Heartbreak House (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: George Bernard Shaw
- First Published: 1919
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Play of ideas
- Time of Work: 1913
- Setting: Sussex, England
- Genres: Drama, Problem play
- Subjects: Values, Love or romance, Europe or Europeans, Class consciousness, 1910’s, England or English people, War, Duty, World War I, Business or business people, Capitalism, Wealth, Old age or elderly people
- Locales: Sussex, England
Characters Discussed
Captain Shotover, the master of Heartbreak House. This eighty-eight-year-old eccentric retired sea captain is constantly cranky, impressively wise (a visionary), and generally drunk (three bottles of rum a day). Although a realist, Shotover has built his Sussex home in the form of a ship, strives to attain the seventh degree of concentration (perfect tranquillity), and spends much of his time experimenting with death-dealing inventions, especially dynamite. Shotover is a remnant of the culture and leisure that flourished in Europe, particularly England,...
[The entire page is 1141 words long]
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