Candida - a problem play

Before the advent of the naturalistic drama in the

middle of the nineteenth century, European theatre
was primarily a form of entertainment and
amusement, as manifested in the plays of Pinero,
Jones and even Oscar Wilde. However, playwrights
like !sen, Hauptman, "hekov and #trind!erg had
revolutioni$ed European drama !y turning their
attention towards the serious socio%economic
pro!lems and issues. n their hands the emergence if
the Prose Play of deas accrued in which each play is
centred around some predominant idea dealing with
the social like of man or his relationships. &he plays
of 'eorge Bernard #haw have similar sociological
concerns though he prefers to entitle some of them
as (Pleasant( and others ()npleasant(.
*rms and the +an, ,ou -ever "an &ell and "andida
have !een designated !y #haw as !eing Pleasant, !ut
ironically they are not entirely pleasant plays. +any
pro!lems posed in them are thought%provoking and
even distur!ing. #haw terms them as (Pleasant( only
in contrast to the ()npleasant Plays( such as +rs.
Warren(s Profession and Widowers( Houses, in which
the pro!lems presented are far more grim and
unnerving, such as prostitution and the victimi$ation
of the tenants !y landlords, than in (Pleasant Plays(.
* (Pleasant Play( in #haw(s de.nition can never !e
merely an entertaining play. *ccording to him, a
merely entertaining presentation is (!ad(, and /Bad
theatres are as mischievous as !ad schools or !ad
churches./ He feels that theatre is e0tremely
important as a (social organ(, and that /dramatic
invention is the .rst e1ort of man to !ecome
intellectually conscious./ &hus even in his (Pleasant
Play( "andida he stimulates the audience
intellectually to ponder upon di1erent possi!ilities in
human relationships.
&he (deas( in #haw(s plays usually revolve around
relationships !etween men and women, hus!ands and
wives, parents and children. +any of them focus on
pro!lems related to attitudes, disposition and even
moral consciousness. n "andida the central idea is
the traditional love triangle in which the youngster,
Eugene +arch!anks intrudes into a marital
relationship and challenges its assumed !ases of
happiness. He is compelled .nally to depart from the
wedded life of 2ev. James +orell and "andida,
allowing the hus!and and wife to revive their
relationship on new premises of understanding.
&he entire play is targeted towards the moment of
"andida(s .nal choice. *s this point a comparison
!etween #haw(s "andida and !sen(s -ora !ecomes
unavoida!le. -ora sym!oli$es a woman(s 3uest for
emancipation to ascertain her individual identity. #he
attempts to !reak free from the shackles of a
conventional marriage in which her hus!and treats
her with no more importance than a mere doll. 4or the
sake of her ideal, -ora foregoes the security of a
family and a marital life and even leaves her children
while walking out of &orvald(s life.
"andida(s choice re5ects #haw(s insistence on the
importance of the practical wisdom. "andida, unlike
-ora, is a thoroughly practical minded woman.
&hough she is not crude like Burgess, she inherits
some of her father(s utilitarian philosophy. Her .nal
choice of staying with +orell, is not decided !y her
love for him !ut the .nancial and social security of a
married life that she is afraid of risking. #he is
temperamentally di1erent from !oth +orell and
+arch!anks. &hough she is easily approacha!le, her
thoughts and motives are impenetra!le. #he is as
unmoved !y +orell(s genuinely passionate sermons
on social reform as !ored !y +arch!ank(s poetry. #he
looks after +orell(s needs and his households with
perfect e6ciency7 she e3ually comes to +arch!ank(s
rescue, o1ering him /her shawl, her wings, the wrath
of stars in her head, the lilies in her hand/. ,et she is
totally remote from !oth of the men.
#haw(s ideas a!out women play with a vital role in
"andida. *ccording to #haw, a woman is primarily a
manifestation of 8ife 4orce whose primary function is
the !iological continuity of the race. "onse3uently
#haw !elieves that while choosing a mate, a woman
would select the one who would !e the !est father fro
her o1springs, eliminating others. &huds her identity
as a mother is more fundamental than that of a
woman. 4or this reason #haw treats "andida as a
mother !y mentioning to Ellen &erry that /"andida is
the 9irgin +other, and no!ody else as well as alluding
to &itian(s painting of the (9irgin of the *ssumptions(.
E. Bentley therefore appropriately comments that
instead of the traditional concept of the little woman
reaching up towards the arm of a strong man, in
"andida we see a strong woman reaching down to
pick up her child. Being a mother, "andida is
committed to neither of the two men.
#haw deals with the idea of women(s emancipation in
"andida from an entirely practical point of view. By
asserting her will on the two men, "andida converts
the patriarchal pattern of the 9ictorian household
setup into a matriarchal one. With her monumental
in5uence on +orell and +arch!anks, she !ecomes the
wielder of power instead of the men. &hrough her
.nal choice, she e0poses +orell(s weakness and
proves that he is no more than a helpless !a!y who
constantly need her motherly attention. #he proves
that +orell is the (doll( of the house and she is the
real master. n fact she uses +arch!anks to teach
+orell a lesson a!out his weakness and destroys his
complacency.
&he play also e0presses #haw(s idea of man as the
spiritual creator in contrast to the women who is the
!iological creator. &his is particularly evident in his
depiction of +arch!anks. "andida reali$es that
+arch!ansk can never !e a proper protector for her
children nor provide her with security as he is
impulsive and passionate. Whereas, as a poet, he has
a su!lime and universal artistic function to perform. f
he is con.ned to the domestic role of a hus!and, his
aesthetic creativity would !e incomplete. t is for this
larger creative purpose that she feels that
+arch!anks would !e a!le to .nally renounce his
romantic interest in her. He imparts to him a
hackneyed piece of practical advice to remem!er :
/When am thirty, she will !e forty%.ve. When am
si0ty, she will !e seventy%.ve/, not reali$ing that such
petty practical concerns do not a1ect +arch!anks.
&he ideas a!out marriage that +orell advocates or
the ideas a!out love that +arch!anks possesses are
dismissed as !eing utterly childish in contrast to
"andida(s hardcore practicality. +orel feels that
marriage to a good woman is a /foretaste of what will
!e !est in the ;ingdom of Heaven/ and +arch!anks
ideali$es "andida as a /great soul, craving for reality,
truth, freedom/ who should not !e con.ned to
trimming of lamp or peeling of onions. ,et ironically
neither is a!le to con<ecture her real motive.
*s a Play of deas, "andida is not a pleasant one, the
cruel re<ection of +arch!anks and the heavy !urden
of (mystery( in his soul with which he departs, leaves
a sense of !itterness in the minds of the audience.
However, the play has a conventional sense of
pleasantness in not allowing the institution of
marriage to !e seriously challenged !y love.