![Book Cover of Major Barbara](/image/book/major-barbara.webp)
Major Barbara
'Major Barbara ' Summary
Lady Britomart Undershaft, the daughter of a British earl, and her son Stephen discuss a source of income for her grown daughters Sarah, who is engaged to Charles Lomax (a slightly comic figure who continually stupidly says "Oh, I say!"), and Barbara, who is engaged to Adolphus Cusins (a scholar of Greek literature). Lady Britomart leads Stephen to accept her decision that they must ask her estranged husband, Andrew Undershaft, for financial help. Mr. Undershaft is a successful and wealthy businessman who has made millions of pounds from his munitions factory, which manufactures the world-famous Undershaft guns, cannons, torpedoes, submarines and aerial battleships.
When their children were still small, the Undershafts separated; now grown, the children have not seen their father since, and Lady Britomart has raised them by herself. During their reunion, Undershaft learns that Barbara is a major in The Salvation Army who works at their shelter in West Ham, east London. Barbara and Mr. Undershaft agree that he will visit Barbara's Army shelter, if she will then visit his munitions factory.
A subplot involves the down-and-out and fractious visitors to the shelter, including a layabout painter and con artist (Snobby Price), a poor housewife feigning to be a fallen woman (Rummy Mitchens), an older laborer fired for his age (Peter Shirley), and a pugnacious bully (Bill Walker) who threatens the inhabitants and staff over his runaway partner, striking a frightened care worker (Jenny Hill).
When he visits the shelter, Mr. Undershaft is impressed with Barbara's handling of these various troublesome people who seek social services from the Salvation Army: she treats them with patience, firmness, and sincerity. Undershaft and Cusins discuss the question of Barbara's commitment to The Salvation Army, and Undershaft decides he must overcome Barbara's moral horror of his occupation. He declares that he will therefore "buy" (off) the Salvation Army. He makes a sizeable donation, matching another donation from a whisky distiller. Barbara wants the Salvation Army to refuse the money because it comes from the armaments and alcohol industries, but her supervising officer eagerly accepts it. Barbara sadly leaves the shelter in disillusionment, while Cusins views Undershaft's actions both with disgust and sarcastic pleasure.
According to tradition, the heir to the Undershaft fortune must be an orphan who can be groomed to run the factory. Lady Britomart tries to convince Undershaft to bequeath the business to his son Stephen, but neither man consents. Undershaft says that the best way to keep the factory in the family is to find a foundling and marry him to Barbara. Later, Barbara and the rest of her family accompany her father to his munitions factory. They are all impressed by its size and organisation. Cusins declares that he is a foundling, and is thus eligible to inherit the business. Undershaft eventually overcomes Cusins' moral scruples about the nature of the business, arguing that paying his employees provides a much higher service to them than Barbara's Army service, which only prolongs their poverty; as an example, the firm has hired Peter. Cusins' gradual acceptance of Undershaft's logic makes Barbara more content to marry him, not less, because bringing a message of salvation to the factory workers, rather than to London slum-dwellers, will bring her more fulfilment.
Book Details
Author
![George Bernard Shaw image](/thumbs/image/author/george-bernard-shaw.webp)
George Bernard Shaw
Ireland & England
Born in Dublin, Shaw moved to London in 1876, where he struggled to establish himself as a writer and novelist, and embarked on a rigorous process of self-education. By the mid-1880s he had become a r...
More on George Bernard ShawDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
![The Thirteenth Chair Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-thirteenth-chair.webp)
The Thirteenth Chair by Bayard Veiller
Step into the opulent drawing room of a wealthy New York residence, where an air of suspense hangs heavy. As the Crosby family prepares to announce th...
![Modern Monologues Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/modern-monologues.webp)
Modern Monologues by Marjorie Benton Cooke
Modern Monologues is a collection of 12 monologues by Marjorie Benton Cooke, a renowned monologist, playwright, and novelist. The monologues in this c...
![The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-notorious-mrs-ebbsmith.webp)
The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith by Arthur Wing Pinero
What happens when a notorious woman falls in love with a rising politician? The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith by Arthur Wing Pinero is a Victorian melodram...
![One Day More Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/one-day-more.webp)
One Day More by Joseph Conrad
A one-act play. Eccentric (crazy?) Captain Hagberd has been waiting for years for his son to come home from the sea. He has scrimped and saved, outfit...
![Das rote Zimmer Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/das-rote-zimmer.webp)
Das rote Zimmer by August Strindberg
Es ist ein packender Roman, der sich perfekt für eignet. Geschrieben von dem renommierten Autor August Strindberg, entführt dieses Buch junge Leser in...
![Katherine and Petruchio Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/katherine-and-petruchio.webp)
Katherine and Petruchio by David Garrick
In David Garrick's witty and satirical adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Katherine Minola is a strong-willed and independent woman...
![The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-widowing-of-mrs-holroyd.webp)
The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd by D. H. Lawrence
The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd is a play by the English writer D. H. Lawrence. It was written in 1911 and the revised version was published in 1914 by D...
![The London Prodigal Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-london-prodigal.webp)
The London Prodigal by William Shakespeare
It is the story of a young man named Frank Wellborn, who leaves his home in the country to seek his fortune in the city. The play explores themes of...
![The Beggar's Opera Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-beggars-opera.webp)
The Beggar's Opera by John Gay
In the gritty underbelly of 18th century London, where vice and virtue clash in a symphony of deception, a notorious highwayman named Macheath dances...
![Alice Sit-by-the-Fire Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/alice-sit-by-the-fire.webp)
Alice Sit-by-the-Fire by J. M. Barrie
The play tells the story of a wealthy family whose members have grown distant from one another. When the family's matriarch, Alice, returns home from...
Reviews for Major Barbara
No reviews posted or approved, yet...