The Influence of the Social and Political Backgrounds on Shaw’s Attitude towards Women in General and Candida in Particular

As a writer who was first an active member of socialism, George Bernard Shaw could not help reflecting upon his political and social ideas in his plays. As a matter of fact, he believed in art as an effective tool to reach his goals. These goals have also been followed in Candida as one of the most distinguished plays ever written by Shaw. In this play, Shaw has been obsessed with the necessity of equality between men and women. This paper is set to take a feminist stylistic approach towards reading this play. To do so, the main focus will be on the issue of transitivity. It will be concluded that Candida who was first dependent turns out to be an independent woman during the final scenes. Her passive and active involvements in the play can be better understood through a transitivity analysis of some excerpts belonging to the first and last acts

The Influence of the Social and Political Backgrounds on Shaw’s Attitude towards Women in General and Candida in Particular Keywords:

Candida , Feminist Stylistics , George Bernard Shaw , Transitivity