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   kc4u Teacher
   College - Senior

   eNotes Editor

   Oh yes, 'Candida' is a 'Problem Play'. At its centre lies the problem of love and marriage. Candida, the clergyman Morell's middle-aged and long-married wife, and the 18-year-old poet Eugene Marchbanks grow a relationship ('calf-love'?) between them. The socialist priest and an acclaimed public orator James Mavor Morell gets scared about the relationship because he absolutely depends on Candida in all domestic needs, and if his wife chooses to leave her husband for the sake of her young lover, the outcome would be disastrous. However, at the end, Candida chooses 'the weaker of the two' i.e. Morell. It does not mean that Candida no longer loves the poet; but the poet does not require the services of a devoted wife which Morell desperately requires to promote his public image of an orator and activist. Marchbanks goes out into the dark night with the 'mystery in the poet's heart'.

   Thus Shaw handles the age-old theme of triangular/threesome love rather innovatively. The Morell-Candida-Marchbanks story of love throws significant light on the problem of love and marriage, especially in the Victorian context.

   Further, the play also stresses the problem of the conflict between Capital and Labour through the satirical presentation of Candida's father, Burgess, who underpays his labourers and exploits them in several ways.

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   Posted by kc4u on Friday November 27, 2009 at 10:47 AM