Raina Petkoff, daughter of a Bulgarian major, is betrothed to Sergius Saranoff, a rising star in the Bulgarian army and Shaw's representation of the overly-Byronic hero. Shaw wrote the play without reference to any specific conflict in fact, he did not even give his characters names, but filled in the blanks in the text after consulting one of his friends on recent historical conflicts. Whereas Goldsmith still buys into the dominant social discourse of his times, Shaw lacerates the war-mongering ethos of his 1890's audience while retaining great dramatic and humorous momentum.The play is set during the Serbo-Bulgarian war of the 1880's, but this does not matter much to the plot. It is one of two plays I am tutoring undergraduates on this year, the other being Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer, both of which are very funny, but I think Shaw takes the cake for thoughtful social commentary. This is the only play I have read or seen by Shaw, but I must admit to enjoying it immensely.
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