Candida

About

Shaw's 1894 'mystery play' — as he called it — stages an apparent love triangle between Candida, her clergyman husband Morell, and the young poet Marchbanks, only to resolve it in a way that subverts every expectation: Candida's 'choice' makes the audience reconsider who is strong and who is weak, who needs protecting and who does the protecting. It was one of Shaw's personal favorites among his plays and the role of Candida one of the most beloved female parts of the Edwardian stage. The play works partly as a critique of romantic idealization and partly as a portrait of a woman who understands her situation more clearly than any man around her.