Candida: Analysis of Major Characters
"Candida: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate dynamics between the central characters in George Bernard Shaw's play "Candida." At the heart of the narrative is Candida, the intelligent and attractive wife of Reverend James Morell, whose strength and independence challenge traditional gender roles. Morell, a passionate Christian Socialist, is admired for his charisma but remains oblivious to his reliance on Candida's support and love. Eighteen-year-old Eugene Marchbanks, a sensitive poet, becomes infatuated with Candida, believing her nurturing nature is best suited to his perceived fragility. This love triangle reveals the complexities of human relationships and the struggle for emotional agency, as Candida must navigate her feelings between the two men. Other characters, such as Mr. Burgess, Candida's self-serving father, and Miss Proserpine Garnett, Morell's devoted secretary, add layers to the social commentary on class and gender. Overall, the character analysis highlights themes of dependence, love, and personal growth, inviting readers to reflect on the societal norms of the time and their implications on individual identity.
Candida: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: George Bernard Shaw
First published: 1897
Genre: Play
Locale: London, England
Plot: Comedy
Time: 1894
Eugene Marchbanks, an eighteen-year-old poet, the nephew of an earl. Having left Oxford, Marchbanks is found sleeping outdoors by Morell, who brings him home. Marchbanks proceeds to fall in love with Morell's lovely wife, Candida. Marchbanks is slight, effeminate, frightened, and painfully sensitive, but he has the genuine poet's insight into human motivations. He is sure that his own helplessness and inadequacy will prove irresistible to a woman so purely feminine as Candida. He is horrified that Candida must dirty her hands working around the house. Unable to understand what a woman could find to love in Morell, Marchbanks demands that Candida be given a chance to choose between them. When confronted with the choice, Candida says she chooses “the weakest.” Marchbanks at once understands why Candida loves Morell: He is even more in need of maternal care and pampering than is Marchbanks. Suddenly a man, Marchbanks leaves to get about his work, after thanking Morell for giving Candida so much opportunity to love.
Candida, the wife of the Reverend James Morell. She is attractive enough to charm men into doing her will, and her use of the feminine advantages is ennobled by dignity and intelligence. Taught by her husband to think for herself, Candida does so, to her husband's distress. She suggests to him that perhaps she should make love to Marchbanks lest some bad woman do it and damage his spirit, but the occasion never arrives. When Morell leaves Candida alone with Marchbanks, the latter is afraid to speak and reads poetry to her.
The Reverend James Mavor Morell, a Christian Socialist clergyman of the Church of England. Vigorous and handsome, Morell is immensely in demand as a speaker for progressive causes. He is admired by men and adored by women. He is proud of his strength and competence and, until the end of the play, unaware of his absolute dependence on his wife. At last, he realizes that it is Candida, the personification of feminine urges, who is his protector and supporter. Becoming conscious of the true nature of her love for him, Morell avows that he is the product of her love.
Mr. Burgess, Candida's father, a vulgar and ignorant man who has grown rich in commerce. Burgess is instinctively respectful to people of rank. He frightens Marchbanks into near hysterics by trying to be friendly with him. Morell, a good Socialist, detests his father-in-law. Burgess thinks Morell is mad, but Morell's political influence is useful to him, and he is patronizingly polite to his son-in-law.
Miss Proserpine Garnett, Morell's secretary. Efficient and affectionate, Proserpine is in love with Morell. Marchbanks unnerves her by trying to discover what a woman could find to love in a man like Morell. She causes the sensitive Marchbanks to break into tears. When Burgess reprimands her for annoying an earl's nephew, Proserpine calls Burgess a fathead.
The Reverend Alexander (Lexy) Mill, Morell's enthusiastic young curate, newly out of Oxford, who follows Morell about with doglike devotion. He and Proserpine, both teetotalers, get drunk on Burgess' champagne after one of Morell's speeches.