Throw light on the character of Major Petkoff.

Ans.

Major Petkoff, the richest man in Bulgaria and the person occupying highest rank ever had by any native soldier is the father of the heroine Raina. He is described by Shaw as a cheerful, excitable insignificant, unpolished man of about 50, naturally unambitious except as to his income and his importance in local society but just now greatly pleased with the military rank which the war has thrust on him as a man of consequence in his town.

(1) Henpecked Husband: Mr. Petkoff is merely the ceremonial head of the family. He, in reality, is merely a puppet in the hands of his dominating wife Catherine. His wife, who is merely a house-wife scolds him rudely for making peace with the Serbians. And he merely tries his best to pacify and appease her.

Actually in all the matters. Major Petkoff seems to have no authority, no voice, no say. A little later when Bluntschli asks him to go and see that Major Saranoff goes to the door importantly but hesitates there and requests his wife, “By the bye, Catherine. You may as well come too. They will be far more frightened of you than of me.” To this request Catherine responds positively but with the words, “I daresay I had better” You would only splutter at them.” Seeing and hearing all this Bluntschli feels shocked and cries out “What an army! They make cannons out of cherry trees, and the officers send for their wives to keep discipline !”

(2) Unpolished: Major Petkoff is depicted by Shaw as a coarse, unsophisticated and vulgar man. He has wealth but seems to be heavily handicapped in the area of refinement. We feel really surprised when we see him cracking a joke with Louka which is definitely below his dignity. After all he is the master of the house and Louka merely a maid servant and that too almost of the age of his daughter. He tells Louka, “Well, the Serbs have not run away with you, have they?” He is definitely against the idea of having a wash daily. When his wife says that she has been suffering from her unusual sore throat he immediately says “That comes from washing your neck everyday. Look at my father! he never had a batch in his life, and he lived to be ninety-eight, the healthiest man in Bulgaria.” He very proudly says that he is ready to have good wash once a week and that too only to maintain his high position. He regards the habit of daily washing as something extremely ridiculous. When his wife tells him about the electric bell that she has got installed in the house he questions the utility of this instrument and feels that to call a servant shouting is what one needs. And when he calls Nicola he does it shouting loudly despite Catherine’s continuous reproachfulness. When Sergius feels apologetic for having narrated the story of two vulgar women in front of Raina Major Petkoff says “Stuff and nonsense, Sergius! That’s quite enough fuss about nothing; a soldiers daughter should be able to stand up without flinching to a little strong conversation.

(3) Ease-Loving: Actually it is his duty to dispatch the regiments to Philippopolis but he very conveniently hands the responsibility over to Bluntschli and gets comfortably established on the ottoman with a newspaper in his hand and the tube of his hookah within easy reach. He just keeps on disturbing Bluntschli and interfering in his work again and again by saying “Are you sure? I can’t help you in any way, Bluntschli ?” …”Now are you quite sure I can do nothing.” So much so that Catherine has to warn him in a low tone-“You can stop interrupting, Paul.” Petkoff does not feel insulted at all. agrees with his wife picks up his newspaper but soon lets it drop and says, “Ah, you haven’t been campaigning Catherine: you don’t know how pleasant it is for us to sit here, after a good lunch, with nothing to do but enjoy ourselves.” He just misses his coat, longs for it because he feels that with his old coat he will be absolutely at ease.

(4) Snob: Petkoff may be unrefined and lover of ease but he is self conceited and just like the other members of his family he has a sense of superiority over others due to his wealth and high social standing in the Bulgarian society. According to his own testimony he constantly tried to impress the Russian officer of his army by telling them about the fact that there is a library in his house. He tells his wife that really refined people don’t spread their washing to dry where their visitors can see it.

(5) His Mercurial Temperament: Petkoff is a person who is not able to control his anger and loses control over his temperament easily. In a fit of fury he finds himself unable to control his tongue and shouts at his servants in a very insulting manner. When Raina tells him that Nicola has spoiled his ornamental pastry, he calls Nicola names “Be gone, you butter fingered donkey….. Scoundrel! I’ll clear out the whole establishment…” But his anger subsides as quickly as it rises. As soon as his wife and daughter intervene, he gets fully pacified and starts behaving normally.

(6) A Comic Figure: The main function of Major Petkoff’s character in the play is to provide light humour and fun. One feels like smiling when one sees him boasting about his library getting ruled over by his wife and daughter feeling averse to bathing exclaiming to Bluntschli with childish. awe “Are you Emperor of Switzerland” etc. Some of the Shavian analysts consider him to be the most inartistic character. He is there but not to serve any particular purpose, they say. so Shaw has failed to make him a man of flesh and blood and he remains only a marionette. This criticism, however. seems to be unfair and unjust. The moments of laughter and smile provided by him have added a great deal to the popularity of the play under consideration.