7 h 48 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 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
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.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Shaw turns the Don Juan legend around
- A will makes two unlikely guardians
- Ann Whitefield always gets her way
- Violet's secret shakes the respectable
- Tanner, Straker and the motor car
- Brigands in the Spanish mountains
- Don Juan in Hell argues about life
- The Life Force and the coming Superman
- How Shaw builds a comedy of ideas
Who’s who
- John TannerA rich, talkative young revolutionary and author of a handbook, who believes in freedom and fears being caught in marriage.
- Ann WhitefieldA graceful young woman who seems obedient but quietly steers everyone, and who has a clear aim of her own.
- Octavius RobinsonCalled Tavy, a gentle, romantic young poet who adores Ann and cannot imagine she has any scheme.
- Roebuck RamsdenAn old Radical, proud of his advanced views, who is shocked when others take such views seriously.
- Violet RobinsonTavy's spirited sister, who keeps a secret about her private life and refuses to be lectured.
- Henry StrakerTanner's chauffeur, a sharp, modern, technically trained man who speaks plainly and sees more than his employer.
- Hector MaloneA young man of American background, devoted to Violet and anxious about how his rich father will react.
- MendozaThe theatrical leader of a band of brigands in the Spanish mountains, who once worked as a waiter in London.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Uomo e Superuomo: una commedia e una filosofia
by Bernard Shaw · 1903
John Tanner believes in freedom, but Ann Whitefield intends to marry him, and his flight starts a battle of ideas.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 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.
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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.
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).
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