Murray's Mother-In-Law to Major Barbara: The Outside Story - Essay Example

Murray's Mother-In-Law to Major Barbara: The Outside Story Introduction First published in 1907, ‘Major Barbara’ may be considered as one of George Bernard Shaw’s discussion plays, which grieve over the state of the world as well as seek a path to its salvation. In ‘Major Barbara’, both the character after whom the play is named and her father Lord Andrew Undershaft are the main characters of the play, with all the others having supporting roles. At issue is the debate whether money and military might are more able to save the world than good works, humanitarianism and religion. Major Barbara is an interesting social commentary on the politics of alms-giving, which the rich like Lord Undershaft are determined to corrupt, with their emphasis that Money and Gunpowder are the real bases of salvation of society, to which even love, truth and honor must be subservient.   Discussion A self confessed agnostic or non-believer in religion, George Bernard Shaw was born a Protestant in a largely Catholic Ireland in 1856. He left Ireland in his twenties to fulfill his life’s ambition- which was to write plays. Shaw was the ultimate practical man, having no use for obscure ideals but believing in what he saw for himself. Shaw-along with others like him who believed in the need for social reform- was responsible for the founding of the Fabian Society as well as the London School of Economics. He was also a great admirer of the playwright Henrik Ibsen, the musician Richard Wagner and the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Shaw’s plays ‘Man and Superman’(1903), ‘Arms and the Man’(1894), ‘Major Barbara’ (1905) and ‘Pygmalion’(1912) show his interest in class warfare and man’s ultimate possibilities. Shaw regarded the rich and middle class as winners and the poor class as the ultimate losers in society (Shaw et al, 15). Major Barbara is a play in three acts and is set in January 1906. The setting for the first act is Lady Undershaft’s abode in London. It is an after dinner gathering of the family as they wait for the arrival of Lord Undershaft. Lady Undershaft had in fact disassociated herself with her husband since he refused to hand down the reins of his military empire to his son Stephen. As per tradition, the business could only be headed by one who was a foundling like Lord Undershaft himself. It is clear that there is much tension in the family due to lack of responsibility and financial difficulties. Stephen has not taken on the responsibilities he should have. Barbara the most promising member of the family has joined the Salvation Army and taken up with a passionate Greek scholar Adolphus Cusins. Lomax, Sarah’s fiancé will not receive his Trust Fund until he is 35. Aware of all these realities and with an eye to the future, Lady Undershaft is constrained to call in her husband whose fabulous wealth can help them out of this tight spot. Stephen is in awe of his father who seems to be above the Law and holds Europe in the grip of his military empire. However he cannot imagine that his father does not know right from wrong. Barbara too is curious to know what her father is like since she assumes that he too has a soul that can be saved. Lord Undershaft’s distance from his family and indeed from any displays of affection is evident from the fact that he mistakes Lomax for his son Stephen in the initial encounter. An affirmed industrialist and pragmatist, he believes only in the power of wealth and military might as the solution to all the problems of mankind. He is proud of the fact that his weapons have the ability to blow up society but fails to see that he has no part in creation of society. He of course assumes that another group of people will take its place and society will not be the worse off. He thus has a completely false perception that the rich can clean up the dirt in society that they don’t like till civilization produces people with which they can reconcile or be compatible. But the reality is that the rich tend to corrupt everything they touch, and Lord Undershaft’s decision to buy out the Salvation Army is not surprising. For this reason he states that money and gunpowder are the real changers of society, and the persons who own them are the real gods of the world (Albert, 37). The second act opens in the West Ham shelter of the Salvation Army. The dialogue between Price and Rummy reveals that Price is in the Salvation Army because he does not want to work, blasphemes, hates capitalists, gambles, beats his mother and steals. Rummy is married but cannot fend for herself. Shaw here wants to bring out the fact that the Salvation Army is attracting the wrong type of people for the wrong reasons. Like religion, it concentrates on winning back the sinner but never really cures his disease. Then there are others like Bill Walker who want to exact revenge against them for stealing his girl, and Peter Shirley who is ashamed to receive aid but cannot help it because he has lost his job to a younger worker. In short Shaw is exposing the weaknesses of the capitalist system that has caused these instances, and also that religion is unable to give them back their self respect- on the contrary it makes them more dependent on the Army. It is here that Lord Undershaft wins over Cusins, the ‘collector of religions’ to his philosophy of life. Lord Undershaft is a secularist- however he claims to have the religion of a millionaire and tells Cusins that he must follow the creed of the armorer- namely to sell arms to anyone without regard to color, creed, cast or country. He also manages to win over the rest of the family to his point of view when he shows them that capitalism and the machinery at his factory are efficiently churning out weapons of mass destruction that will help England win the war. Even as he speaks, they get the message that 300 men have been killed by an aerial bombardment. The cannon works at Perivale St. Andrews are a remarkable feat of social engineering and all are impressed by the efficiency and comfort with which the business is run, as well as the comfortable living environment which it can create. Act III takes us back to Lady Undershaft’s library where the final decisions are made. Barbara has to agree that her father has won the challenge- he has even managed to win over her beloved Cusins, much to her consternation- who he is keen to appoint as the new leader of the business. Conclusion We can thus see that Major Barbara has all the hallmarks of a modern play in its settings, debates and direction. The debate between whether we are better off by serving the gods of this earth rather than owing our faith and allegiance to an eternal God and creator of all mankind will never end (Kaufman, 99). No man can serve two masters- and while we are also suspicious of a system that sets up one class of men as owners of another- they are those who try to give both God and man what they are due in the name of pragmatism. Works Cited Albert, Sidney P. ‘Murray's Mother-In-Law to Major Barbara: The Outside Story’ SHAW: The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies - Volume 22, 2002, pp. 19-65. Kaufmann, Stanley. Notes After Major Barbara. PAJ 71: A Journal of Performance and Art, Volume 21, Number 2, May 2002, pp 98-101. Mazer, Cary M. Bernard Shaw- A Brief Biography. Accessed on 12 Dec 2011 at http://www.english.upenn.edu/~cmazer/mis1.html Shaw, G.B; Laurence, D.H; Morgan, M; Forter, E.T. Major Barbara. Penguin Classics. Read More