Riassunto
Riassunto di Uomo e Superuomo: una commedia e una filosofia
A chi è rivolto
For readers who enjoy sharp talk, comedy of manners and ideas argued out loud, and anyone curious about Shaw's exploration of romance, freedom and the purpose of life.
Che cos’è questo libro
Man and Superman is a four-act comedy by Bernard Shaw, published in 1903. Shaw wrote it after a friend, the drama critic Arthur Bingham Walkley, asked him for a play about Don Juan, the great seducer of legend. Shaw agreed, but he turned the legend upside down. In his play the man runs away, and the woman is the hunter.
The hero is John Tanner, called Jack, a rich, talkative young reformer who has written a handbook for revolutionaries. The woman is Ann Whitefield, who is charming, dutiful on the surface, and very sure of what she wants. Around them stand a poet in love, a stiff old Radical, a secret marriage, a chauffeur with modern ideas and a band of brigands in the Spanish mountains. The play is funny, fast and full of argument. It also carries a large idea about how life itself pushes men and women toward each other.
This summary follows the story through its main scenes, including the long dream sequence in the third act that is often staged on its own. It also explains the ideas under the jokes. Let us begin in a London library, where a dead man's will starts the chase.
In questo riassunto
- 1Shaw turns the Don Juan legend aroundFree
- 2A will makes two unlikely guardians
- 3Ann Whitefield always gets her way
- 4Violet's secret shakes the respectable
- 5Tanner, Straker and the motor car
- 6Brigands in the Spanish mountains
- 7Don Juan in Hell argues about life
- 8The Life Force and the coming Superman
- 9How Shaw builds a comedy of ideas
Punto chiave 1 di 9
Shaw turns the Don Juan legend around
Shaw begins from an old story. Don Juan, in legend, is the man who pursues women, wins them and leaves them. Mozart made him the hero of his opera Don Giovanni, and Shaw loved that music. In Man and Superman he keeps the name, in the form of John Tanner, but he reverses the roles.
Tanner is no seducer. He is a man of ideas who talks about marriage as a trap and wants to stay free. The person who does the hunting is Ann Whitefield. Shaw's claim, which the play keeps returning to, is that in nature the female is the pursuer and the male is the prey.
The play comes with an Epistle Dedicatory addressed to Walkley. In it Shaw sets out his views on marriage, on genius, on politics and on the future of the human race. He wrote it as a long essay, and it reads as a lively argument with his readers. The comedy that follows is the same argument turned into scenes.
There is also a short book attached to the play, The Revolutionist's Handbook, which is said to be written by Tanner himself. It ends with a set of sayings called Maxims for Revolutionists. So the stage hero is also an author, and his opinions are printed after the play as if he were a real man. This blurs the line between Shaw and his character in a playful way.
To enjoy the play you need only know its simple frame. A clever man believes he is the master of his own life. A clever woman, who seems gentle, has other plans. Everything else, from the motor car to the mountain bandits, serves that contest and the ideas behind it.
The tone is light even when the talk is large. Shaw wants an audience that laughs, and then finds itself thinking. He said he wanted the stage to be a place where people argue about how to live, and this play is one of his best attempts at it.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- John Tanner
- A wealthy young revolutionary and writer, Tanner shares guardianship of Ann with Ramsden and fears marriage.
- Ann Whitefield
- Ann is Tanner and Ramsden's charming young ward, outwardly dutiful but skilled at directing those around her.
- Octavius Robinson
- Called Tavy, this gentle young poet adores Ann and is Violet Robinson's devoted brother.
- Roebuck Ramsden
- A respectable Radical, Ramsden shares responsibility for Ann with Tanner but distrusts the younger man's revolutionary opinions.
- Violet Robinson
- Tavy's independent sister Violet guards her private affairs and resists the moral judgments of his circle.
- Henry Straker
- Tanner's technically trained chauffeur speaks bluntly to his employer and challenges assumptions about class and intelligence.
- Hector Malone
- A young American devoted to Violet, Hector worries about his wealthy father's reaction to his personal choices.
- Mendoza
- A former London waiter, Mendoza leads the Spanish brigands who interrupt Tanner and Straker's travels.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 70,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 4 h 40 min
- Listening time7 h 50 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about Uomo e Superuomo: una commedia e una filosofia
What is Man and Superman about?
It is a comedy in which a young reformer, John Tanner, tries to escape the clever Ann Whitefield, who intends to marry him. Shaw uses the chase to argue that life itself pushes men and women together.
What does the Superman mean in Shaw's play?
It means a future human being more intelligent and self-aware than we are now. Shaw links it to the Life Force, which he thinks drives evolution toward higher minds, and he gives it his own meaning, different from Nietzsche's.
What is Don Juan in Hell in Man and Superman?
It is a long dream scene in the third act. Tanner, Ann, Ramsden and Mendoza appear as Don Juan, Doña Ana, the Statue and the Devil, and they debate Heaven, Hell and the purpose of life.
When was Man and Superman written and is it hard to read?
Shaw published it in 1903. The language is clear and witty. Many readers find the argument rewarding.
Who is Ann Whitefield and what does she want?
Ann is a young woman who seems obedient and gentle but is, in fact, the strongest character in the play. She wants John Tanner as a husband, and she pursues him with great skill.