Candida by George Bernard Shaw

Name: Candida
Author: George Bernard Shaw

Candida is a play by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1898. It is a comedy about a woman, Candida, who is married to a clergyman, Reverend James Morell. Candida is a strong-willed and independent woman who is admired by many, including a young poet, Eugene Marchbanks. Marchbanks is in love with Candida and believes that she should be with him instead of her husband. The play follows the events that unfold when Marchbanks declares his love for Candida and Morell's attempts to win her back. Candida must decide between the two men and ultimately chooses her husband. The play is a commentary on the power dynamics between men and women in relationships and the importance of maintaining a balance of power.

By George Bernard Shaw · First published 1913 · Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama · 3 chapters · 22,641 words

First lines

A fine October morning in the north east suburbs of London, a vast district many miles away from the London of Mayfair and St. James's, much less known there than the Paris of the Rue de Rivoli and the Champs Elysees, and much less narrow, squalid, fetid and airless in its slums; strong in comfortable, prosperous middle class life; wide-streeted, myriad-populated; well-served with ugly iron urinals, Radical clubs, tram lines, and a perpetual stream of yellow cars; enjoying in its main thoroughfares the luxury of grass-grown "front gardens," untrodden by the foot of man save as to the path from the gate to the hall door; but blighted by an intolerable monotony of miles and miles of graceless, characterless brick houses, black iron railings, stony pavements, slaty roofs, and respectably ill dressed or disreputably poorly dressed people, quite accustomed to the place, and mostly plodding about somebody else's work, which they would not do if they themselves could help it. The little energy and eagerness that crop up show themselves in cockney cupidity and business "push." Even the policemen and the chapels are not infrequent enough to break the monotony. The sun is shining cheerfully; there is no fog; and though the smoke effectually prevents anything, whether faces and hands or bricks and mortar, from looking fresh and clean, it is not hanging heavily enough to trouble a Londoner.

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Candida is listed on Textopian as a play by George Bernard Shaw, dated 1913 CE.

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Work type: Play
Author: George Bernard Shaw
Date: 1913 CE
Language: English
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Drama, Satire
Length: 22,641 words
Structure: 3 chapters, 816 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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Discussion starters

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Similar titles

Genres

Comedy — Candida is a comedic play written by George Bernard Shaw, which follows the story of a woman who must choose between her husband and a young poet who is in love with her.
Romance — The play follows the romantic entanglements between Candida, her husband, and the young poet, and explores the themes of love, marriage, and relationships.
Drama — The play is a dramatic exploration of the relationships between the characters, and the themes of love, marriage, and relationships.
Satire — The play is a satirical exploration of the relationships between the characters, and the themes of love, marriage, and relationships.