Evaluate ‘Arms and the Man’ as a problem play

‘Arms and the Man’ as a problem play

Problem play is a kind of play that deals with social problems to be solved by the reader or the spectator. In a problem play, the dramatist draws the public attention on the social problems and exposes the follies that lie beneath them. He presents both sides of the problem impartially and leaves the solution to the imagination of the audiences. This kind of play rejects romantic ideas and supports realism.

 In ‘Arms and the Man’, George Bernard Shaw, the writer of the play, deals with the problem of romantic illusion about war and love. He ridicules the false romantic notions of war and love. The romantic notion of war is that, war is something heroic deed. In the war, a soldier gets an opportunity to prove his heroism. The soldier is also ready to sacrifice his life in the war for his motherland. The goal of the soldier in the war is victory or death. The soldier never shows his back in the war. He is never afraid of death.

 But in the play, we can see that, the protagonist, Captain Bluntschli, fights as an anti-war soldier. He runs away from the battlefield when his life was in danger. He says without any feeling of shame: “It is our duty to live as long as we can”. The above line states that, war is not a heroic deed for him.

 Another character of the play, Sergius, discovers the realism of war. He wins a battle but receives no promotion. So, he submits his resignation from army. He says that: “Soldiering is a coward’s act of attacking mercilessly when you are strong and keeping out harms when you are weak”. And this statement is certainly not a romantic view of heroism. A romantic hero is that, a soldier must fight to win the war. Thus, Shaw shatters the romantic conception of war. He depicts a realistic picture of war and heroism in the play.

The romantic view of love is that, love is something pure, divine, emotional, wonderful and touching. A pair of romantic lover adore and worship each other. They love each other from the core of their life. The think that, love is everything and immortal. Each of them is ready to sacrifice anything for his/her beloved. Marriage is an essential outcome of love to them.

According to Shaw, romantic is nothing but hypocrisy. He shows that, romantic lovers deceive and betray each other. That is why, as a realist, he does not approve this notion of love. Raina and Sergius are two romantic lovers. They are engaged to each other. Hearing the news of Sergius’ victory in the war, Raina worships his image.

On Sergius’ return from war, we get a scene of romantic love between them. Raina addresses him as “My Hero”, “My King”. Sergius calls her, “My Queen”, “My Heart”. Raina tells him that, there is a “higher love” or spiritual bond between them. They are very emotional and cannot live without each other, even for a minute. But their “higher love” is merely a deception, a cheat, an irony. As soon as Raina goes out of the sight of Sergius, he makes love to Louka, the maidservant of the Petkoffs. On the other hand, Raina falls in love with Bluntschli in the absence of Sergius. This is the reality of love.

 Love is not constant. It can change in anytime. Sergius feels that he would be happier with Louka who is physically more exciting than Raina. Besides, Raina used to talk with him about their “higher love” which is tiresome to him. Raina also soon feels disgusted of Sergius and comments : “Oh what sort of God is this I have been worshiping”? Thus, Shaw shows that, the so-called “higher love” is a hoax. Concerning marriage, Shaw tries to explain that, there is nothing romantic illusion in marriage.

Marriage should be treated from the realistic point of view. And, at the end of the play, we see that, Raina is happy that she is going to marry Bluntschli who possesses not only a vast property but also worldly wisdom. Economic security is essential for a happy conjugal life and Raina and Louka both want to be sure of it. On the other hand, Nicola, the male servant of the Petkoffs, gives up Louka for profit. He thinks that, Louka will be a better customer for him than a wife. Thus, Shaw evaluates that, marriage should be based on economic security and mutual understanding, not on romantic illusions.

To conclude, we may say that, George Bernard Shaw expresses the false romantic sentiments, which people for centuries have attached to war, love and marriage throughout the play. In a problem play, the given problem remain unsolved. But in ‘Arms and the Man’, we see that, Shaw does not leave the problem unsolved. He advocates the cause of realism in the play. Therefore, ‘Arms and the Man’ is not a problem play rather a propaganda play in which the dramatist advocates his own ideas which can be treated as Drama of Ideas.

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 Written By                                                                                                         

S. MALLICK

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY – Text Book (FBC), A Study Guide (FBC) & Handnote Series (Lecture)