The Philanderer

Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 142K words
Chapters: 15

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Philanderer by Bernard ShawAuthor: Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Feb 1, 2004

Editor's review

The Philanderer is an early Shaw comedy on marriage and relations between the sexes, revolving around emotional choices, notions of respectability, and self-deception on both sides. Shaw's dialogue is witty, and the characters often reveal their true motives in debate; the humor comes from clashes of ideas rather than coincidences of plot. The play's value lies in testing abstract slogans such as "freedom in love" within concrete interpersonal situations, showing readers the gap between ideal declarations and actual behavior. It is moderate in length, suitable as an introductory text for understanding Shaw's dramatic technique and style of social criticism, and also suitable for classroom discussion of changing gender roles and the institution of marriage. When reading, pay attention to the layers of irony in the lines: what characters say does not necessarily represent the author's position, and behind the jokes there is often an inquiry into hypocrisy.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Shaw's plays and modern British comedy
Readers concerned with marriage, gender issues, and changing ideas of love and emotion
Drama students or readers who need English play scripts for practice
General readers who enjoy witty dialogue and idea-driven comedy

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting strong plot, fast-paced narrative, or suspenseful twists
Readers seeking a systematic theoretical framework for gender studies
Beginners who find English reading difficult and need line-by-line Chinese annotation

Reading tips

First read through the whole play to grasp character relationships, then revisit key debate scenes to identify the irony.
While reading, record each character's statements about marriage alongside their actual behavior, and compare the contradictions.
Try reading passages aloud by role to experience the comic effect of Shaw's lines in spoken rhythm.
After reading, write a short review in light of contemporary views on love and marriage, discussing which issues in the play still have real-world echoes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What themes does this play mainly discuss?

It mainly revolves around marriage choices, freedom in love, and notions of respectability; through the gap between characters' debates and actions, it reveals self-deception and social pressure in relations between the sexes. Shaw does not directly give moral conclusions but lets different positions collide in dialogue, leaving readers to judge for themselves.

Can I read this directly without having read other works by Shaw?

Yes. The play's plot is relatively independent and does not depend on prior knowledge of other works. One need only adapt to Shaw's method of advancing clashes of ideas through long dialogue and recognize that the irony in the lines often makes characters say more than they mean.

Is there a big difference between reading the script and watching a performance?

The difference is significant. The script preserves the complete lines and stage directions, making it convenient to read closely the characters' logic and layers of irony; a performance reinforces the comic effect through acting and pacing but may cut or alter lines. If possible, read the script first and then compare it with a performance or adaptation for a more rounded understanding.

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About the author

Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950 Author

Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was an Irish playwright and critic. Public information about the details of his life is limited, yet his works have had a profound influence. The collection here contains 53 of his works, covering drama, criticism, and discursive essays. His representative works include Pygmalion, Mrs. Warren's Profession, Man and Superman, Candida, Caesar and Cleopatra, Major Barbara, and Arms and the Man. His plays often use witty, sharp dialogue to explore such issues as social class, gender relations, moral hypocrisy, and idealism, combining comic tension with argumentative force to form a distinctive style of drama of ideas. Shaw was skilled at presenting conflicts of ideas through exchanges between characters, turning the stage into a place of public discussion and exerting an important influence on the development of modern English-language drama.