Major Barbara Undershaft: Journey from an Ideal

to a Real Major Barbara

Introduction:
George Bernard Shaw had shown the powerful role of woman in his play MAJOR BARBARA. The
central character of the play is Major Barbara Undershaft and she is the character which helps
Shaw to show the ultimate picture of modern society and its evilness. Individuals in the
modernistic society are very complacent, if they work for the well-being of the poor people
whole heatedly, as Barbara was working in Salvationist Army to help poor and it was providing
them with food, shelter and cloth. To remain honest with her sacred job, she was doing every
possible thing to lift the sufferings of humanity and for her “Religion” was the only important
and ultimate source that was healing the humanity by converting them but Shaw has revealed,
by his mouthpiece Andrew Undershaft ,that “To help poor by providing them with food and
making them inactive and lethargic by associating their believes with religion is the greatest
sin of all the sins as it makes them complacent of the poor condition in which they are living
and it don’t motivate them to stand for themselves and as a result ,in the race of competitive
real life scenario they will not be able to survive , so the best way to help poor and making
them believe in the existence of God is to make them rich and by giving them a good status
and by fulfilling their all basic needs , they won’t be greedy for food , and then their
conversion will be a real conversion.” All these revolutionary ideas are revealed by the actions
and events, which occur in Major Barbara’ life.

Time line of Major Barbara:

Phase 1. (THE MAJOR Barbara)

1. Jolly and lively:

Barbara is a jolly girl, she is authoritative and very proud of her job. Here we can see the contrastive
change of her personality with her sister as well

Barbara v/s Sarah:

Barbara is altogether different from her sister Sara as the depiction of both characters can be seen from
their very first appearance. Sarah is the foil character of Barbara. The disposition of Sarah is altogether
different from that of Barbara. We are getting a much clearer view of Barbara’ personality with her
comparison to Sarah:

“Sarah is slender, bored, and mundane. Barbara is robuster, jollier, and much more energetic. Sarah is
fashionably dressed: Barbara is in Salvation Army uniform”.

“Barbara sits at the writing table and Sarah on the settee”

 2. Innocence and Enthusiasm:
When we first meet her, Barbara is super confident that her work with the Salvation Army can
really do some good among the poor sinners of the world. In that way, she seems super
idealistic…however, we're not sure she thinks of herself that way. Rather, she seems to see
herself as a realist as far as human nature goes.
When her dad asks her if there's such a thing as a good man, for example, she replies:
“No. Not one. There are neither good men nor scoundrels: there are just children of one Father;
and the sooner they stop calling one another name the better.”

3. Honest with her work:

She is very passionate and honest with her job and she whole heartedly tries to deal with the
poor suffered people in a very complacent way and tries to tackle the severe cases very
appropriately. She isn't easily discouraged when others disagree with or outright contradict her.

For example, when a jerk wad named Bill is giving her a hard time at the Army, she refuses to
let him get a rise out of her. When he is blustering on about not being afraid of Barbara after
assaulting one of the other Army employees, she is smooth and cool as a hockey rink:
“How could you be, since you're not afraid of God? You're a brave man, Mr. Walker. It takes
some pluck to do our work here; but none of us dare lift our hand against a girl like that, for fear
of her father in heaven.”

4. Idealistic:
She is a very idealistic person as she believes that by the power of religion and her preaching
she can convert those too that don’t want to get converted. Like in the case of Bill Walker, as
she says:

“That's right, Bill. Hold out against it. Put out your strength. Don't let's get you cheap. Todger
Fairmile said he wrestled for three nights against his salvation harder than he ever wrestled
with the Jap at the music hall. But he didn't give in to his salvation until his heart was going to
break. Perhaps you'll escape that. You haven't any heart, have you? “

It can also be seen in the case when she encounter with Andrew Undershaft who is her father.

“Undershaft: If I go to see you tomorrow in your Salvation Shelter, will you come the day after to
see me in my canon works?

Barbara: Take care. It may end in your giving up the canons for the sake of the Salvation Army.

Undershaft: Are you sure it will not end in your giving up the Salvation Army for the sake of the
canons?
Barbara: I will take my chance of that.

Undershaft: And I will take my chance of the other.”

5. Sharing dominancy with her mother:

Barbara in her initial phase is sharing the characteristic of being dominated with her mother,
Lady Britomart. It can be seen when Lady is totally controlling her son. (Stephen, brother to Major
Barbara)

“Stephen: it is very good of you, mother; but perhaps I had better arrange that for myself.

Lady Britomart: Nonsense! You are much too young to being matchmaking: you would be taken
in by some pretty nobody.”

Barbara has the similar attitude of dominancy for others like the way she manipulates her
sister’s fiancé, Charles Lomax, which she names him Cholly, that doesn’t work for Salvation
Army but she is completely “Made him”. It can be seen in her dialogue:

“No, he (Charles Lomax) says it’s bad form to be a dissenter. But I don’t despair of Cholly. I made
him come yesterday to a meeting at the dock, gates, and take the collection in his hat”.

To Undershaft, when he offers money to Salvation Army, Barbara says:

“Two million million would not be enough. There is a bad blood I your hands; and nothing but
good blood can cleanse them.”

Phase 2. (The CONFRONTING Barbara)

As the drama proceeds Barbara encounters the harsh truth of her life and this reality has
shattered her altogether , now our Major is in a Confronting state with the society, corrupted
institution and with herself and with her believes too.

1. Fatal discovery about corrupted Religious institution:

Barbara was very proud of her Religious duties and job in Salvation Army and considered
everyone that was working there as honest and pure as she was and says to her father in Act 2:

“By the way dad, Mrs. Baines (the member of Salvation Army) also came to march with us to our
big meeting this afternoon; and she is very anxious to meet you, for some reason or other.
Perhaps she’ll convert you.”

And when Barbara and Undershaft meet Mrs. Baines, Barbara was in shock at her statement.
“Mrs. Baines to Barbara: I hope we shall have enough to keep all the shelters open. Lord
Saxmundahm has promised us five thousand pounds—… (To Undershaft) Heaven grant him
may! Oh Mr. Undershaft, you have some very rich friends. Can’t you help us towards th e other
five thousand? ... You will let me have the cheque to shew at the meeting, won’t you?”

Barbara: stop. (Undershaft stops writing: they all turn to her in surprize).Mrs. Baines: are you
really going to take his money?

Mrs. Baines: why not, dear?

Barbara: why not! … (She removes her badges off and all leaves for meeting)

2. Self-assessment of her own:

After seeing that face of religion she gets another realization when Undershaft wakes her up
and she shatters the utopian veil from her eyes:

“Undershaft: I fed you and clothed you and housed you…. I enabled Barbara to become Major
Barbara; and I saved your soul from the crime of poverty”.

Now she gets the idea that by contenting on your poverty, one can’t grow, I was the one with
good status and due to this reason people was paying attention to me, and i was thinking to
convert people by bread and soup? It couldn’t possible, it’s altogether a mock and deception,
by giving them fairly good conditions we can convert them in a better way.

3. Undershaft as her guide:

Andrew undershaft Is a true father and he wants Barbara to face the reality because he has seen the
devotion and love that she has for Salvation Army, he consider her as his own part and wants her to be
successful in her life as well:

“Undershaft to Cusins: We know better than that. We are above them. And to help them in life
we three must stand together, above the common people; otherwise we will fail them also”

Phase 3 (The CONVERTED Barbara )

After the realization of the fact she did not remain same in her attitude towards her father and
towards her own life and principles. As she describes it to Adolphus Cusins (her fiancé and next
heir to Undershaft cannons business.)

“I was happy in the Salvation Army for a moment. I escaped from the world into a paradise of
enthusiasm and prayer and soul saving; but the moment our money ran short, it all came back
to Bodger: it was he who saved our people: he, and the Prince of Darkness, my papa”.

She further says:

“Oh, did you think my courage would never come back? Did you believe that i was a deserter?
That I, who have stood in streets, and taken my people to heart, and talked to the of the holiest
and greatest things with them, could ever turn back and chatter foolishly to fashionably people
about nothing in a drawing room? Never, never, Major Barbara will die with colors!”

Conclusion:
The play ends with Barbara having regained her confidence. She accepts her father’s challenge to save
the souls of his wealthy workers, whose souls are hungry because their bodies are full. She has realized
that “evil cannot be cured by turning our back upon any side of life”.

She declared that “There is no wicked side: life is all one”.