Comment that Raina is the most charming of the heroines of Shaw.

How far do you consider Raina a Romantic heroine ?

Describe the change in Raina from Romantic to Realism.

Ans.

Raina Petkoff, the heroine of the play ‘Arms and the Man‘ is definitely an unusual Shavian female protagonist. She differs from others due to the fact that her entire character is built around two psychological forces: (1) romance incubating and romance inspiring, (2) romance breaking. When the play begins, we find that she is a beautiful young girl who has wrapped both war and love in romantic illusions. Her romantic sentimentalism gets broken, when an enemy officer, in headlong retreat with the defeated Serbs, rushes into her room from the outside balcony to take refuge. She had always thought of war as an exciting sport but this man makes her see it as a dreadful reality and this very man cures her of her second deception also. When the play ends “She no longer thinks of war as a romantic game, nor does she any longer think of marriage as the mating of a beautiful heroine and a handsome hero in a lifelong romantic dream.” (Ward) This curing of her romance disease, according to an eminent critic is a great psychological feat.”

(1) Her Appearance: Raina is described by her creator in the following words-she is “a young lady, intensely conscious of the romantic beauty of the night, and of the fact that her own youth and beauty are the part of it………” She is twenty three years of age but definitely looks younger because such a practical and shrewd man as Bluntschli mistakes her to be of about seventeen only. Her eyes are highly expressive and her walk stately and dignified. She is a rich, snobbishly decent, frank and outspoken girl dwelling in her own romantic world.

(2) Her Romantic Idealism: Raina is a typically romantic girl fed on the study of Byron and Puskin and visits to the opera at Veinna. She is a girl who, in the beginning of the play hears about her fiance’s victorious cavalry charge and rejoices because she can now believe that her betrothed is “just as splendid and noble as he looks! that the world is really a glorious world for women who can see its glory and men who act act its romance !” She behaves like a lovely heroine of some romance. Her romantic ideas find full expression from time to time in the play. In the beginning she says, “Our patriotism, our heroic ideals I sometimes used to doubt whether they were anything but dreams.” Now after receiving the news of Sergius bravery her doubts have been dispelled and she cries out “What happiness! What unspeakable fulfilment !” She adores Sergius’s portrait and goes to bed murmuring “My hero! My hero !” She gives shelter to the refugee enemy and feels that she is working in accordance with the romantic notion presented in the opera of Ernani. She loves to hear the chivalrous and thrilling tales of gallantry on the war field and feels annoyed when Bluntschli makes her see the grum reality of it.

Her concept of higher love is also suggestive of her romantic idealism. Her love is emotional, sentimental physical gratification does not enter into it. She says to Sergius, “You have never been absent from my thoughts for a moment.”

(3) Her Disillusionment: All these romantic notions about war and love cherished by Raina suffer a blow when she comes into contact with Bluntschli. She feels contemptuous when he tells her that instead of ammunition he carries chocolate in his cartridge cases and that food is more useful in battle than bullets. She feels shocked when at her request Bluntschli describes the great Bulgarian cavalry charge and says that this deed of Sergius was the most foolish of all the military campaigns and that Sergius must be court martialed for it. He informs her that the Bulgarians. won the battle only because the Serbs had no ammunition left and therefore could not repel the charge. She has been able to deceive her parents, her fiance and even her ownself but her Swiss visitor sees through the pretence and shatters all the illusions. Sergius relationship with Louka shatters her dreams of higher love and in the end instead of the ornamental and fickle, Sergius she accepts her Chocolate-Cream-Soldier’ the plain Bluntschli as her husband because his commonsense and six hotels in Switerzerland will give her stability and comfort.

(4) Love for Bluntschli : Despite the fact that Bluntschli brings Raina over to the realistic view of life, she gets disillusioned about Sergius and transfers her love to Bluntschli some traces of romanticism linger in her. The feelings that she has for the captain are definitely of a romantic nature. She calls him Chocolate Cream Soldier and he remains that for her throughout. In the end when she agrees to marry him it is not so much because he is ‘the Emperor of Switzerland’ as because he is her ‘Chocolate Cream-Soldier’. When asked about her opinion regarding her marriage with the Swiss she says “I am not here to be sold to the highest bidder”. Later she succumbs with a shy smile and replies “To my Chocolate Cream-Solider’.

(5) Her Maternal Instinct : Just like the other females, Raina is a mother at heart, full of pity and sympathy. When she sees Bluntschli, all covered in blood, mud and snow, terrified like a mouse, running for life, she naturally feels compassionate towards him and provides him with shelter, food (chocolate creams) and protection though this act of hers goes against all reason and rationality. She takes care of him as a mother looks after an infant.

(6) Shrewd, Wise, Alert and Tactful: Despite all her romantic notions and dreamy impracticality, Raina possesses an inborn alertness of mind and heart. With the help of these qualities she quickly adjusts herself to any situation or circumstances and succeeds in wriggling out of every trying predicament. It is only due to her presence of mind that she is able to screen Bluntschli behind the curtains. When Sergius narrates the story of a fugitive and the exposure of Bluntschli’s midnight adventure in her bedroom is round the corner, she attacks Sergius to defend herself. “Your life in the camp has made you coarse, Sergius. I did not think you would have repeated such a story before me.” Similarly when she sees Bluntschli for the first time after his return she impulsively cries out ‘Oh, the Chocolate Cream Soldier’. But before the secret is out she invents a clever explanation and talks about a chocolate cream pudding with a toy soldier. Once again, the exposure is delayed and the awkward situation avoided. Very dexterously she also succeed in taking out her photograph from her father’s pocket right under the nose of Sergius and others.

(7) Her Artificiality: The biggest fault in the personality of Raina is her artificiality. Bluntschli sees through it and exposes her. Despite continuously deceiving Sergius she has the audacity to say. “Can you not realize what it is to me to deceive him? I want to be quite perfect with Sergius, no meanness, no smallness, no deciet…….” She continuously indulges in falsehood but pretends to be highly truthful in front of the Swiss. She declares with prudery that she has uttered only two lies in her whole life.

(8) Tiger-Cat: Raina is really a ‘tiger-cat’ as Sergius calls her. She just behaves like one when consumed with anger and jealousy. Whatever may be the situation she just speaks out her heart and feels no hesitation even in chiding Sergius whom she, a little while back, regarded as her hero, her King and professed herself to be his worshipper-“Do you realize what he has done, Captain Bluntschli ? He has set this girl as a spy on us; and her reward is that he makes love to her…..” You hear this man calling me names, Captain Bluntschli.

(9) Weakness of Women: Raina seems to be guilty of almost all the major weakness traditionally associated with women folk. She is fickle, she is jealous, she is outspoken, she is inconstant. She speaks to Sergius with a biting sarcasm in her voice “Ah, Louka, my maid, my servant. You were with her all that time after-after……Oh, what sort of God is that I have been worshipping.” She feels jealous of Louka and when she imparts the information of her engagement to Nicola to Sergius. She does so with a real venom “A shocking sacrifice, isn’t it? Such beauty! Such intellect ! Such modesty! wasted on a middle aged servant man. Really, Sergius, You cannot stand by and allow such a thing. It would be unworthy of your chivalry.” With all the faults and shortcomings of females, one has to say, Raina possesses certain womanly virtues also like softness, tenderness. delicacy, sweetness, refinement etc, which readily endear her to everybody and make her stand in contrast to her mother and Louka. In these respects she comes out as definitely a superior lady.

(10) Symbol of the Life Force: Shaw’s concept of the working of the Life Force finds full expression through the personality of Raina too. She is a healthy young woman. Therefore she is urged by the Life Force to find a suitable mate for herself so that the procreation of a breed of potential superman becomes a possibility. It is the Life Force alone that makes her instinctively turn towards Bluntschli despite being betrothed to Sergius because the later would not prove to be a worthy mate for her. Bluntschli with his superior intelligence is more likely to carry life a step forward on the road to the evolution of the Shavian superman. The mating of this superior brain with the beauty intelligence, wisdom delicacy, refinement and sophistication of Raina will be a guarantee of the procreation of potential supermen. From the beginning to the end, Raina maintains her high position of the female protagonist. She also gets disillusioned like Sergius but instead of breaking down or becoming cynical like him she accepts the inevitable calmly and by such an attitude proves herself to be an even more deserving heroine. She comes out perfectly unscratched through the acid test of realism and gets united with Bluntschli forever who serves as both the law and the impulse to her.