvation Army because he
believes that "all religious organizations exist by selling themselves to the rich". He witnesses that Barbara's
religion belongs to herself and nobody else and that both of them have the same religion. Barbara has
unique features which attracts both Cusins and Undershaft. She is full of self-sacrifice, sense of sympathy,
liveliness, joy, and love. These qualities are clearly noticed when she treats Bill Walker, Peter Shirley, and
others in the Salvation Army. She treats them fairly as equal human beings by answering good for evil,
mercy for disfavor, and sympathy for selfishness.
Undershaft: "...We have to win her; and we are neither of us Methodists."
Cusins: "That doesn't matter. The power Barbara wields here—the power that wields Barbara herself—is not
Calvinism, not Presbyterianism, not Methodism."
UNDERSHAFT: "Not Greek Paganism either, eh?"
CUSINS: "I admit that. Barbara is quite original in her religion."
UNDERSHAFT: "Aha! Barbara Undershaft would be. Her inspiration comes from within herself."
CUSINS: "How do you suppose it got there?"
UNDERSHAFT: [in towering excitement] "It is the Undershaft inheritance. I shall hand on my torch to my
daughter. She shall make my converts and preach my gospel—"
CUSINS: "What? Money and gunpowder!"
UNDERSHAFT: "Yes, money and gunpowder. Freedom and power. Command of life and command of
death." (176-177).
Undershaft's realistic point of view can be further investigated in his attacks on poverty. He fervently
believes that poverty is a sinful crime and "not a good thing to be proud of". Therefore, it must be totally
eradicated from society. For him money is the foundation of man's life. Later Cusins asks him if there is any
place in his religion for love, honesty, justice, etc. and he says that these are ―graces and luxuries of a rich,
strong, and safe life‖ (283).
Perivale St. Andrews vs. the Salvation Army
Perivale St. Andrews, in contrast to the West Ham Shelter of the Salvation Army, is a very neat, beautiful,
perfect, and luxurious place for the Undershafts. Even the people in charge if it give a job to Peter Shirley
who was expelled from work while seeking refuge in the Salvation Army. It has libraries, churches, schools,
and many other estimable organizations. Javadifar mentions that "the readers see the contrast between the
cleanliness and modernity of Undershaft's welfare town with dirtiness and squalor of the Salvation Army
shelter and decide between two kinds of salvation" (79). Undershaft sees no darkness and dreadfulness in
his Perivale St. Andrews but he observes paupers, misery, lack of food, and dirt in the Salvation Army. He
believes that he saves people's souls as well as that of Barbara. How? He provided Barbara and his
household with food and money so that they be saved from "the seven deadly sins" which are "food,
clothing, firing, rent, taxes, respectability, and children" (329). He made her Major Barbara so that she saves
the souls of others. He defends his claims by giving the justification that in order to live happily one must
have enough money and power. The soul is not saved unless the body is saved first. And if there is no
money, no soul can reach salvation. Undershaft's realism says:
I had rather be a thief than a pauper. I had rather be a murderer than a slave. I don't want to be either; but
if you force the alternative on me, then by heaven, I'll choose the braver and more moral one. I hate poverty
and slavery worse than any other crimes whatsoever" (231).
As Baker says, Unsershaft thinks of poverty and slavery as crimes but it "means that the pauper and slave
are criminals" (103). Only money can protect them from the evil impacts of these crimes. Poverty is the root
from which many crimes stem. It destroys all the cities, the people, the young, the knowledgeable, and
others. Undershaft finds it essential to escape from poverty which is a huge monster for the society. He
comes to this conclusion with open eyes that "the only way to combat the copious evil ... is to face and
transform it" realistically (Baker, 105).
One of the most important characters of the play who is an idealist but turns to be greatly influenced by
Undershaft's realism is Adolpheus Cusins. Undershaft is attracted to him mainly because he is wise,
4539
Intl. J. Manag. Human. Sci. Vol., 4 (1), 4536-4540, 2015
philosophical, and conscientious to subvert the existing binary oppositions which privilege the English to
other nations, the rich to the poor, and the oppressed to the oppressors. Baker is right to say that "Cusins'
soul is marked by division and conflict...[and he is] a man whose health is being destroyed by a perpetual
struggle between his conscience and impulses of which he does not approve" (107). Thus, he turns to be
devoted to the common people and aims to equip them with ammunition against the eggheads of his society.
However, Undershaft influences him in a way that he has to change and be more realistic in dealing with
social life. He learns the fact that the mother's milk nourishes both the ordinary people and the criminals.
Therefore, he needs to be the next Andrew Undershaft and sell arms to whoever offers more money so that
he can flourish.
Conclusion
Major Barbara truly depicts George Bernard Shaw's point of view with regard to the significance of the
consolidation of realism and idealism in social life. Each of the three major characters of the play is powerful
in their own ways. Barbara is uniquely and spiritually powerful as the other two are competing to get her.
Cusins is idealistically powerful because he subverts the latent binary oppositions with his ideology of arming
the common people against the aristocrats. However, Andrew Undershaft can be considered as the most
powerful character who voices Shaw's inclination toward educating his readers through the realistic
discourse in the play. Undershaft familiarizes other characters with the ills of the society like poverty and
aims to ameliorate these mischiefs by providing arms to all. Each of the characters is urged to submit to
Undershaft's beliefs. Barbara is a good example for this. Though she has been a true lover of God and
human beings, her ideology has become defeated because she has witnessed the real power of moneymaking arms manufacturers and distillers. Finally, all the characters are metamorphosed and accept
Undershaft's doctrine that unless poverty, the annihilator of the soul, fades away, the souls cannot be
redeemed. Also, the tradition of the cannons trade requires that the trade be given to a foundling. Why a
foundling? Because a foundling has got no family and no bondage. He can be brought up like a yes-man
who can make profits for the trade. Undershaft's realistic point of view helps him to believe that he can hold
justice and help the society by providing ―arms to all men‖. He can be considered as a Machiavellian figure
that holds that ―the ends justify the means‖. If you have seen the film version of Major Barbara directed by
Gabriel Pascal, the last scene in which Barbara says ―I want a house in the village [Perivale St. Andrews] to
live in with Dolly‖ is of utmost importance because it presents the effect of the theme of the film. It shows the
fact that Undershaft’s power reorganizes and reconstructs the society which used to nourish poverty and
injustice.
References
Abjadian A, 2000. A Survey of English Literature II. SAMT Press.
Allett J, 1995. Bernard Shaw and Dirty Hands Politics: A Comparison of Mrs. Warren's Profession and Major
Barbara. Journal of Social Philosophy. 26(2): 32-45.
Bently E, 1957. Bernard Shaw (New Directions, 1957. Methuen University Paperbacks, 1967)
Bloom H (ed), 2011. Major Barbara. Bloom's Modern Critical Views: George Bernard Shaw-New Edition..
Infobase Publishing. New York: 87-109
Bloom H (ed), 2011. Parodying the £5 Virgin: Bernard Shaw and the Play of Pygmalion. Bloom's Modern
Critical Views: George Bernard Shaw-New Edition. Infobase Publishing. New York: 69-86.
Bloom H (ed), 2011. The Shavian Inclusiveness. Bloom's Modern Critical Views: George Bernard Shaw-New
Edition. Infobase Publishing. New York: 47-68.
Brecht B, 2007. The Threepenny Opera. Penguin Classics. UK.
Brown GE, 1970. Literature in Perspective: George Bernard Shaw. Evans Brothers Limited. London.
Costello DP, 1965. The Serpent’s Eye: Shaw and the Cinema. University of Notre Dame Press. Notre Dame.
London
Jasim MA, 2012. Saving Souls or Saving Money: A Bargain of Conversion in G. B. Shaw's Major Barbara.
English Language and Literature Studies. 2(4).
Javadifar M, 2000. G. B. Shaw: Challenging Traditional Morality and Dramatic Conventions. MA Thesis.
Shiraz.
Mander R, Mitchenson J, 1954. Theatrical Companion to Shaw. Rockliff
Ollevier S, 2012. Ambivalence towards the New Woman in the Plays of George Bernard Shaw. MA Thesis.
Ghent University.
Shaw B, 1931. John Bull's Other Island with How He Lied to Her Husband and Major Barbara. London
Constable and Company Limited.
Shaw B, 2003. Major Barbara. The Pennsylvania State University. Electronic Classics Series.
Watson BB, 1988. Sainthood for Millionaires, Chelsea House.
4540