Comment on Shaw’s Art of Characterization in You Never Can Tell. 

Answer

Comment on Shaw’s art of characterization in You Never Can Tell. 

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) is one of the chief exposers or exponents of the mind of man in English literature. He has cared little for describing the physical appearances of the characters. In his play “You Never Can Tell” (1898), he sketches the appearance of human beings’ souls. Through the characters, he satirizes Victorian modern feminists, marital life, and society.

The Psychological Study of Shaw’s Characters: Before starting an ongoing discourse on the psychological study of Shaw’s characters, one must know the source of Shaw’s characters and his chief interest.

The Vast Variety of Characters: Shaw’s characters belong to different classes and ages. He picks up his characters from waiter to barrister. From his characters, we get a vivid insight into the cold, arrogant, possessive, and callous minds of upper-class dudes. Walter Boon and Walter Bohun are specimens of such characters.

Byronic Hero: In his play, Shaw displays a Byronic hero through the character of Valentine. The Byronic Hero is a special type of hero, created by the English Romantic poet Lord Byron, whose character depends on faults. A Byronic Hero has some features, such as being tall and handsome, educated, adventurous, and a womanizer. These features are represented in the character of Valentine. He proposes to many women before seeing Gloria. Mrs. Clandon tries to dissuade Gloria from falling in love with Valentine.

How many times he has laid the trap in which he has caught you; how often he has baited it with the same speeches; how much practice it has taken to make him perfect in his chosen part in life as the Duelist of Sex.

Humorous Character: Shaw creates a humorous character in his play through the character of Walter Boon, who is the wise fool in this play. Professionally, he is the waiter at the Marine Hotel and is probably the most level, rational, and understanding of the entire play. Shaw expresses Walter Boon as a philosopher. Walter Boon delivers the message of the play. He tells Mr. Crampton about the mystery of life.

It’s the unexpected that always happens, isn’t it? You never can tell, sir: you never can tell.

Adventurous: The adventurous mentality is one of the features of Byronic Hero. Shaw reveals this feature in the character of Valentine. He is a struggling dentist who was set up recently in the seaside town after failing as a respectable medical practitioner in various parts of England. But he is a man of conscience. So he tells the patients the brute truth about them instead of what they want to be told. In this respect, he is an image of his creator, Shaw, and as he says, 

This outspokenness of nature spelled his ruin in the past.

Stereotypical Feminist: Shaw satirizes the stereotypical feminist in the play. Mrs. Clandon is a feminist who wants freedom and privacy from her husband. Mrs. Clandon separated herself and her children from her husband, Mr. Crampton, whom she considers a domestic tyrant. That is why she changed her family title and taught her children her ideas and morality. She teaches her children about her morality and ideas. But she fails because her daughter, Gloria, disobeys her ideals and falls in love with Valentine.

The Presence of All Professions: Shaw presents many professions in the play. At the beginning of the play, we notice that Valentine is a dentist. Walter Boon is a professional waiter at the Marine Hotel, but his son, Walter Bohun, is a barrister. Thus, Shaw represents professions. In the drama, Bohun reveals an important message for contemporary society. He says: 

It’s unwise to be born; it’s unwise to be married; it’s unwise to live; and it’s unwise to die.

Other

• Mingled Characters
• Reserved mind
• Abnormal mentality
• Sympathy etc.

In conclusion, Shaw’s character analysis can be compared to Shakespeare’s, who belongs to all ages of English literature. Shaw, like Shakespeare, has been able to visualize a clear picture of human beings before us.