Love and war are two concerns which are often regarded as societal ideals.

George Bernard
Shaw’s Arms and the Man is a pleasant and humorous attack on both. These romantic ideals
make up the essence of the play’s satirical instances and develop the theme of realism. Shaw
satirizes romanticism within Arms and the Man by contrasting romantic idealism and realism.

Throughout the play an underlying conflict is seen between romanticism and realism within
the characters. The two men that come into Raina’s life are representations of this conflict.
Sergius depicts the passionate, impulsive, romantic war hero, while Bluntschli characterizes
the practical, strong-minded professional soldier. Shaw’s portrayal of his characters is a very
important aspect of his writing. Change is seen in Arms and the Man with practically every
character. The only static character is Bluntschli as he represents what the rest of the
characters will attain by the end of the play: realism.

Several instances in the play establish the character’s ideals. One example exists in the first
act as Raina confesses to her mother while talking about her affiliations toward Sergius is
because of they both are “so fond of reading Byron and Pushkin” and that they both are “so
delighted with the opera that season at Bucharest”. Raina’s romantic notions are based on the
similarity of what they like to read which is more like a “seventeen years school girl”
Likewise, at the end of the play as Sergius and Raina’s love is faltering we see Sergius’ lack
of comprehending a life without romanticism in his confession to Raina (Gibbs 76), “Raina:
our romance is shattered. Life’s a farce” (Shaw 67).

Sergius represents the romantic ideal that the society of the time agreed with. He is an officer
in the Bulgarian army and on the victorious side of the war

Raina is the play’s most obvious romantic. Her relationship with Sergius (whom the stage
directions call a “Byronic hero” after the Romantic poet Lord Byron) embodies almost all of
the romantic ideals: they are both beautiful, refined, and appear to be infatuated with each
other. However this romantic, idealistic vision of love does not stand up when reality sets in.
The “genteel” Sergius lusts animalistically—even, sometimes, violently—after the
servant Louka and Raina is in love with the anti-romantic Bluntschli. Their ideal romantic
love is all an act. In reality, love is much more multifaceted, and complicated, than Raina and
Sergius make it seem.

Raina and Sergius’s flawed romanticism also shows through in their conception of war. Raina
waxes poetic about how Sergius is an ideal soldier: brave, virile, ruthless but fair. It turns out
Sergius’s cavalry charge was ill-advised, and the charge only succeeded because the
opposing side didn’t have the correct ammunition. Sergius is not the perfect soldier—he is a
farce. And the real soldier, Bluntschli, runs away from battle and carries sweets instead of a
gun. He also speaks honestly about the brutality and violence of war—which involves more
drunkenness and abuse than it does heroics and gallantry.