Major Barbara

Study Guide by Course Hero

What's Inside d In Context

j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1

Social Satire and Realism
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1
Satire is less of a genre and more the purpose of a creative
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 3 work. Satirical works poke fun at weaknesses, habits, flaws, or
sins of a person or group by means of parody, exaggeration, or
h Characters .................................................................................................. 4
caricature. Some satires go a step further by advocating
k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 7 change. Most often found in literature, satire is also at home in
film and in art.
c Act Summaries ........................................................................................ 13
Various literary genres have been successfully paired with
g Quotes ......................................................................................................... 19 satire, going back to the ancient Romans, particularly poets.
The rhetorician Quintilian (35 CE–after 96 CE) coined the term.
l Symbols ...................................................................................................... 22
It has since been used in everything from comedies and

m Themes ....................................................................................................... 22 tragedies to science fiction novels, such as George Orwell's

1984 (1949). Anglo-Irish author Jonathan Swift in his utopian
novel Gulliver's Travels (1726) wildly satirized the social ills of
European society.

j Book Basics Norwegian realist playwright Henrik Ibsen influenced George

Bernard Shaw's portrayal of English society. Shaw admired
AUTHOR how Ibsen revealed the facade of idealism through the self-
George Bernard Shaw disillusionment of characters, such as Nora and Torvald, the
husband and wife in A Doll's House. Like Ibsen, Shaw sought to
FIRST PERFORMED
force his audiences to examine themselves and the basis for
1905
their moral choices, but Shaw did not stop merely at exposing
GENRE hypocrisy. He wanted to provoke people into action to bring
Comedy, Satire about real social change.

ABOUT THE TITLE In some ways Major Barbara is not only a satire but also a
Major Barbara refers to the position of the title character, realist drama, particularly in its portrayal in Act 2 of the grimy
Barbara, an officer in the Salvation Army. It also refers to her slums of late 19th-century London. As English writer Charles
father's business, which she will come to inherit, of the Dickens (1812–70) did, Shaw describes the slums without
manufacture and sales of munitions to militaries around the romanticizing or adding any artistic slant. But the play defies
world. efforts to place it neatly in a category of genre in other ways.
Indeed it is a combination of domestic comedy and utopian
fiction, propelled by Shavian social satire. Act 1 is something of
Major Barbara Study Guide In Context 2

a drawing-room comedy, a comedy of manners in a close, that in isolation and under his influence he could ensure her
domestic setting. Act 3 is partly utopian fiction, imagining an protection and instill in her his faith. However, while her father
ideal reality. was away, Barbara is said to have descended from the tower
to inspect a bathhouse being built for her. While looking
eastwards from a third window she had insisted the workers
Faust install, Barbara had a spiritual experience in which she
converted to Christianity. She miraculously engraved the sign
The story of Faust first appeared in literature in 1587 in the of the cross on the wall of the bathhouse. Her father was
German story collection Faustbuch. According to legend, Faust enraged on his return. When Barbara refused his orders to
made a deal with the devil, or fallen angel, Mephistopheles, to follow his pagan beliefs and to marry, he sent her to the local
whom he offered his soul in exchange for dark powers and Roman prefect, or magistrate, who tortured her, trying to force
knowledge. The story has appeared many times in poetry, her to renounce Christianity. When coercion failed, she was
folklore, and drama. Depending on the version of the story, beheaded by her father. Shortly after, he was struck dead by
Faust is an evil magician, alchemist, astrologer, sorcerer, or lightning. Barbara was later canonized and is the patron saint
necromancer. A necromancer is a kind of magician who of artillerymen and miners.
specifically conjures spirits of the dead to use as the source of
Like Saint Barbara, Major Barbara is an unmarried, earnest,
their magic. The heartless devil Mephistopheles, who captures
young Christian who is the daughter of a wealthy, unbelieving
Faust's soul, is usually known for his wit and cynicism.
father. Both fathers seek to coerce their daughters to change
In Major Barbara Cusins calls Undershaft "Mephistopheles," their beliefs to reflect their own. In a manner of speaking, Major
suggesting Undershaft has dark powers to offer and Cusins Barbara, like the saint, becomes a leader to artillerymen, as she
may have to sell his soul to get them. What Cusins, a man of stands to inherit her father's arms business through her
peace, must sacrifice to gain Undershaft's power of wealth and marriage to Cusins.
industry is his own sense of morality: his scruples against the
harm caused by weapons of war. Like Mephistopheles,
Undershaft is witty, crafty, and cynical, with no commitments to Salvation Army
fixed ideas of good and right. He is hungry to gain the soul not
only of Cusins but of his daughter Barbara, as well. The Salvation Army is a religious organization founded by
William Booth in London's East End in 1865. Although it is a
The name Mephistopheles also relates to the theme of heaven Christian institution, it models its structure on the military, and
and hell in Major Barbara. Mephistopheles's home is in fiery its war is against injustice and social ills. It was important to
hell, where other fallen angels, or devils, reside. Barbara Booth that the Salvation Army welcome those most often
imagines Undershaft's foundry to be "a sort of pit where lost excluded from other churches, including the poor and
creatures with blackened faces stirred up smoky fires and underprivileged. One way the Army sought to reach out to
were driven and tormented by my father," a hellish place with those in need was through lively music in outdoor services.
Undershaft in the role of a devil. Barbara and Cusins even call Thus, brass and other loud instruments came into common use
Undershaft a devil. However, Shaw inverts the idea of heaven by the Salvation Army. In addition to converting its followers to
and hell by showing the Salvation Army to be a darker, more Christianity, and thereby saving souls, the Salvation Army
despairing place than the clean, organized heaven of offers charitable services providing food and shelter. Still in
Undershaft's factory town. operation today, the Salvation Army has become an
international organization.

Saint Barbara Major Barbara is a Salvation Army officer, her rank indicating
seniority in the organization. She is proud of her role and
According to legend Saint Barbara was the daughter of a considers it a large part of her identity. Lomax is shocked
wealthy, pagan (person who believes in many gods) when she takes her uniform off, and Barbara despises her
businessman who built a tower in which to keep her. He hoped dress as "vulgar [and] silly" in comparison. The audience gets a
view of the Salvation Army in Act 2. Workers are giving out

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Major Barbara Study Guide Author Biography 3

bread and "diluted milk" in the slums of London, seeking to by publishers. However, he did land a job as a freelance critic
save the souls of people like Bill Walker. Their outdoor for an influential daily paper, the Pall Mall Gazette. The liberal
meetings are accompanied by cheerful music, performed by political leanings of the paper were in line with Shaw's growing
Barbara's fiancé Cusins and others. However, the play portrays interest in socialism. His articles and critiques of art, music, and
the Salvation Army and those who benefit from it as theater written for this and other publications brought him at
hypocritical. Rummy and Snobby pretend to be converted and last to the attention of London literary society.
exaggerate their situations so they can receive the
organization's charity. The organization itself is hypocritical Shaw's interest in socialism had a profound effect on his

because it takes money from a distiller, seeking to ease his writing. In 1884 he joined the recently established Fabian

conscience, and an arms manufacturer, with an uncharitable Society, a British socialist organization intent on advancing the

ulterior motive. Furthermore, Shaw suggests it does nothing to principles of non-Marxist evolutionary socialism. He became

end poverty. one of its leading members, writing and lecturing regularly on
socialist topics. Often he focused on themes of marriage,
education, politics, class struggle, and religion. As a self-

a Author Biography
professed socialist, Shaw was a vigorous proponent of gender
equality. He believed that all people have a purpose in life and
that women were being denied the chances to play their
critical roles in society. He actively supported efforts to alter
Early Life the marriage laws, eliminate patriarchy, establish female
suffrage, or right to vote, and recast gender roles. Shaw felt
George Bernard Shaw, born in Dublin on July 26, 1856, was a that "unless woman repudiates her womanliness, her duty to
leading dramatist of his time. In addition to his contributions as her husband, to her children, to society, to the law, and to
a playwright, he was a music and theater critic, a novelist, and everyone but herself, she cannot emancipate herself." As a
an outspoken social reformer. playwright, his portrayal of remarkable, clever, and powerful
women departed from the 19th-century stereotype of the
Shaw was the third and last child of George Carr and Lucinda male-dominated, sweetly fragile, self-sacrificing female. His
Elizabeth Gurly Shaw. He suffered what he described as "a literary works clearly demonstrate this departure from the
devil of a childhood." His father was a civil servant turned norms of the day.
unsuccessful corn merchant, as well as an alcoholic—all of
which reduced the family to living in genteel poverty. His
mother—the daughter of a well-to-do family—found escape The Playwright
from the family's difficulties in music. A professional singer and
student of the conductor George Vandeleur Lee, she Shaw's career as a playwright began in 1891 when he met J.T.
eventually followed him to London to pursue her own career Grein, director of the Independent Theatre—a new, progressive
and improve her situation. These life events encouraged Shaw venue for "the theatre of ideas," inspired by the realistic
to be a life-long teetotaler (person who does not drink alcohol), "problem plays" of Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906). Grein offered to
imbued him with a strong interest in music, and kindled his read Shaw's play Widowers' Houses. He accepted it almost
sensitivity to the plight of women in Victorian society. immediately, and it was first publicly performed in 1892. Over
the next six years, Shaw completed a collection of dramas
called Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant (published 1898). Each
Early Years in London attacked with varied ferocity the social evils of the day. In
Major Barbara, which was first performed in 1905, his target
In 1876 Shaw joined his mother and Vandeleur Lee in London. was religious hypocrisy and individual responsibility for
He added an interest in literature to his knowledge of music. society's own problems, poverty being one of the most serious.
He read voraciously, attended socialist lectures and debates, His writing successes continued to the eve of World War I,
and pursued a career in journalism and writing. His first when Pygmalion, arguably his best known play, opened in
attempts to write prose—a string of five novels—were rejected Vienna in 1913 and in London in 1914. It was a hit. However, with

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Major Barbara Study Guide Characters 4

the outbreak of war, Shaw's plain-spoken anti-war views and

pamphlets created uproar. He was shunned by friends and Undershaft
ostracized by the public. Nevertheless, he continued writing
plays, and by 1923, with the production of Saint Joan, he Born out of wedlock, Andrew Undershaft has made his millions

succeeded in reviving his career. In 1925 Shaw was the by inheriting a munitions company passed on solely to

recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature although he did not foundlings like him. Undershaft is an amoral, pragmatic man

accept it. who believes the greatest evil in the world is poverty. He has
no qualms about making money from instruments of death. He
Pygmalion remains one of Shaw's most famous plays. It was believes money is the highest good. Impressed with the
adapted to film in 1938, earning Shaw an Academy Award for intelligence, loyalty, and hidden brashness of his future son-in-
screenwriting. Continuing its rise to fame, a musical law, Undershaft feels contempt for his own principled and
adaptation—My Fair Lady—opened on Broadway in 1956 and unfocused son. He is ambivalent toward his wife and
ran for more than nine years. A film version of the musical hit unrelenting in his resolution to keep his son from following in
the movie screen in 1964 and earned eight Academy Awards. the business. Further, Undershaft loves his daughter and
wishes to convert her to his way of thinking. He manipulates
her by donating money to and thus revealing the hypocrisy of
Later Life the organization into which she has put her faith. Eventually, he
is able to convince her his money has greatly benefited his
Shaw continued to write political tracts, essays, reviews, and employees.
plays well into his old age. He was incredibly prolific in his
personal correspondence as well. He outlived two of his
biographers, finishing one of the books himself. Shaw died on Cusins
November 2, 1950, at age 94. He is remembered as one of the
greatest playwrights in the English language and a particularly Adolphus Cusins is an educated, liberal young man and a
gifted comedic dramatist with a strong social conscience and scholar of ancient Greek. His love for his fiancé Barbara makes
definitive political views. him happy enough to aid in her religious pursuits, though he
himself is not a true convert. While he finds Undershaft
manipulative and morally reprehensible, he can't help but like

h Characters him. Although his parents are legally wed in Australia, their
marriage is not recognized in England. The law thus makes him
a foundling and eligible to take over Undershaft's business. He
wants to help the poor and pledges to use the business to help
Barbara end war.

Major Barbara, as Barbara Undershaft is known at her post at

the Salvation Army, is a young woman from an upper-class Lady Britomart
family who feels called to save souls rather than enjoy a life of
leisure. Confident that God offers salvation to every repentant Lady Britomart is a domineering mother who separated from
heart and that she can make a difference in the lives of poor her husband because he refused to conform to her ideas of
people, Barbara works tirelessly at her job. Barbara becomes morality and because he was reluctant to make their son
disillusioned with the Salvation Army when she witnesses her Stephen heir to the business. She wants to ensure her children
leaders accept a donation from a local distiller as well as from have enough money to continue their comfortable lifestyle.
her father, a munitions manufacturer. Having resigned her post Although she objects to the source of her husband's fortune,
because of what she views as the organization's hypocrisy, she accepts their dependence upon it. What enrages her most
Barbara later comes to believe that good and evil are not as is her husband's insistence upon disinheriting his own son,
distinct as she once thought and that she may need to be more which Lady Britomart is convinced is morally wrong.
pragmatic to help bring about real change in society.

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Major Barbara Study Guide Characters 5

Character Map

Undershaft
Cynical, wealthy business
owner; exposes hypocrisy

Separated
Spouses

Father

Barbara
Cusins Engaged Lady Britomart
Philanthropic young
Greek scholar; has Domineering mother;
woman; has strong Mother
hidden business skills wants financial security
moral code

Siblings

Mother

Stephen Undershaft Father

Snobbish, unfocused young
man; disdains business

Main Character

Other Major Character

Minor Character

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Major Barbara Study Guide Characters 6

Full Character List Lazarus

Undershaft's business partner, Lazarus
is anxious that its next owner be
named.
Character Description
Charles Lomax is a good-​natured,
Charles
although silly and rather ignorant,
Major Barbara Undershaft is a well-​to- Lomax
young upper-​class man.
do young woman who has given up
Barbara many privileges of her class to commit
herself to saving souls through her Romola "Rummy" Mitchens, who goes
work at the Salvation Army. by Rummy, is a poor married woman
Rummy who pretends to have a sad life story to
take advantage of the assistance
Andrew Undershaft is the cynical,
provided by the Salvation Army.
worldly-​wise, middle-​aged man whose
Undershaft
business of manufacturing munitions
has made him a millionaire. Morrison is the very proper English
Morrison
butler in the Undershaft home.
Adolphus Cusins, an intelligent Greek
scholar, will do just about anything for Snobby Price, whose real name is
Cusins
his fiancé Barbara, including playing the Bronterre O'Brien Price, is an
drum at Salvation Army meetings. Snobby
unemployed painter by trade with a
talent for dishonesty and manipulation.
A member of the British nobility, Lady
Lady Britomart Undershaft is unyielding in George Bernard Shaw is the playwright
Britomart her morals and expectations for her of Major Barbara. He does not appear
children. George
as a character in the play, but his
Bernard Shaw
preface is analyzed, and he is quoted
within this guide.
Mrs. Baines is a pragmatic but sincere
Salvation Army leader, happy to accept
Mrs. Baines
funds from any source and turn them to Honest, intelligent, working-​class Peter
good use. Peter Shirley Shirley is a man who is upset to have
lost his job to a younger worker.
Bilton, a man with a dry sense of humor,
Bilton
is a foreman in a weapons factory. Lady Britomart's father, the Earl of
Stevenage is a titled gentleman who
Earl of
doesn't think he should support his
Also known as the newly titled Lord Stevenage
grandchildren when their father, his
Saxmundham, Sir Horace Bodger is a
son-​in-​law, is a millionaire.
Bodger wealthy distiller who funds various
charities to gain a better name in the
community. Sarah Undershaft is an easy-​going,
Sarah upper-​class young woman who knows
Undershaft her fiancé is rather stupid but seems to
Todger A strong boxer, Todger Fairmile has
care for him nonetheless.
Fairmile been converted by the Salvation Army.

A well-​to-​do English gentleman,

A convert to the Salvation Army, Mog
Stephen Stephen Undershaft has no real talents
Mog Habbijam Habbijam has in turn begun converting
Undershaft or ambitions but is confident in his
others.
moral code.

A generous young woman with an

Bill Walker is a bully from the streets of
earnest faith, Jenny Hill works tirelessly Bill Walker
Jenny Hill London's East End.
at the Salvation Army to help save the
poor.

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Major Barbara Study Guide Plot Summary 7

Army. Barbara and another sincere Salvation Army worker,

k Plot Summary Jenny Hill, express genuine concern for the poor they serve,
ever hopeful of saving more souls.

Bill Walker, a blustery, violent man demands the return of his

Act 1 girlfriend, whom he assumes is inside the shelter. He grabs
Jenny by the hair and hits her across the face when he doesn't
In the stylish, wealthy London neighborhood of Wilton get what he wants quickly enough. Barbara calmly confronts
Crescent, Lady Britomart Undershaft, an overbearing mother, him, working cleverly to awaken his sense of guilt and turn his
calls her son Stephen to the library for a serious conversation. soul to God.
She shocks him by announcing he must begin to make
decisions for the family and advise her about how to provide The shelter is in danger of closing because it lacks funds.
for the financial needs of his two sisters. Stephen—a snobbish, When Mrs. Baines, a Salvation Army officer, tells Barbara a
upper-class young man of whom nothing of the kind has been local distiller has offered to donate a large sum of money if it is
demanded before—learns his family's money comes not from matched by other donors, Barbara expresses her qualms
Lady Britomart's father, an earl, but from his own estranged about accepting money from the manufacturer of alcohol,
father, Andrew Undershaft, a millionaire arms manufacturer. which causes much suffering and sorrow among the poor.
While visiting, as promised, Undershaft offers to donate a
Lady Britomart explains she separated from Undershaft many matching sum. Barbara is appalled when Mrs. Baines accepts it
years previously mostly because he refused to name Stephen without reservation, assuring Barbara and others that the
as the heir to his business. However, the family has remained money will be put to good use. Disillusioned, Barbara takes off
dependent upon Undershaft for money, which he has provided. her Salvation Army pin and refuses to go to the meeting with
Stephen is surprised his sisters need additional funds since the others. Bill Walker, no longer sympathetic to the pull of
they are both engaged. Lady Britomart points out that until her salvation because of the Army's hypocrisy, gloats at Barbara's
daughter Sarah's fiancé comes into his fortune, the two will pain.
need financial support. Her daughter Barbara, engaged to
Adolphus Cusins, a Greek scholar, will need a stipend
permanently. Stephen is appalled at the idea of taking money
from Undershaft. Lady Britomart abruptly announces
Act 3
Undershaft will be arriving shortly. She gathers the family
Barbara has resigned from the Salvation Army. The next
together.
morning Cusins admits he was part of the Salvation Army only
because of his love for Barbara. Lady Britomart tries to
Andrew Undershaft, who hasn't seen his family in many years,
convince Undershaft to leave the business to Stephen, but he
greets everyone, comically getting their names wrong. He
refuses again because of a tradition of the business, which
doesn't even recognize his own son Stephen. Barbara, a major
dictates it should be left only to a "foundling," a child born out
in the Salvation Army, invites her father to visit her posting in
of wedlock. Stephen expresses his disgust with the idea of
the East End. He agrees if she will return the favor by visiting
being in business of any kind and claiming to have no talents,
his weapons factory. Cusins, who has associated himself with
knowledge, or interests thus decides a career in politics would
the Salvation Army, plays a drum for meetings, but his real, and
suit him best.
only, devotion is to Barbara, not religion.

The whole family, along with fiancés, visits the munitions

factory and attached town of the Undershaft business.
Act 2 Undershaft has created a spotless, organized manufacturing
system as well as a clean, ideal town—a utopia—for his
At the Salvation Army station the poor are being fed. A man employees. He pays them well and provides for all their needs.
and woman, experienced in playing the game, talk about how In return, the workers govern themselves and their work.
they exaggerate their needs and pretend to be converted in Everyone is impressed, for it all is quite different from their
order to take advantage of the assistance of the Salvation expectations, although there are qualms about the source of

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Major Barbara Study Guide Plot Summary 8

the wealth being "death and destruction." Undershaft claims

the greatest crime is poverty, and he has saved his workers
from it.

Faced with the enormous display of wealth, Lady Britomart

once again expresses outrage that it should be left to
someone outside the family. Cusins then reveals he is
technically eligible to be the heir because his father married his
wife's sister, Cusins's mother, after his first wife's death. While
legal in Australia, where Cusins was born, the marriage would
not be recognized in England. Therefore, he is in fact a
foundling. Through her marriage to Cusins, the new heir to the
Undershaft fortune, Barbara will help control the munitions
factory and town, thus finding a way, and a new rationale about
how, to save the poor.

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Major Barbara Study Guide Plot Summary 9

Plot Diagram

Climax

7
10 Falling Action
Rising Action
6
11
5

4 12

3 Resolution

2
1

Introduction

8. The Salvation Army accepts Undershaft's large donation.

Introduction

1. Stephen learns his father won't leave the business to him.

Climax

9. Seeing the Army can be bought, Barbara resigns.

Rising Action

2. The family meets Undershaft, on whom they are dependent.

Falling Action
3. Barbara and her father invite each other to their
workplaces. 10. The family visits Undershaft's spotless factory and town.

4. Undershaft visits the Salvation Army. 11. Cusins reveals he is a foundling and can inherit the
business.
5. He sees poverty, hypocrisy, violence, and deceit.

6. Barbara nearly saves Bill's soul.

Resolution
7. Undershaft and Cusins get to know and like each other.

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Major Barbara Study Guide Plot Summary 10

12. Barbara believes she can do some good through the

business.

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Major Barbara Study Guide Plot Summary 11

Timeline of Events

A January evening

Lady Britomart tells Stephen the family is financially

dependent on the Undershaft business.

Immediately after

Stephen learns his parents separated over his father's

refusal to leave the business to him.

9 p.m.

Undershaft arrives and greets his family without knowing

who is who.

Later that evening

Barbara and Undershaft extend reciprocal invitations to

visit each other at their places of work.

The next day

Bill arrives behaving violently and looking for Mog.

Moments later

Barbara tries to save Bill's soul and is almost successful.

Soon after

Undershaft visits the shelter and offers to donate money

to keep it running.

Immediately after

Mrs. Baines accepts Undershaft's money over Barbara's

objections.

Immediately after

Angry and disillusioned, Barbara takes off her Salvation

Army pin and resigns.

The next day

The family finds out Cusins and Undershaft went out and
got drunk together the previous night.

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Major Barbara Study Guide Plot Summary 12

Immediately following

The family visits and admires Undershaft's factory and

the utopian town built for its employees.

Soon after

Cusins reveals he is technically a foundling and eligible

to be heir to the business.

Immediately after

After negotiating, Undershaft offers the business to

Cusins, who promises to act ethically.

Immediately after

Barbara decides she can use her position in an evil

business to bring about good.

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Major Barbara Study Guide Act Summaries 13

to understand poverty "is to be prevented at all costs." He adds

c Act Summaries that the British government has not followed his advice to
make "good bread" available to the public, like a municipal
water supply.

Preface
Analysis
Summary The preface is less of the author's explanation of the play, as
readers might expect, and more of a platform for a variety of
In the 1906 preface to Major Barbara, Shaw claims he will "help subjects. It does, however, reveal much about Shaw's views
... critics ... by telling them what to say about it." In his view, and personality. A prolific writer not only of plays and reviews,
critics need to stop "treating Britain as an intellectual void" Shaw penned many tracts, copious correspondence, and
when they assume a connection between his work and the political manifestos for the Fabian Society: an organization that
plays of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. On the contrary, advocated evolutionary, not revolutionary, socialism for Britain.
Shaw claims his inspiration comes from Irish novelist Charles He was outspoken, controlling, difficult, and opinionated. The
Lever, explaining he is interested in "the conflict between real claim in the preface that he will tell critics "what to say about
life and romantic imagination." [the play]," shows his confidence in his intellectual superiority
and condescension for his fellow drama critics. His criticism of
In Andrew Undershaft, Shaw creates a character who
government and directions on policy changes reveal his
understands what Shaw himself asserts: "the greatest of our
unconventional, socialist, and sometimes anarchistic political
evils, and the worst of our crimes is poverty." Yet England
positions. Shaw had opinions on nearly every role and practice
seems resigned to the existence of the poor. It would be better
of government, from elections, to the penal system, to women's
for the country to have more men, wicked and rich like
pay, to the use of the English alphabet. His most passionate
Undershaft, than honest and poor like Peter Shirley. When
political position was the need to abolish private property. In
money is understood to "represent health, strength, honor,
the preface, readers get just a glimpse of the vast array of
generosity, and beauty" and "the evil to be attacked is ...
Shaw's opinions and the manner in which he chooses to
poverty," then Undershaft's worldview makes sense. Children
express himself.
should not be taught that pursuing money is wrong.
The preface also explains Shaw's moral relativism. According
Although some have interpreted the play as an attack on the
to Shaw, men like Undershaft, whom society considers wicked,
Salvation Army, Shaw explains the Salvation Army, like the
are actually the kind of men England needs, rather than honest
Church of England, is too dependent on the financial support
men like Peter Shirley. Undershaft's fortune has the power to
of large companies and the capitalist government to be
create real change. To Shaw, the worst kind of evil is poverty,
genuinely on the side of the poor. Rejecting the idea of
so anything that can be done to defeat it, even making
atonement for sins, Shaw argues "you will never get a high
munitions that create death, is necessarily good. Shaw, like
morality from people who conceive that their misdeeds are
Undershaft as his mouthpiece in the play, doesn't believe
revocable." He believes salvation must instead come through
religion will save people, but money will. It is therefore wrong,
the redemption of the nation as a whole.
according to Shaw, to see the pursuit of money as evil, when it
Shaw criticizes the British government for its outdated and is the very thing that can save society. Shaw contradicts
inconsistently enforced laws. If the British government is to traditional ideas of morality by arguing that those individuals
survive, it must enact change. First, any able-bodied adult who society views as evil, like Undershaft, are really its potential
refuses to contribute should get "no crumb" of the national saviors, and those believed most pious, like Salvation Army
wealth. Second, lawbreakers who "delight" in their misdeeds leaders, are doing no real or permanent good.
must be euthanized. Third, "creeds must become intellectually
In the preface Shaw introduces several themes he will explore
honest."
in the play. His interest in "the conflict between realism and
Later, in 1933 Shaw laments that the world has still not come romantic imaginations" is more concisely expressed as realism

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Major Barbara Study Guide Act Summaries 14

versus idealism and is present throughout the three acts. He of the Undershaft tradition of leaving the lucrative munitions
argues for the necessity of fighting poverty to save the nation, business to a foundling, rather than a legitimate child, and also
with even more nuance in the play, by contrasting it with the because Lady Britomart disapproves of her husband's "religion
notion of spiritual warfare and salvation. Whereas the preface of wrongness." Although she claims "one doesn't mind men
extols the power of money, the play will expand the theme to practising immorality so long as they own that they are in the
include other types of power. wrong by preaching morality," she "couldn't forgive Andrew for
preaching immorality while he practised morality."

Act 1 Stephen is appalled to learn his father's parents weren't

married. Because of this tradition, Undershaft has refused to
leave the business to Stephen. Stephen claims he would be
ashamed to have any part in it and doesn't want to ask his
Summary father for a penny. Without an alternative, however, Lady
Britomart concludes they must ask Undershaft for the money,
Act 1 opens on a January evening in the library of a home in
thanking Stephen for agreeing with her once it was "properly
Wilton Crescent. Lady Britomart, a middle-aged, wealthy,
explained." She announces, to Stephen's surprise, Undershaft
upper-class woman summons her son, Stephen Undershaft, to
will be joining them shortly. Lady Britomart then calls her
speak with her. She is "well-mannered and yet appallingly
daughters and their fiancés into the library to tell them
outspoken and indifferent to the opinions of her interlocutors."
Undershaft will join them shortly. Lomax finds the situation
After telling Stephen where to sit and scolding him for
most unusual and doesn't know how to behave. Cusins rightly
fidgeting, she then demands he take on a leadership role in the
intuits Lady Britomart wishes for them to all behave and do her
family, reminding him he is adult and she, "just a woman."
credit.
Stephen, a 25-year-old man who has enjoyed the privileges of
education and travel, is used to taking a submissive role. He Undershaft is announced by the butler and greets his wife. He
finds himself at a loss as to how to proceed when she tells him is surprised to see so many people in the room and doesn't
he must advise her on a matter of family finance. His sisters, recall how many children he has. Awkwardly, Undershaft
Sarah and Barbara, will need more financial support. Sarah's assumes Lomax is his son and introduces himself. Even after
fiancé, Charles Lomax, will come into a fortune in 10 years, but Cusins explains the identity of everyone in the room,
until then Sarah will need £800 a year. Barbara will need Undershaft comically greets them by the wrong names.
support of £1,200 indefinitely because her fiancé, Adolphus Undershaft asks Barbara about the Salvation Army, where she
Cusins, though brilliant, is a scholar with no means of works, to her mother's disappointment. Barbara claims all
supporting the two in an acceptable manner. Lady Britomart people need salvation and invites him to visit the shelter. The
plans to make a marriage match for Stephen soon, too, despite discussion soon turns to arms manufacture, and Undershaft
his preference for finding his own wife. She tells him not to counters Lomax's claim that "the more destructive war
pout. becomes, the sooner it will be abolished." Undershaft's view is
that "the more destructive war becomes the more fascinating
Stephen is shocked to learn his mother intends to ask his
we find it." He affirms his pride in his occupation and in not
estranged father, Andrew Undershaft, for the money. Although
conceding to guilt by philanthropy. On the contrary, he puts his
Lady Britomart disapproves of the family munitions business
profits in developing more powerful weapons.
and claims Undershaft acts "above the law," she acknowledges
dependence on his support. Her own father, an earl, is not in a Undershaft agrees to take up Barbara's invitation, extending a
position to support all the children and their households. corresponding one for her to visit his foundry and warning she
Stephen recoils from speaking about such matters. He recalls may give up "the Salvation Army for the sake of cannons." She
being ridiculed by classmates for his father's business, hopes he will do the opposite and says he can ask anyone in
considered common among his class, and the pain of having the East End for the address of her shelter. He says she can
his name attached to all manner of munitions in the news. "ask anyone in Europe" for the location of his business.

Lady Britomart and Andrew Undershaft are separated because Lady Britomart calls for family prayers, and Undershaft says

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Major Barbara Study Guide Act Summaries 15

his "scruples" will not allow him to participate. He suggests a off as rather silly in Act I. This relatively light humor will serve
service in the drawing room with Barbara would suit him better. as a contrast to the next act.
Cusins, too, objects to some parts of the prayer book and
leaves. The others join him, except for Lady Britomart and Stephen's discovery and disillusionment over the source of his

Stephen. She cries a bit and says they favor their father over family's money foreshadows events in Act 2. For his whole life

her. Suddenly she decides she will go, and only Stephen Stephen has had to bear the ridicule of his peers about his

refuses. father's business. His very name has been attached to such
common, distasteful, immoral things as bombs. Because his
parents have long been separated, and he has lived in
Analysis complete ease without his father's presence, Stephen has
never learned the truth of the family's financial position.
Shaw uses Act I to create a certain set of expectations in the Idealistic, naïve Stephen may want to refuse money from his
minds of his audiences. The first act is set in an upper-class father, but his more realistic and pragmatic mother realizes her
home, with all the characters an audience would expect to find estranged husband is her only source of income and has no
there: a stereotypically proper and domineering British matron, qualms about asking for money. Stephen's disillusionment
a butler, and several grown, dependent children. The scene is foreshadows Barbara's feelings in Act 2, when the Salvation
domestic and concerns family matters, including a disinherited Army accepts money from a brewer and from her father. Lady
heir, a problem with finances, and, for good measure, the Britomart's pragmatism foreshadows Mrs. Baines of the
scandal of an illegitimate family member. These are the Salvation Army in Act 2, who is happy to turn any funds to a
hallmarks of a comedy of manners, or drawing-room good cause, no matter their source.
comedy—a popular genre originating in Victorian England.
Shaw modeled several characters in the play on real people.
Meeting many of the expectations of the genre, Shaw creates
Cusins is based on Shaw's friend Gilbert Murray, a classicist
a scene that will make the audience comfortable, ready to
whose translation of The Bacchae, by Euripides, is used in the
enjoy a witty satire focusing on the various shortcomings of
play. Murray's mother-in-law, the Countess of Carlisle, is
the upper classes. However, the end of Act 1 is just
believed to be the inspiration for Lady Britomart. Barbara is
uncomfortable enough to suggest the playwright has other
modeled on both Murray's wife, Lady Mary, and an American
plans. Having created a set of expectations, Shaw can now
actress, Eleanor Robson, whom Shaw unsuccessfully tried to
"assault the audience with incidents, characters, and themes
persuade to star in the play. Andrew Undershaft, wealthy
normally never associated with genteel comedy at all," as critic
munitions manufacturer, is modeled on three leaders of the
Trevor Whittock claims.
armaments industry in Shaw's day: Alfred Nobel (1833–96),
In Act 1 Shaw gets his first laughs from the audience from Lady who invented dynamite; Sir Basil Zaharoff (1849–1936), Greek
Britomart's interactions with Stephen. Lady Britomart treats arms dealer of questionable origins; and Fritz Krupp
her son like a small child, telling him when and where to sit and (1854–1902), German arms manufacturer.
to stop fidgeting, and then immediately commands him to
advise her on financial matters. She is relentlessly overbearing,
yet calls herself "just a woman" who needs him to take up the Act 2
leadership role of the family. Her inconsistencies and over-the-
top personality are the basis of much of the humor in the first
act. Stephen is the fall guy, unsure where to turn or what to do Summary
in light of his mother's contradictory demands. Humor comes
also from Stephen's horror and disgust at the source of his In the yard of Salvation Army West Ham shelter, an older
own privilege. It's hard not to laugh at a man who lives and is woman, Rummy Mitchens, and an out-of-work painter, Snobby
treated well yet feels sorry for himself because his father is Price, sit and enjoy the free bread and milk. They admit to each
famous and rich, no matter the reason. Undershaft's ridiculous other they are only playing the parts of converted sinners and
reintroduction to his family is good for a few laughs as well. Not lying about—or exaggerating—their misdeeds to take
only does he not recognize any of his children, he doesn't advantage of the shelter's services. After all, Rummy asks,
seem to recall how many he has. The Undershaft family comes

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Major Barbara Study Guide Act Summaries 16

"Where would they get the money to rescue us if we was to let "All religious organizations exist by selling themselves to the
on we're no worse than other people?" A young Salvation Army rich," he explains.
worker, Jenny Hill, brings Peter Shirley into the yard. He has
been laid off because of his apparent age, though he claims to The others return with a few donations. Barbara admits the

be only 46 and young enough to continue working. He is shelter will have to close if it doesn't get funding soon. She

embarrassed to receive charity. refuses Undershaft's offer to donate, saying he "can't buy ...
salvation here." Cusins intuits Undershaft's underlying plan,
A large, intimidating man, Bill Walker, stands in Jenny's way calling him "Mephistopheles! Machiavelli!" Bill, too returns,
and demands she get his girlfriend, Mog, out of the shelter. He miserable. Todger and Mog prayed for him. Wracked with guilt,
pushes Jenny, causing her to fall; hits Rummy when she tries to Bill offers to give Jenny money to make things right. She won't
intervene; and then grabs Jenny by the hair and punches her in take it, nor does Barbara let her take it for the shelter. He
the face. Shirley confronts Bill about hitting a woman and bets leaves it on the table, and Price later steals it.
he couldn't fight a real man like the boxer Todger Fairmile.
Shirley adds that Bill had better watch out because the Major Salvation Army matron Mrs. Baines arrives and announces a

at the shelter is the daughter of an earl, a fact that does worry generous donor, Lord Saxmundham, has pledged £5,000 if

Bill. other donors will match the amount. Undershaft knows Lord
Saxmunham is really Horace Bodger, the distiller who was
Barbara comes outside to obtain the two men's information. granted a title for funding a new cathedral. Undershaft reckons
She tells Bill he must be brave to hit a girl who works for God. the 5,000 pounds is for the saving of Bodger's soul. At Mrs.
Frustrated, Bill asks for Mog again. Barbara reveals Mog has Baines's request, Undershaft agrees to donate the remaining
been converted. She has left for another shelter with a new 5,000 pounds. Barbara objects because Bodger's product
boyfriend she converted, who happens to be Todger. Jenny contributes to alcohol abuse in the neighborhood, but Mrs.
says she has forgiven Bill, who feels more and more Baines responds that the money can be put to good use,
uncomfortable and guilty, as Barbara presses him about his despite its source. The donors, too, have souls needing to be
need for salvation. saved, as does everyone else, she adds. Refusing would do
nothing. Cusins is caught up in everyone's excitement about
Undershaft arrives to see the shelter, and Barbara introduces saving the shelter, but Barbara says he is breaking her heart.
him to Shirley as a fellow Secularist (one who rejects or He claims he is "possessed" by Dionysus. She takes off her
ignores religion and believes in the material world). Undershaft Salvation Army pin and puts it on her father. As the group
objects, saying his religion is "Millionaire," and poverty "is not a leaves, jubilant, she cries, "Drunkenness and Murder! My God:
thing to be proud of." Shirley says he would rather have a clear why hast thou forsaken me?" Bill gloats, asking her what price
conscience than Undershaft's money, but Undershaft counters buys salvation now. She says she nearly had his soul.
that he "wouldn't have your income, not for all your
conscience." Cusins arrives as Barbara tries to calm—and
convert—Bill. Encouraged by Cusins, Bill leaves, probably to Analysis
confront Mog and Todger.
Act 2 serves as a contrast to the first act in its setting,
Cusins and Undershaft then talk alone after the others leave.
characters, subject matter, and tone. After the comfortable,
Discussing religion, Undershaft tells Cusins only "money and
well-appointed library of the Undershafts' Wilton Crescent
gunpowder" are necessary for salvation. The men claim to like
home, the freezing yard of the West Ham shelter is
each other despite their differing views. When Undershaft
unexpected. Snobby Price, Rummy Mitchens, and Bill Walker
admits fatherly love for his daughter and his intention to leave
are the products of the streets of London's poor East End and
his business to her, Cusins is genuinely shocked. He is sure
quite a contrast to the rich Undershaft family. While the first
Barbara will never be converted to her father's way of thinking,
act deals with a conflict over inheritance and a father's fortune,
despite Undershaft's claims that Barbara will "make my
the second features a hard-hearted man with a cockney
converts and preach my gospel." Indeed, in attempting to
accent beating up women. The tone of the two acts is also
convert Barbara to his way of thinking, Undershaft believes he
quite different. Gone is the light satiric humor of the drawing-
can "buy the Salvation Army" and thus drive Barbara from it.
room comedy. Although it is not without humor or satire, the

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Major Barbara Study Guide Act Summaries 17

second act is much darker. In it people are hungry, thieving, with the devil, that it too is losing its soul.
and desperate.
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) was an Italian philosopher,
However, Act 2 mirrors the first act in at least one significant statesman, and playwright. He is most known for his cynical
way. Barbara's disillusionment, the climax of the second act, advice to leaders to act not according to what is ethical but
reflects the similar shock and dismay her brother felt at according to what will be most beneficial. Cusins calls
discovering the source of his family's wealth. Barbara wants Undershaft "Machiavelli" when he offers money to the
nothing to do with Bodger's donation to the Salvation Army Salvation Army, knowing Barbara will lose her faith if the
because the product that has made him rich has harmed the money is accepted, which is exactly what Undershaft wants. It
neighborhood, in the form of drunkenness. When the Salvation is Machiavellian because it is expedient. Undershaft doesn't
Army accepts the donation despite the donor, she is consider Barbara's feelings or the deceit of donating with an
disenchanted. Stephen had the same reaction on learning his ulterior motive. For him, the end justifies his means—and one
family depends on the wealth of his father, who has made his must accept collateral damage.
fortune in cannons and other instruments of death. Stephen is
dismayed to find his mother has no qualms about asking In a further literary reference, Cusins calls Undershaft

Undershaft for money. For the moment, both Stephen and "Dionysus." A Greek god from The Bacchae, by Euripides,

Barbara are committed to opposing the source of their Dionysus punishes blasphemous King Pentheus by possessing

disillusionment. the women of Thebes, who hunt the king down and tear him
apart. Cusins claims he is possessed by Undershaft, and the
The themes of salvation and of realism versus idealism are Salvation Army leaders as well are caught up in the enthusiasm
explored in Act 2, in which two types of salvation are of Undershaft's gift. Their joy at accepting his money tears
contrasted. The first is the spiritual salvation the Salvation Barbara's faith apart. Dionysus is also associated with wine
Army wishes to offer the poor of the East End. Barbara wants and revelry, so Dionysus also alludes to drink and Bodger's
to save Bill Walker's soul, and Jenny wants to forgive him. Bill, whiskey.
however, wants to buy his forgiveness, much as Bodger wants
to buy his salvation. Barbara rejects this false, transactional
saving of souls. She claims salvation cannot be bought, while Act 3
Undershaft asserts wealth is his entire religion. He wants to
convert Barbara to his "gospel" of "money and gunpowder" and
save her from what he sees as her fantasy. Barbara clings to
Summary
her own notions of morality and spirituality. Even the Salvation
Army is more realistic and practical than she is, taking money
Back in the library at Wilton Crescent the next day, Charles
from any willing source. Shaw demonstrates Barbara's
Lomax is surprised to find Barbara wearing a dress rather than
idealism—strict rejection of things and people she finds morally
her Salvation Army uniform. He admits having thought the
abhorrent—would lead to the closing of the shelter and no
Salvation Army was nonsensical and states his preference for
good, while Mrs. Baines's realism leads to its benefit.
the Church of England. Lady Britomart shushes him. Cusins
Undershaft's realism, too, leads to prosperity, as the audience
enters, looking worse for wear. The family is shocked to hear
will discover in the act to follow.
he spent the previous night drinking with Undershaft, whom he
calls "the Prince of Darkness."
Shaw includes several literary references in Act 2, through
Cusins's names for Undershaft. When Cusins begins to
Undershaft enters, and Lady Britomart unceremoniously asks
perceive Undershaft's plans to buy the Salvation Army and
for the additional money the girls need. They discuss the future
manipulate Barbara into disavowing her religion, he calls
of his business, which he doesn't want to leave it to Stephen,
Undershaft "Mephistopheles" and "Machiavelli."
and suggests Barbara marry a foundling so he can leave the
Mephistopheles is the name of a devil from a German tale of
factory to her. Undershaft admits to having trouble finding a
Faust, a man who sells his soul to Mephistopheles in exchange
suitable heir. Stephen declares he wants nothing to do with the
for extraordinary powers and wealth. This reference suggests
business and asserts he has no abilities or interests in doing
the Salvation Army's donation from Undershaft is a similar deal
anything. Therefore, he thinks he is best suited to go into

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Major Barbara Study Guide Act Summaries 18

politics, confident in is his ability to know "the difference town represents and laments again that the business isn't
between right and wrong." Undershaft agrees: his son "knows staying in the family. Cusins then reveals he is a foundling, his
nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly parents' marriage being illegal in England. The revelation turns
to a political career." When Stephen claims to be offended by the talk to Cusins's eligibility to inherit the business and marry
his father's insults about the government, Undershaft tells him Barbara, keeping the Undershaft fortune in the family. Cusins
"I am the government of your country." Undershaft knows impresses Undershaft by negotiating his terms, and it is agreed
money rules. he will take over the business, although he promises to bring
his own ethics to it. He wants "to make power for the world"
The family prepares to leave on their reciprocal visit to the which is "simple enough for common man to use, yet strong
"cannon works," which Cusins calls "the Works Department of enough to force the intellectual oligarchy to use its genius for
Hell." Barbara imagines the factory to be "a sort of pit where the general good." He will "make war on war."
lost creatures ... were driven and tormented by my father."
Undershaft retorts his cannon works are "spotlessly clean and Undershaft says he saw "poverty, misery, cold, and hunger" at
beautiful." He also explains the working arrangements of his the Salvation Army shelter, but he has offered real salvation
factory—that his employees tend to manage themselves by from "the crime of poverty" to his workers. Barbara realizes
separating themselves from those below them and ensuring she can't turn her back on people like Bodger or her father
they are kept in their places. Undershaft has little, but friendly, because they are part of the reality of life. She acknowledges
interaction with his workers. Barbara expresses her anger with "there is no wicked side: life is all one." She hopes to find "the
her father over ruining her attempt to save Bill's soul. way of life ... through the raising of hell to heaven." She says
Undershaft suggests Bill could not have walked away from the her old self has died. Cusins tells Undershaft Barbara "has
encounter untouched, and Barbara is encouraged. Her father gone right up to the skies."
may be a devil through whom God can still speak.

At the factory, overlooking the town Undershaft has created Analysis

for his employees, the family share their impressions of what
they have seen, Barbara and Cusins have probed somewhat Act 3 is the most problematic in the play. In fact, Shaw was
deeper. Cusins declares "everything perfect! ... It only needs a considering revisions until the time rehearsals began in 1905.
cathedral to be a heavenly city instead of a hellish one." He even considered reworking the ending when Major Barbara
Stephen, too, is impressed, completely converted. They remark was made into a film some 35 years later. In many ways the act
on the nursing home, libraries, and other amenities Undershaft doesn't fit with the rest of the play. After the drawing-room
provides for the workers, who admire him. In fact, Undershaft comedy of Act 1, the realism of Act 2, and the return to the
has arranged for Peter Shirley to have a job there. When library at Wilton Crescent at the start of Act 3, the sudden
Undershaft joins the group, Stephen questions him about inclusion of a utopian fantasy of Undershaft's factory town may
whether such social engineering makes people too seem somewhat jarring.
comfortable. Undershaft reminds him that a lack of organized
society is what exists now and indicates little empathy for the The lack of a clear resolution at the end of the play is typical of
humanity. The opposite is an organized society, but "a Shavian drama. Despite his boasts of far-reaching power and
sufficient dose of anxiety is always provided by the fact that claiming to be the government itself, Undershaft doesn't defeat
we may be blown to smithereens at any moment." poverty. He succeeds only in improving the lives of his workers.
Although the town undoubtedly benefits Undershaft's
Undershaft has had good news about a new gunship. It has employees, he seems to have no guilt about his product killing
killed 300 soldiers at once. Cusins and Barbara are grieved. 300 men. The audience is left to wonder whether the
Lomax exits an explosives shed with the foreman, who forces munitions business will really change under the leadership of
him out for striking a match to light a cigarette. Lomax claims it Cusins and Barbara and whether they will be able to create the
isn't dangerous at all. Undershaft takes his matches and social change to which they aspire. The play begs the question
suggests Lomax try it at home. as to how anyone in the arms business can successfully "make
war on war."
Lady Britomart is impressed with the vast display of wealth the

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Major Barbara Study Guide Quotes 19

Although present throughout the play, the theme of heaven transformed.

and hell is most explicitly explored in Act 3. Drawing on English
poet William Blake's late 18th-century work, The Marriage of
Heaven and Hell, which is full of contraries and paradoxes
g Quotes
about good and evil, Shaw shows how heaven and hell are
often inverted in the world and can ultimately be reconciled.
Cusins and Barbara equate Undershaft's factory with the evils "There is no salvation ... through
of hell and Undershaft with the Devil, in calling the factory "the
Works Department of Hell." Barbara imagines it staffed by personal righteousness, but only
miserable souls "tormented" by devilish Undershaft. However,
through the redemption of the
the town is heavenly. It is as beautiful and clean as Undershaft
promised, and its inhabitants have everything they need. whole nation."
Paradoxically, Undershaft recalls the Salvation Army Shelter as
the truly hellish place, full of hunger and misery. Shaw inverts — George Bernard Shaw, Preface
the two, thereby upending expectations. Barbara comes to
understand heaven and hell can be reconciled, that "life is all
Shaw did not believe in salvation through atonement for sins or
one." Her father may be a devil, but he is one through whom
in forgiveness. Because he believed poverty to be the greatest
God can speak. She hopes to achieve salvation by "raising ...
sin, salvation must include delivering the whole of England from
hell to heaven."
its clutches.
Charles Lomax once again provides comic relief. Against the
weighty themes of heaven and hell and the dramatic tension
over Cusins's decision to take up the munitions business, "The Salvation Army ... is even
Lomax's idiocy is a light contrast. First he wades confidently
and thoughtlessly into the deep waters of theology when he
more dependent than the church
expresses his approval that Barbara has left the Salvation on rich people."
Army by describing his reservations about it as having "a
certain amount of tosh." Inarticulate criticism is humorous,
— George Bernard Shaw, Preface
especially since he joined in the meetings as enthusiastically as
anyone. He claims the Church of England is superior before he
is shut up by his soon-to- be mother-in-law. Even funnier is his Although some critics interpreted the play as a condemnation
confidence that lighting a match in a shed where explosives of the Salvation Army, Shaw explains that the Army is no more
are made is not really dangerous. Audiences have another corrupt than other religious organizations that benefit from
laugh at Lomax's expense when Undershaft suggests he donations from the wealthy. The Army simply cannot survive
experiment with that claim later at home. without the money of the rich.

Barbara's experience in the final two acts of the play,

particularly the last few pages, echoes the Passion and
"Undershaft and Lazarus positively
resurrection of Christ. Like Christ, who was betrayed and
placed under the power of his enemies, Barbara feels betrayed have Europe under their thumbs.
by her father. She even echoes the words of Christ on the
cross in Act 2, asking why God has forsaken her. As Christ
That is why your father is able to
suffered in the crucifixion, Barbara endures emotional pain behave as he does ... above the
when her faith in the Salvation Army is betrayed. She, like
Christ, is transformed after a kind of death. Her old beliefs
law."
have passed away. Cusins alludes to the ascension of Christ
when he describes Barbara as "going right up into the sky" in — Lady Britomart, Act 1
her enthusiasm for her new role, her way of thinking

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Major Barbara Study Guide Quotes 20

Lady Britomart tells Stephen of his father's influence. Because

"I wouldn't have your income, not
his products are necessary in wars, European governments
depend on him. The result is that Undershaft and his business for all your conscience, Mr
partner, Lazarus, can do whatever they like without worrying
Shirley."
about retribution.

— Undershaft, Act 2

"You know the Undershaft motto:

Peter Shirley, poor and out of work because of his age, takes
Unashamed." verbal jabs at Undershaft because he is rich. Shirley echoes
the usual rhetoric of one of the virtues of poverty: a clear
— Lady Britomart, Act 1 conscience, which he thinks is better than wealth. Undershaft,
however, is his usual pragmatic self and sees no virtue in
Speaking of her husband's origins, Lady Britomart tells poverty, nor does he see the connection between poverty and
Stephen his father's parents were not married. Undershaft has a clear conscience. Indeed, a clear conscience may seem of
lived by this motto his entire life, unworried by conventional little importance if it means one must be poor.
ideas of morality or social expectations. He feels no shame
about his business or himself.
"It's your soul that's hurting you,
Bill ... Come with us ... to brave
"There is only one true morality for
manhood on earth and eternal
every man; but every man has not
glory in heaven."
the same true morality."
— Barbara, Act 2
— Undershaft, Act 1

Barbara talks to the violent Bill Watkins, trying to win his soul
Undershaft expresses moral relativism by claiming one for God. She believes his salvation will not only inspire him to
person's sense of right and wrong can be different from be a better person in the present but also win him everlasting
another's. glories in heaven.

"I am a Millionaire. That is my "There are two things necessary

religion." to Salvation. ... Money and

— Undershaft, Act 2
gunpowder."

— Undershaft, Act 2
When Barbara asks what religion her father is, believing him to
be a secularist, what Undershaft responds he believes in
money. He professes his faith in the goodness and power of Because Undershaft believes poverty to be a crime and a sin,
money to save people from poverty, about which he thinks to which money is the solution, money is the means of
there's nothing admirable or noble. salvation. Gunpowder is the source of his wealth. With both, he
has all he needs.

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Major Barbara Study Guide Quotes 21

"You can't buy our salvation here clothing, firing, rent, taxes,
for twopence: you must work it respectability and children.
out." Nothing can lift those milestones
from Man's neck but money."
— Barbara, Act 2

— Undershaft, Act 3
Barbara refuses to take a small amount of money from her
father, even to give to the Salvation Army, which will close its
Undershaft reiterates his belief that poverty is a sin. He
shelter if more funds are not raised. She recognizes he is trying
explains his version of the seven deadly sins includes the kinds
to buy something she believes must be honestly sought after
of needs that keep people impoverished. Money alone, he
through a real change of heart and can't be purchased in a
argues, can save people from these burdens, which will
simple monetary transaction. Her father, however, has other
otherwise pull them down to their deaths.
ideas—and does get what he wants by using his money.

"Drunkenness and Murder! My "I want a democratic power ...

God: why hast thou forsaken me?" strong enough to force the
intellectual oligarchy ... to use its
— Barbara, Act 2
genius for the general good."

Barbara is appalled to see the Salvation Army take money from — Cusins, Act 3
a distiller and a munitions manufacturer, the enablers of
drunkenness and murder, in her opinion. Thus she sees the
Cusins wants to use his position as the new leader of the
Salvation Army can indeed be bought. Echoing the words of
Undershaft company to create power for all people, power that
Christ upon the cross, she expresses her feelings of
will benefit everyone. For Cusins, this is the highest good.
abandonment by God.

"I am the government of your "Through the raising of hell to

country." heaven and of man to God,
through the unveiling of an eternal
— Undershaft, Act 3
light in the Valley of The Shadow."
In response to Stephen's boasts about the unimpeachable
— Barbara, Act 3
character of the British government, Undershaft can't help but
condemn his son's naiveté. He and his business partner might
as well be the government because of the level of influence When Cusins asks if Barbara thinks salvation can be found in
they hold over it. Undershaft claims he tells the government the arms factory, she expresses her new belief that evil things
what to do. can be used to create good. Thus, she has become more
pragmatic, perhaps more Machiavellian, like her father.

"The deadly seven [sins] ... food,

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Major Barbara Study Guide Symbols 22

always have some degree of power over their children, this

l Symbols scene is comic because Stephen is an adult, still under his
mother's thumb. It is also funny because Lady Britomart
demands he act like a man and advise her, as long as he gives

Salvation Army Drum the advice she wants.

Barbara was under her own power before she found the
Salvation Army, after which she was "in the power of God."
The drum Cusins plays represents his passion for Barbara. He Even when she is forced to rethink her ideas of good and evil in
plays the drum at the Army's outdoor meetings with great Act 3, she wants to exercise power to bring about salvation of
enthusiasm, not from any religious fervor but because of his the needy. She seeks "to make power for the world ... but it
love for Barbara and desire to support her. He himself is "a must be spiritual power." The audience is left to question the
collector of religions," and he joins the Army only as part of his effect of this kind of power, as Shaw leaves the question
pursuit of Barbara. When she leaves the Army, Cusins gives up unresolved. It remains to be seen whether Barbara's leadership
the drum. He wishes he had it again when she declares she will will bring about change through her attempt to use her power
still marry him after he takes over her father's business. "Oh for to create "the raising of ... man to God."
my drum!" he exclaims, overjoyed she still loves him. The drum
Cusins represents the power of intellect. Highly educated and
remains an expression of his zeal for her.
a self-professed "collector of religions," Cusins believes the
power of intelligence can be used for right or wrong. His
beliefs suggest Undershaft uses his power in a Machiavellian

Barbara's Salvation Army Pin way, promoting evil to achieve his own ends. Cusins says
power always has the capability to be used for good or evil,
and he wishes to create power that will force "the intellectual
oligarchy" to use their brains to help everyone.
The brooch Barbara wears on her uniform represents not only
her rank and commitment to the Salvation Army but also her There is also the power of brute force, personified in Bill
faith. She removes her pin when the Salvation Army accepts Walker. He physically controls Jenny Hill by grabbing her by
money from Bodger and her father, whose profits come from the hair, pushing her, and hitting her in the face. He uses his
products Barbara finds immoral. The pin represents her faith, power to intimidate and control. The only power Bill seems to
which is lost in the transaction. She feels betrayed and even fear is that which comes from social position. When he learns
abandoned by God. She places the pin on her father's shirt, Barbara is the granddaughter of an earl, he is suddenly meek.
indicating he has bought his position and salvation for the Interestingly, Bill's physical power has no effect on Barbara,
Army. indicating it is weaker than spirituality.

Undershaft exercises the power of money, which is arguably,

the strongest of all. Lady Britomart criticizes the power of

m Themes wealth that makes its owners above the law. She claims
Undershaft can act immorally because his money means he
has European governments under his thumb. Undershaft
doesn't deny this statement. He boasts that because of the
Forms of Power wealth of his business and its influence, he is, in effect, the
government. More altruistically, on the other hand, Undershaft
uses the power of his money to save his workers by removing
the "millstones" of poverty from around their necks.
Taking different forms, power is a theme that permeates Major
Barbara. The play opens with a comic display of Lady
Britomart's power over her son. She controls when and where
he sits, how he speaks, and what he knows. Although mothers

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Major Barbara Study Guide Symbols 23

Good and Evil Salvation of Souls

Shaw uses various characters to represent different beliefs Barbara and the Salvation Army offer spiritual salvation of
about good and evil. In the process he questions whether the souls through God's forgiveness and promising eternal life. In
two are necessarily opposites, suggesting they may exchange the characters of Snobby Price and Rummy Mitchens, Shaw
places or even become part of each other. Several characters shows how easily such salvation can be counterfeited. They
are of the opinion that good and evil are absolutes. Lady exaggerate their sins and at public meetings claim to be
Britomart tells Undershaft he can talk all he wants, but he redeemed, while privately they gloat to each other about their
"can't change wrong into right." Stephen has learned from his successful deceptions. Yet, for a time, such salvation has
mother and agrees "right is right, and wrong is wrong; and if a Barbara's confidence. She tells Bill he can enjoy "eternal glory
man cannot distinguish them properly he is either a fool or a in heaven" if he will give over his soul. When he offers a small
rascal." On the other hand, Undershaft argues good and evil amount of money to make up for his violent behavior, Barbara
are relative. He claims "every man has not the same morality." refuses it and claims spiritual salvation cannot be bought.
Cusins seems to understand Undershaft's statement, adding However, after the Army accepts large amounts of money from
what is good for one man is poison to another, morally Bodger and Undershaft, Bill gloatingly asks what the price of
speaking. In this idea Shaw was influenced by William Blake's salvation is now.
belief that "one law for the Lion and Ox is oppression." Blake's
analogy illustrates the idea that good and evil are relative. The Undershaft believes what people need is salvation from

lion's nature, which is to hunt and kill, is quite different from the poverty by "money and gunpowder." He wants to convert

ox's nature, which is not predatory and is docile after it is Barbara to his way of thinking, claiming he has saved her soul

domesticated. Having "one law," or rather the same moral by providing for her needs in life and that the poor need the

expectation—in keeping with the analogy—for both animals same. He believes she will eventually "make [his] converts and

does not make sense. The animals, if made to follow the same preach [his] gospel."

law, would no longer be true to their natures, and, hence, to

Shaw asserts "there is no salvation ... through personal
expect them to conform would be oppression. In Undershaft's
righteousness, but only through the redemption of the whole
view, "the greatest of our evils ... is poverty." Anything done to
nation." It is poverty from which the nation must be saved. By
end poverty, in his opinion, then becomes necessary and good,
this measure, even Undershaft falls short of achieving true
even if others view it as wrong. Charles Lomax comically
salvation outside of his small town. By this measure "even the
echoes the position by asserting "there is a certain amount of
Salvationists themselves are not saved." He, however, offers
tosh about this notion of wickedness."
his workers salvation from "the crime of poverty."

Although Barbara begins the play as a Salvationist with

traditional Christian ideas of right and wrong, she comes to
believe that good and evil are both part of life, which is "all
one." Since she cannot avoid evil, she must find a way of
Idealism versus Realism
integrating the two by "the raising of hell to heaven, of man to
God." Good and evil are often embodied as heaven and hell.
Barbara imagines her father's factory to be a lot like hell, full of Shaw is interested in "the conflict between real life and
smoke and fire with pitiful individuals tormented by her father, romantic imagination." As a playwright, Shaw makes his
whom Cusins calls Mephistopheles, a devil who tricks a man audience comfortable, using the familiar setting of a drawing-
into selling his soul. To her surprise, the factory town he built is room comedy only to upset their expectations by showing the
spotlessly clean, as he promised. It is like "a heavenly city," full idealism of the characters to be an illusion. Although Lady
of peaceful people who willingly obey their master. In the play Britomart and Stephen have idealistic views about what is
Shaw complicates ideas of good and evil, inverting and moral and immoral and don't want to be involved in the actual
eventually integrating the two. making of money, they must acknowledge the reality that their

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Major Barbara Study Guide Symbols 24

livelihoods depend upon the munitions business, however

distasteful they find it. Barbara, too, moves from an idealistic
view of salvation and sin when faced with the fact the Salvation
Army is in the pay of the very businesses that, in her opinion,
cause so much human suffering. Shaw, too, attacks the
idealism of the Salvation Army with a humorous portrayal of its
patrons. Price and Rummy are dishonest characters who easily
play the idealistic Salvation Army workers to get free
assistance.

Undershaft, Shaw's mouthpiece, unapologetically embraces

pragmatism. He is a realist with no patience for those who
"make a virtue" of poverty. Realistically, it is better to be rich
and dishonest than poor and honest like Peter Shirley. As critic
J.L. Wisenthal explains, Shaw believes "one must act, not from
any absolute moral principle, but according to the practical
demands of a particular set of circumstances." Interestingly,
Undershaft creates an ideal community. Shaw paints a picture
of Undershaft's town as a place in which workers peacefully
govern themselves, and everyone has everything they need.
Cynical readers will question whether Shaw is as unaware of
his own idealism as the audiences he seeks to confront.

Physical and Spiritual War

The theme of war is an undercurrent in the play. While there is

no overt violence, the idea of war is implicit in the name and
organization of the Salvation Army and the Undershaft
weapons business. The Salvation Army fights a spiritual war on
sin, seeking to save souls. It is organized and run like a military
organization. Barbara's title is a military rank, a major, in God's
army. Undershaft's business, he readily admits, fuels wars
around the world and will continue to do so. Contradicting
Lomax, who thinks deadlier weapons will deter war, Undershaft
asserts, "the more destructive war becomes the more
fascinating we find it."

Cusins and Barbara are horrified at the idea of the destruction

of warfare, however. Cusins promises to use his influence in
the business to "make war on war" to bring about good for
everyone.

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