Shaw describes Raina's mother as follows:
Catherine Petkoff, a woman over forty, imperiously energetic, with magnificent black hair and eyes, who might be a very splendid specimen of the wife of a mountain farmer, but is determined to be a Viennese lady, and to that end wears a fashionable tea gown on all occasions.
Catherine, new to life as a Viennese lady, hasn't experienced enough of either society life or war to see through their pretensions. To her, being a lady is about the outward wrappings: it is significant that she considers she can be a lady by donning a fashionable gown (Shaw is poking fun at her when he makes that statement). Likewise, she perceives war as glorious and heroic, and is excited when she hears the news that the Bulgarians have won a battle. She buys into the dashing version of the battle either told for general consumption...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
or that she imagines, saying to Raina:
"Can't you see it, Raina; our gallant splendid Bulgarians with their swords and eyes flashing, thundering down like an avalanche and scattering the wretched Servian dandies like chaff."
Catherine also perceives Sergius as the perfect storybook romantic hero, and, therefore, as the ideal husband for Raina, chiding her daughter for taking so long to get engaged to him.
Catherine means well and wants happiness for her daughter, but she misunderstands what Raina needs. The very limited Catherine doesn't look past the surface of things and believes that as long as Raina marries the dashing storybook solider, she will find contentment.
Catherine is, to put it mildly, not very perceptive, and is misguided in her romantic fantasies. As Raina learns from Bluntschli, who was there for the battle, the Bulgarians only won it because they were only slight less incompetent than the enemy. We also learn that despite trying to play the role of the romantic hero, Sergius is in love with Louka, not Raina.
While Raina grows as a person during the course of the play, Catherine remains that same stock, naive, intellectually limited character from beginning to end. Near the end, while vying for Raina, Bluntschli tells Catherine that
"I have nine thousand six hundred pairs of sheets and blankets, with two thousand four hundred eider-down quilts. I have ten thousand knives and forks, and the same quantity of dessert spoons. I have six hundred servants. I have six palatial establishments, besides two livery stables, a tea garden and a private house . . ."
Catherine is unable to see this is as blatant, joking exaggeration and accepts Bluntschli as her daughter's new betrothed. Shaw uses Catherine to critique people who don't look beneath surface appearances to question what they are told.