What Is The Ending Of Shaws Play Candida?
This seldom performed play is based on the old story of the eternal triangle. In this case it involves one woman and two men – Candida’s husband, successful and popular clergyman James, and the poor and disadvantaged poet, Eugene. Candida, a strong-minded and practical woman, is adored by both men; Eugene, however, loves her more unselfishly than the egotistical James, who he believes takes advantage of her generous nature. The twist in the tale comes when Candida is asked to choose between the two and says “I give myself to the weaker of the two.” On the face of it this should mean Eugene, but Candida then reveals that her “blind devotion” to her husband is really an almost maternal love, based on understanding of his essentially weak character. She has worked to hide his weakness from the world and from himself; he needs her, and although she might wish to go away with Eugene, she won’t. The ending is typical of Shaw’s view of human nature and his belief that the weak and the strong
