The Concept of Life Force in the Plays of George Bernard Shaw

Abstract

The Victorian Age is known not only for its technological advancements but also for compromises that resulted in a battle between reason and faith. The impact of Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species’ was widely seen in the works of contemporary writers. While Dickens presented the crude realities of society in a serious manner, Shaw, who wrote in the later part of the century, painted the gloomy picture in color. He ridiculed the follies of society by comparing the conventional notions with the idealistic ones. He dealt with numerous subjects like war, medicine, law, politics, prostitution, love, etc. but his approach towards these themes remained alien to the society. Love, for example, was considered divine and beautiful by writers and poets before Shaw, but he exposed the motive behind falling in love and the concept of Life Force in his plays. In this research paper I am discussing the theme of Life Force in the selected plays of George Bernard Shaw and the plays I have taken for my research are Arms and the Man and Man and the Superman.

Keywords: Life Force, New Drama, New Woman, love, marriage, heroine.