num_pages: 128
description: Fabian socialist and ardent proselytizer, George Bernard Shaw viewed his role as a playwright as far more than that of an entertainer. His audiences heard fully articulated sermons on moral and economic issues, a potentially dry theatrical experience enlivened by Shaw's genius for creating vital characters and scintillating dialogue. Major Barbara offers a sparkling example of its author's unique gift for presenting social theories in an engaging format.The eponymous heroine, an officer in the Salvation Army, is the daughter of Andrew Undershaft, a wealthy armaments manufacturer. When the Army accepts donations from Undershaft and a whiskey distiller, whose money Barbara regards as tainted, she resigns in disgust, but eventually sees the truth of her father's reasoning that social iniquity derives from poverty; it is only through accumulating wealth and power that people can help each other.
language: English
title: Major Barbara
titlecomplete: Major Barbara (Dover Thrift Editions: Plays)
characters: Rummy Mitchens, Bilton, Peter Shirley, Bill Walker, Stephen Undershaft, Mrs. Baines, Barbara Undershaft, Andrew Undershaft, Jenny Hill, Charles Lomax, Morrison, Sarah Undershaft, Lady Britomart Undershaft, Adolphus Cusins
genres: Fiction, Plays, Theatre, British Literature, Drama, Humor, Literature, Classics, Irish Literature, 20th Century
ratings_count: 7215
publisher: Dover Publications