Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Major Barbara, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power, Anarchy, and Freedom
Critique of Capitalism
Moralism and Hypocrisy
Good vs. Evil
Punishment and Forgiveness
Summary
Analysis
A man and a woman sit outside a Salvation Army shelter eating bread and watered-down milk. The weather is cold and miserable, and the neighborhood is seedy and grimy. The man introduces himself as Snobby Price, a street-smart painter who often finds himself laid off first because of his tendency to try to work the system in his benefit. The woman is Rummy Mitchens. She pretends that she was caught in a life of sexual sin before the Salvationists found her, both because she relies on their charity and because she wants them to feel the gratification of doing a good job. Besides, she understands that the Salvation Army relies on dramatic conversion stories to drum up donations. Snobby knows this too, which is why he claims in his conversion story that he used to beat up his own mother.
Proving Barbara’s point that only God can truly distinguish good people from scoundrels, the play turns to two recipients of her—and the Salvation Army’s—charity. Both Snobby and Rummy work the system to their advantage—which doesn’t necessarily make them seem like true converts. More importantly, both see pretending to have been converted from their sinful ways as the ticket to receiving the material support they need to survive (food and shelter), suggesting that the Salvation Army essentially bribes the needy to convert. This, in turn, suggests that the Salvation Army is limited insofar as it upholds rather than fights against the status quo of the unjust and poverty-ridden society in which it exists.
Themes
As Snobby and Rummy look on, young Salvationist Jenny Hill escorts a starving, gray-haired Peter Shirley to the table. He resents having to rely on the Salvation Army’s charity, protesting that he worked hard all his life to earn his living. Having to accept help—people won’t hire him anymore, assuming he’s old because of his prematurely gray hair—hurts his pride. While he eats, a tough customer named Bill Walker arrives, looking for his “girl.” She fled his abuse and found shelter with the Salvation Army. Snobby, Rummy, and Jenny all mount resistance when he tries to force his way inside to look for her, and he assaults both Rummy and Jenny in the process. Shirley berates him for beating up women, saying that he doubts Bill could stand up to a real fighter like Todger Fairmile, the famous beer hall wrestler.
Peter Shirley is a victim of capitalism. His story demonstrates the degree to which he accepted society’s words about the dignity of hard work in place of the fair wages that might have prevented his current state of poverty. His wounded pride contrasts sharply with Snobby and Rummy, who willingly debase themselves to earn the Army’s charity. This confirms the growing sense that the Army extorts conversions by offering desperately needed resources. Then, when Bill Walker—a clear scoundrel—shows up, he seems poised to directly challenge the Army’s values.
Themes
Barbara emerges from the shelter, notebook in hand, and begins to take down Peter Shirley’s information. She’s not disturbed when he says he’s a secularist, so great is her confidence in God’s mercy and ability to convert souls. When she turns to Bill, he tries to intimidate her but fails. It’s a severe blow to him when Barbara explains, Mog Habbijam, the woman he came looking for has not only converted but found a new beau, Todger Fairmile. Bill declares his intent to find the couple and teach them a lesson, but his resolve fails as Shirley reminds him of Todger’s superior strength.
Barbara approaches Peter and Bill without a hint of coercion and without giving any sense that she’s made judgements about either. She thus embodies the belief she espoused that in the eyes of God all humans are equally sinful and in need of the same measures of mercy and salvation. Refusing to play the normal games of moral judgement gives her power over Bill, who cannot intimidate or disturb her, Mog, or Todger.
Themes
Jenny, with a bandage on her face where Bill hit her, emerges from the shelter. She is unafraid of him, and she says that she harbors no anger toward him but has instead forgiven him completely. Rummy, however, hasn’t; she gets close enough to Bill to tell him that she would file a criminal complaint against him if only Barbara would let her.
In offering Bill absolute and unlimited forgiveness, Jenny and Barbara follow the example of Jesus Christ. They thus illustrate what Shaw described in the preface as the revolutionary potential of Christianity. In contrast, as a representative of conventional society and morals, Rummy cares less about the state of Bill’s soul than she does about paying him back for hurting her.
Themes
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When Andrew Undershaft arrives to visit Barbara, she introduces him to Peter Shirley as a fellow secularist. Undershaft protests that he’s not a secularist; his religion is money. He’s as proud of his wealth as Shirley is of his poverty. Barbara sends Shirley inside, and under her father’s watchful and curious eye, she turns her attention toward Bill’s conversion. Bill’s conscience troubles him; without Jenny or Barbara exacting retribution for his assault, he doesn’t know how make himself feel better. Barbara gently coaxes him to turn to God for absolution. But when Cusins emerges from the shelter, tapping on his drum, he breaks her hypnotic hold over Bill. Shaking himself, Bill leaves the shelter to find Todger Fairmile.
It seems that the introduction of the two men will open a debate about either wealth or organized religion, but it doesn’t. At this moment, the play is more concerned with exploring the idea of guilt and forgiveness, so Barbara shoos Peter inside before he can distract her (or her father) from Bill’s conversion. The troubled state of Bill’s conscience proves that guilt can be a far greater motivator than fear. Without the exchange enacted by punishment (an eye for an eye, a blow for another blow, or even a fine), Bill can only feel better if he confesses his sins and chooses to live a better life. His reluctance shows how little he cares for this idea, but he doesn’t seem to have another choice, at least until Cusins gives him the opportunity to escape Barbara and pursue punishment elsewhere.
Themes
Cusins seems to agree with Bill that confronting Todger is a worthwhile idea. This annoys Barbara, at least until he steals a kiss from her. Cusins thus betrays the shallowness of his faith to Undershaft. As Barbara leaves on more Army business, Undershaft correctly posits that Cusins’ participation has more to do with her than his own salvation. Cusins explains that he can’t commit himself to a single faith because he finds something believable in all of them. Undershaft, in contrast, has unshakeable faith in his religion. It requires just two things: money and gunpowder. Everything else—“honor, justice, truth, love, mercy and so forth”—flows from the rich and safe life these two provide. Cusins points out that this won’t please Barbara, who is a true believer.
As he talks with Undershaft, Cusins explains one thread of the play’s antipathy toward organized religion: namely, that so many religions have good ideas that it’s hard to say that one is necessarily better than the others. Undershaft, in contrast, professes his faith in something that transcends time and society: power, since money and weapons are paths to power. Like the rest of society, he values things like honor, justice, and mercy. Anyone can see that these are in short supply, as readers have seen characters lie and cheat, have seen the selfishness of the wealthy and witnessed how capitalists use and abuse men like Peter Shirley. Instead of waiting around for the situation to improve, Undershaft claims that they’re available to anyone with the power to seize them.
Themes
But Undershaft is pleased that Barbara is a true believer; although they have different creeds, their unshakeable faith unites them against the common mass of humanity with its shallow and contingent faith. He tells Cusins that he intends to convert her to his religion of money and gunpowder and make her his heir. He has perfect faith in his ability to do so because he understands the symbiotic relationship between organizations like the Salvation Army and the wealthy who support them.
The fact that he and Barbara are linked by true conviction even though their beliefs are almost directly contradictory comforts Undershaft. It also contributes to the play’s attack on the shallow and hypocritical moralism of turn-of-the-century English society—and, by implication, of all societies that fail to live up to their professed values.
Themes
Barbara, Jenny, and Snobby Price return, elated, from a street meeting in which Price’s testimony earned nearly five shillings of donations from the crowd. Undershaft offers to make up the difference, but Barbara refuses, denouncing his wealth as blood money and declaring that he must earn his salvation by his faith and actions rather than buy it. Still, she worries over the Army’s insufficient reserves; without more donations, they may not be able to continue their vital work.
Earlier, Barbara refused to differentiate between good men and scoundrels. Here, readers see that she’s not yet fully consistent in her choice to leave judgement to a higher power, since she declares Undershaft’s money to be tainted. However, readers know that the money from her street meeting—which she thinks is clean—isn’t much better. Snobby admitted that he exaggerates his salvation story to get attention. This disconnect confirms Barbara’s intuition about the limitation of human judgement and suggests that she has some growing to do before she fully embodies her professed ideals.
Themes
A dejected Bill Walker returns from his visit to Mog and Todger. He spit in their eyes, and they just prayed for his soul. Now he wants to absolve his conscience of the attack on Jenny by making a donation from his savings. Neither she nor Barbara will accept the money, both saying he must earn his salvation through reform rather than buying it in this way. When Bill throws the money on the ground, Snobby sneakily pockets it for himself.
Like Jenny and Barbara, Mog and Todger practice a radical form of Christian forgiveness, leaving all judgement of Bill up to God. Barbara refuses to take Bill’s money not so much because it’s tainted as because he offers it for the wrong reasons. His increasing frustration demonstrates the efficacy of radical mercy as a means of character reform. Denied the chance to compensate his sins by paying them off or having others get even with him, Bill can only choose to walk away in his guilt or change his ways.
Themes
Mrs. Baines, a Salvation Army Commissioner, arrives. After Barbara introduces her to Undershaft, she shares the good news that Horace Bodger has offered the Salvation Army a large donation if they can find five other gentlemen to match it. Undershaft writes a check on the spot. Barbara objects in horror; she sees these donations as tainted because her father sells weapons and Bodger distills whiskey. Mrs. Baines points out that the source of the money matters less than the good that the Salvation Army can do with it. She invites Undershaft to accompany the Salvationists, who are on their way to their next meeting immediately, and Cusins fetches a trombone for Undershaft to play in the band.
Mrs. Baines has a utilitarian attitude toward money, treating it as the neutral force that it is. This confirms and extends Barbara’s idea that, because people are fallible, it’s dangerous for them to set themselves up as the ultimate arbiters of good and evil. In contrast to Barbara’s moral judgements about the sources of the Army’s cash, Mrs. Baines thinks how it’s used is more important than where it comes from. At least, this is the logic of the capitalist system that concentrates wealth and power in the hands of a few and then uses charitable organizations to absolve any sense of guilt over the inequality and resulting poverty and suffering.
Themes
Barbara, amidst a crisis of faith, refuses to go. She pins her Salvation Army badge to Undershaft’s collar before he, Cusins, Jenny, and Mrs. Baines march off. In their absence, Bill Walker taunts her; clearly, people can buy their salvation with money rather than character reform. When Rummy reveals that Snobby stole his pound—thus showing Barbara that his conversion, too, was insincere—Barbara offers to repay the money. But Bill haughtily assures her that he cannot be bought. He takes satisfaction from denying her the chance to see him saved. After he leaves, Barbara insists on treating Peter Shirley to tea if he’ll keep her company for a while. He agrees.
Just moments earlier, Bill tried to buy his salvation. Now he thinks that Bodger and Undershaft have bought theirs. This isn’t necessarily true—at least in his case, Undershaft has already shown himself to be unashamed of his business or his unusual beliefs. But Bill interprets the donations the way most people will: as a successful attempt to buy a clean conscience, something Barbara has just denied him. With her society wedded to a superficial observance of religion, even Barbara’s reform-minded Christianity remains vulnerable to abuse by the powerful and lack of belief among those cynical enough to recognize hypocrisy when they see it. Still, notably, despite his change of demeanor, there’s nothing to indicate that Bill feels better or less guilty about himself.
Themes
