7 h 48 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 48 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the great romantic chase begins with a man determined not to be caught?
In Bernard Shaw's four-act comedy Man and Superman, John Tanner talks boldly about freedom but fears marriage. A dead man's will makes him one of Ann Whitefield's guardians. Ann seems graceful and obedient, yet she knows what she wants—and quietly steers the people around her.
Shaw turns the Don Juan legend upside down, surrounding the chase with a lovesick poet, a sharp chauffeur and brigands in the Spanish mountains. In the dream scene Don Juan in Hell, the arguments reach beyond romance to the Life Force: Shaw's idea of what drives men and women toward each other.
What you’ll discover
- A revolutionary under pressure Meet a man whose bold defence of freedom runs straight into his fear of marriage.
- Ann's quiet command Watch apparent obedience become a source of power in a comedy of pursuit.
- Wit against respectability Enjoy sharp exchanges as proud opinions meet people who refuse to play along.
- Don Juan in Hell Enter a long dream scene where romantic comedy opens into an argument about life.
- The force beneath desire Explore Shaw's Life Force and the questions it raises about romance, freedom and evolution.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like comedies full of quick talk, sparring couples, and big ideas about love, marriage, and the future of the human race.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A dedication that dares Don Juan to change
- Ramsden's study holds a will that binds two guardians
- Jack warns Tavy that Ann means to eat him
- Violet's secret splits the family and the code of morals
- Ann and Jack revisit a childhood pact
- The motorcar, the chauffeur, and the New Man
- Jack runs for Spain and the brigands catch him
- Don Juan in hell argues with the Devil
- The Life Force makes women hunters and men its tools
- How the play ends and how it is told
Who’s who
- John TannerCalled Jack, a rich, restless talker and author of a revolutionist's handbook who fears marriage and wants only to be free.
- Ann WhitefieldA charming, dutiful young woman who always gets what she wants and has her eye on a particular man.
- Octavius RobinsonCalled Tavy, a gentle poet who adores Ann and wants to write a play about her.
- Roebuck RamsdenAn old radical of strong opinions and a polished head, shocked by Jack's book and now co-guardian of Ann.
- Violet RobinsonTavy's sister, composed and sharp, who keeps her marriage secret and will not name her husband.
- Henry StrakerJack's chauffeur, a clever engineer whom Jack calls the New Man and who sees more than his employer does.
- MendozaThe poetic leader of the brigands of the Sierra, a former waiter who is still in love with a woman named Louisa.
- Don JuanThe hero's ghostly ancestor in the dream, who leaves the pleasures of hell to seek the work of heaven.
Formats and delivery
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L’Homme et le Surhomme : une comédie et une philosophie
by Bernard Shaw · 1903
John Tanner races his motorcar across Spain to escape Ann Whitefield, and meets brigands and a dream of hell.
Medium level5–10 hours to readfrançais
Excellent
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In short
What happens when a man who despises marriage becomes the target of a woman who has already decided to have him? That is the question behind Man and Superman, a comedy Bernard Shaw finished in 1903.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A dedication that dares Don Juan to change
The play begins with a letter to Arthur Walkley, who once asked for a Don Juan play. Shaw says here it is, and he blames the critic for whatever follows. The letter is playful, but it carries a real argument about what a Don Juan story should be.
Shaw looks back at the old tale. A Spanish monk first told it as a warning, and later writers made the rebel more attractive than the lesson. A modern Don Juan cannot be a mere libertine, Shaw says, because no nobleman dares shock his greengrocer.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1903
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 5 h 0 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Shaw, Bernard. Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/man-and-superman-a-comedy-and-a-philosophy.
Shaw, B. (2026). Man and superman: A comedy and a philosophy. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/man-and-superman-a-comedy-and-a-philosophy (Original work published 1903)
Shaw, Bernard. Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/man-and-superman-a-comedy-and-a-philosophy.
@book{shaw2026man,
author = {Shaw, Bernard},
title = {Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/man-and-superman-a-comedy-and-a-philosophy},
note = {First published 1903}
}
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What is Man and Superman about?
It follows Jack Tanner, a confirmed bachelor who is named guardian of Ann Whitefield and tries to escape her. Along the way it asks who really chases whom in love, and why.
What does the Superman mean in the play?
It is the higher kind of human being the Life Force may one day produce. Shaw takes the idea from Nietzsche, and Dona Ana in the dream goes in search of a father for such a being.
Who is Don Juan in Man and Superman?
Jack Tanner is a modern Don Juan, and the dream of Act 3 shows his ancestor, the old seducer of legend, arguing in hell with the Devil and a stone Statue.
The author
Bernard Shaw
1856–1950 · Irish playwright and critic
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) was an Irish playwright and critic. Born in Dublin, he moved to London in 1876 and later lived in Ayot St Lawrence, Hertfordshire, where he died. His plays include Arms and the Man (1894), Man and Superman (1903), Major Barbara (1905), and Pygmalion (1912).
More by Bernard Shaw
Voir tous ses livresMore like this
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