NON-AFRICAN DRAMA
BERNARD SHAW: Arms and the Man
How is Catherine revealed as an accomplished liar in the garden scene?
Explanation
There is a lot of lying and insincerity in the play as a whole. On various occasions, the characters evade the truth and put on dubious appearances. Catherine leads the way in this evasion of the truth. Having enjoyed the hospitality of Catherine and her daughter, Captain Bluntschli returns to restore the coast he has borrowed and to thank the women for coming to his rescue. He arrives at a bad time because Petkoff and Segius are in the house. Catherine is unable and unwilling to let the others in on her secret. She covers up through telling obvious lies. She insists on taking Sergius’ place in solving the problem of sending the three regiments to Philoppopolis so that Sergius and Raina may be alone. She is particularly afraid for the relationship between Sergius and Raina should the truth become known. Already Catherine has managed to tell a lie regarding the whereabouts of her husband’s coat. When Louka announces a Swiss officer, Catherine knows who it is at once. She is determined that her husband should not know about the presence of the newcomer. When it becomes clear that Petkoff has actually seen the man already, Catherine declares that she has been trying to persuade the Captain to stay for lunch but he’d rather leave.
This is a lie. It is a hint to the man to leave the family alone. When Raina enters and blurts out her familiarity with the man, the game is nearly given away. She recovers quickly and tells a tale to cover up her recognition of Captain Bluntschli. Catherine backs her daughter’s lie for obvious reasons: their acquaintance with the Swiss officer must not be known. Then Nicola arrives with the man’s bag as Catherine has instructed. She denies knowledge of what Nicola is talking about. Nicola takes a chiding from Petkoff and is threatened with dismissal. Catherine dare not own up the truth. Having told one lie, she must back it up with others.