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Character of Mosco
Introduction
Mosca is Volpone's parasite, a combination of his slave, his servant and his lackey. He isthe person who
continually executes Volpone's ideas and the one who comes up with thenecessary lie whenever needed.

2.Extreamly Vicious
In the play, Mosca is everything his name implies about his character. Like a fly which feeds on
rotting flesh, Mosco is not particularly concerned about who his victims are. He is as
comfortable hoaxing Corbaccio, Voltore and Corvino for his own gain, as his own master,
volponne.
In the play, mosca helps Volponne to trick the three legacy hunters. Each of the three are like
carrion birds, circling their victim Volponne, as he supposedly dies an early death. Anxious to be
bequeathed his fortune, all three eagerly enlist the helpof Mosca to secure their rights to it.
However, unknown to all three Mosca is playing them for fools. For example, Mosca tells
Voltore asks that Voltore is Volponne’s sole heir. When Voltore asks how he came to be chosen
Volpone’s heir, the wily Mosca answers that Volpone has always admired lawyers. In order to
make him sure, he even pretends to beg the unscrupulous Voltore to remember him when he
becomes rich in his upcoming future.
Another instance of Mosca’s immoral tendencies is when he plots with Corvino to force his
virtuous wife, the beauteous Celia, to sleep with Volponne.
“and, gentle sir, when you doe come to swim, in gold lard,
Up to the armes, in honny, that your chin
Is borne up stiffe, with fatnesse of the floud
Think on your vassel; but do remember me:
I ha’ not been your worst of clients.”

Moreover, because of Mosco, Corvino mercilessly threatens his wife, Celia, with the worst
punishments for not agreeing to sleep with Volpone. when the faithful Celia begs to be spared such a
disgrace, but her husband is resolute. He tells her that he will rip up her mouth to her ears, slit her
nose, and proclaim her a whore on the streets if she doesn't go through with the act. Mosca, the
parasite, looks on and benignly tells Celia to comply. His cool nonchalance is evidence that he is a
man who can rein in his emotions when he needs to.

3.Highly Imaginative
Mosca's actions are by no means "good", his cleverness in creating schemes that get him what he
wants demonstrates an intelligence and superiority over the other characters.
Mosca is able to craft the narrative to fit each situation neatly. He is able to juggle each story with
consummate skill and artistry. More than anything, his iron control over his emotions is key to
indulging his amoral tendencies.

Example,
When Corvino mercilessly threatens his wife, Celia, with the worst punishments for being less than
enthusiastic about sleeping with Volpone, Mosca doesn't bat an eye. He freely claims that Corvino is
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here to prostitute Celia, and he's perfectly fine with that. Here, Mosca is working both sides; while
claiming to work on behalf of his master, Volpone, he also humors the despicable Corvino. In front
of Volpone, Mosca claims that Corvino is offering his wife freely, unasked. That, of course, is a lie.
It is Mosca who has actually put Corvino up to offering his wife as a sacrifice of sorts.

4. Mosca's Avarice is Fueled by Self-interest.

He is a parasite (Mosca means "fly") who feeds off the other characters. While Volpone is focused
upon hedonistic pleasures for their own sake, Mosca is concerned about the final results of his
machinations. He always seeks to gain from every interaction. His position as a parasite is
precarious; so, in his mind, he must agitate for his own benefit because he is the only one who cares
about his future. However, Mosca's amoral tendencies as a master of deception results in his ruin. In
appropriating his master's property and wealth by using a supposedly legal will, Mosca inspires
Volpone's wrath. It is Volpone who eventually admits everything to the judges; finally. Mosca is
sentenced to be whipped and to spend the rest of his life in perpetual slavery.

All the wise world is little else, in nature,


But parasites, or sub-parasites.

5.Remained Hidden
Though initially (and for most of the play)h e b e h a v e s i n a s e r v i l e m a n n e r
t o w a r d s V o l p o n e , M o s c a c o n c e a l s a g r o w i n g independence he gains as a
result of the incredible resourcefulness he shows in aiding and a betting Volpone's confidence game.
Mosca's growing confidence, and awareness that the others in the play are just as much "parasites" as
he—in that they too would rather live off t h e w e a l t h o f o t h e r s t h a n d o h o n e s t w o r k —
e v e n t u a l l y b r i n g h i m i n t o c o n f l i c t w i t h Volpone, a conflict that destroys them both.

6. Static character

7.His Idea of World

In Mosca's soliloquy in Act III scene 1, where he praises the position of being a parasite, and also
argues that everyone is actually a parasite, to a lesser or a greater extent. Consider what he says about
the role of being a parasite:

All the wise world is little else, in nature,


But parasites, or sub-parasites.

Mosca's view of the world, with everyone feeding off others in some way of course is borne out by
the action in the play. All the characters are shown to attempt living off the riches of other characters,
avoiding hard work themselves. Clearly, the three death-bed suitors are perfect examples of people
"sucking" wealth from others, but let us also remeber that Volpone is only rich because of his ability
to extract wealth from others.

As Mosca show has been shown and discussed. it takes considerable intelligence and skill to be a
successful parasite. It is not about laziness. Parasitism is therefore depicted as a form of superiority,
as the successful parasite "feeds" off other characters through their abilities to manipulate and
deceive.

8.Representative of the Venitian society


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9.Highly over-confident

in the end he over reaches himself, not realizing that in the last resort Volponne, who is after all a
Magnifico of Venice, will not allow himself to be overcome by a parasite and allow him to take his
place. Over-confidence ruins Mosco, as it ruins Volponne, and together they recall Truewit’s
observation in the silent woman: “He thinks himself the master-wit is the master-fool.”

Introduction of Raina
Raina is the play’s protagonist, a 23-year-old Bulgarian woman who is betrothed to the “heroic”
Sergius, and who speaks in a dramatic, affected manner. Raina seems to be the only child of
Major Paul Petkoff and Catherine. Her family is the richest and best known family in Bulgaria
and that her father holds the highest position assigned to a Bulgarian in their national army.

2.Heroine of Romantic Tradition


In the very beginning of the drama Raina is presented just as any other heroine from the romantic
tradition. The dramatist describes her at length in the stage direction:
“On the balcony a young lady, intensively conscious of the romantic beauty of the night,
and of the fact that her own youth and beauty are part of it, is gazing at the snowy
Balkans ....”

Initially she has been shown as a stereotypical girl with a dreamy fanciful mind. Though there
were a battle going on.
“Raina (dreamily) The stars are so beautiful! What is the matter?”

The romantic ambience is suddenly enhanced with her mother’s breaking of the news that a great
battle at Slivnitza has been won by none other than Sergius, to whom she is betrothed. The
audience can understand that this is the same man in the large photograph. After the momentary
expressions of feminine joys are over, Raina confesses that she not only “doubted him”, but also
the romantic view of ‘patriotism’ and the “heroic ideals”. Now that she has found that she was a
“prosaic little coward”, she comes to the conclusion that “the world is really a glorious world for
women who can think see its glory and men who can act its romance”. After her mother and
Louka have gone, she indulges herself in adoring the hero and enjoying the “blessed reality”.

3.Crashing of Fantasies
In Act II, Raina tries to behave in usual accustomed manner with Sergius, whom she finds
somewhat changed. As she tries to maintain the usual air, she gets internally upset by the story
told by sergius of an enemy soldier’s escape with the help of two Bulgarian ladies. She feels
guilty inside her, which could be expressed by her words
“When I think of you, I feel that I would never do a base deed, or think an ignoble
thought.”

Again, since she has begun to suspect Sergius’s person, after a few moments she looks down
while going inside the house only to find his love to be offered to Louka so easily. As the entire
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project of fantasies gets crashed, she begins to express discontent and tensions. This is evident in
her comment upon their relationship to her mother:

“I always feel a longing to do or say something dreadful to him—to shock his propriety—to
scandalise the five sense out of him.”

4.Breaking the notion of typical Victorian Woman


In Act III Raina finds the opportunity to win Bluntschli. Far from being conscious of her real
intention he tries to play down her questions in usual smart manner of a man. After a while he is
forced to admit his being “infatuated admirer”.
“I want to be quite perfect with Sergius—no meanness, no smallness, no deceit. My relation
to him is the one really beautiful and noble part of my life.”
She does this intentionally to see whether Bluntschli can discover the person inside her. As soon
as he does so, she leads him to acknowledge: “I’m your infatuated admirer.”
5.Dynamic Character
From beginning to the end, Shaw presents the birth of the new woman in Raina who progresses
from false ideas and ethos of the romantic tradition to a new realization her place in society in
equal terms with men being fully conscious of her dignity. That is why she refuses to offer her
hand to the “highest bidder” and claims Bluntschli as the “chocolate cream soldier”. Finally, we
can say that ultimately her romanticism wins over material and social concerns of her mother,
but that part of her romanticism is not false in that it is humane and real.

6.Raina under her parent's influence


Her parents underscore "Raina's position" as a member of "the richest and most important
families in the country" and that she is "accustomed to a very comfortable establishment". Paul is
amazed when he returns from the war to hear from Raina that she has been cooking. The mantle
of furs that Raina has is "worth, on a moderate estimate, about three times of the furniture of her
room" which tells us that Raina is doted upon by her parents. Catherine in her interaction with
Raina still treats her as a child, in fact she even uses that word for her on one occasion -
wondering why Raina is not in bed; directing that she will not keep the windows open for fear
that she will fall of to sleep and leave them open ! Paul loves the way her daughter always
appears at the most appropriate moment and poses for them - like when Sergius arrives.
Catherine has chosen the man (Sergius Saranoff) Raina will get married to and she has been
betrothed to him even though she has doubts about him !

7.Peaceful and Kind Hearted


She has peaceful and kind nature. She is a compassionate person and is genuinely troubled with
the reports of suffering and slaughter which accompany war. The thought of war and disturbance
bothers her. When she hears about the war she feels really melancholic. Her grief is vividly
expressed in her words. She was not in favour of killing the people of enemies. She was against
all sort of bloodshed.
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“I wish our people were not so cruel. What glory is there killing wretched fugitives?”
Moreover she also helps the fugitive at first, just to save his life.
“She throws the shutters wide open and stands with her back to the curtain where the man
is hidden, pointing to the moonlight balcony.”
8.Initial relationship
Catherine has chosen Sergius as the future husband for her daughter because they both come
from the same class in society; Sergius is an "extremely handsome" man and he is an officer in
the Bulgarian army. Raina's imagination has been fired by the obviously exaggerated version of
events at Slivnitza as narrated to her by Catherine and Sergius immediately becomes Raina's
"soul's hero".
When she was told by her mother that sergius is the hero of the hour, the idol of regiment.
“I am so happy! So proud! (she rises and walks about excitetdly). It proves me all our
ideals are real after all”
When Sergius and Raina meet they use such words as "hero", "king", "queen" and "saint" to
describe each other.
9.Self Aware
She is also very self aware. Early in the play we are told that she is fully aware that "her own
youth and beauty are part of" the wonderful natural view she beholds. It is this self awareness
which is the root of her strength of character. Her ability to engage the world on her terms, all the
characters except Bluntschli and maybe Nicola believe that they are manipulating her.
10.Bold and Brave
She is bold and brave, standing up to the intruder even before she is told that that the gun he
holds to her has no bullets. She dares 'The Man' "You will shoot me. How do you know that I am
afraid to die?' She does not flinch as she stands guard in front of the curtain concealing 'The Man'
and a bullet shatters the window pane next to her. In Act 3 she boldly confronts Sergius with his
duplicity and unfaithfulness. Even when at the very end of the play when her father and mother
are more than willing to have her married to Bluntschli when they realise that he is so wealthy -
she days "I am not here to be sold to the highest bidder." She proves that she is truly the modern
woman who chooses to marry for the sake of love alone - not a love dripping with emotion, but
the a love grounded on a true knowledge of herself and her prospective husband.

11.Victim of hypocrisy
She is a victim of hypocrisy for she is kissing the picture of her Fiance while entertaining the
love of the Swiss in her heart and idealizing him as "chocolate cream soldier". She is happy to be
engaged to Sergius, a war hero in her imagination but she is cherishing the dreams of a romantic
relationship with the Swiss soldier. She places her photograph in the coat given to the Swiss
soldier with the words: "Raina, to her Chocolate Cream Soldier-a souvenir". Though she claims
her love and association with Sergius: "I want to be quite perfect with Sergius-no meanness,
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no smallness, no deceit. My relation to him is the one really beautiful and noble part of my
life."

12.Witty and Haughty


Raina appears rather haughty when she says that they have the only library in whole Bulgaria,
and they are frequent visitors to Venice. By this she wants to lay stress on him by her
sophistication and elegance. Initially, Raina holds Bluntschli in utter abhorrence .But, when
Bluntschli dishearts his feelings about warfare, and honestly confesses that he likes chocolates in
his pistol-case, her instincts then lay sedimented under romantic illusions.
Raina appears to be more romantic than usual, when she saves Bluntschli from the Russian
officer in a counterfeited action.
Raina is witty, lively and pleasant in her conversation. She has a quick-grasping intellect with a wonderful
presence of mind. Catherine reveals that she always listens outside doors, waiting for the most dramatic
moment to enter.

Petkoff: “pretty isn’t it? She always appears at the right moment.
Catherine (impatiently): “yes: she listens for it. It is an abominable habit.”

13.Raina’s ideas about soldier and the war:-


Raina was having the idea about war as like her father and Sergius before she did meet with
Bluntschli. She thought that soldier is a man who can combat fearlessly with the enemy for
saving his own country. She also got this oversimplifies idea from the books she used to read.
Raina , “Well, it came into my head just as he was holding me in his arms and looking into
my eyes, that perhaps we only had our heroic ideas because we are so fond of reading
Byron and Pushkin, and because we were so delighted with the opera that season at
Bucharest. Real life is so seldom like that—indeed never, as far as I knew it then.
(Remorsefully.) Only think, mother, I doubted him: I wondered whether all his heroic
qualities and his soldiership might not prove mere imagination when he went into a real
battle. I had an uneasy fear that he might cut a poor figure there beside all those clever
Russian officers. ” ( Act I)

Uneasy position
Raina’s was in an uneasy appearance regarding the issue of saving Bluntschil. Raina got furious after
Sergius did mock at her and did tease that she has saved an enemy soldier by keeping him in her
room. But Sergius didn’t know that the girl did talk was Raina. Raina also didn’t able to tell him that
she is the one who saved Bluntschli. In order to hide her uneasy appearance,she did mock at Sergius
that his live in the camp has made him harsh.
Raina was feeling angry when her mother also talked about the girl that saved an enemy soldier
during the war. After hearing that she was avoiding this topic because she doesn’t want her father
and her fiancé to know that she is the one who has saved that enemy soldier.
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“Then Sergius and Petkoff continue discussed about this topic. Unable to prevent her fear that
her father and fiancé will soon cover up that she is the girl talking about, she projects her
feeling to her mother by mocking her that she is ―little beast.”
Raina’s feelings of guilt about the lies she told for Bluntschil Raina felt herself as a guilty person when she
said lie to the officer that she did himhim in her room. She didn’t able to stay calm as she did lie twice during
her life and remarked that it is so hard for a girl to say some lies.

…………….…………………..……………………………………
Bluntschli asks Raina not to tell anything to sergius. Raina tells him that she will not lie and adds that in all
her life. she had lied only twice, and that too to save Bluntschli.

…………………..
A passionate, book-obsessed girl of seventeen, Lydia Languish is determined to defy both
convention and the wishes of her aunt and guardian Mrs. Malaprop in her choice of a husband.
She is a fabulously wealthy heiress, but will lose two-thirds of her fortune if she marries without
her aunt’s consent, as she intends to do. Captain Absolute then uses Lydia’s romanticism and
determination to have a romance fit for a novel to woo her under the false identity of Ensign
Beverley. Lydia is often scolded by her more reasonable cousin Julia for her capricious actions
and self-defeating intentions. For instance, when she finds out Beverley is actually Absolute, she
swears to break off their ties, although she still loves him.
Book lover
”Here, my dear Lucy, hide these books. Quick, quick!—Fling Peregrine Pickle under the toilet—
throw Roderick Random into the closet—put The Innocent Adultery into The Whole Duty of
Man—thrust Lord Aimworth under the sofa—cram Ovid behind the bolster—there—put The
Man of Feeling into your pocket—so, so—now lay Mrs. Chapone in sight, and leave Fordyce's
Sermons open on the table”
Represents the image of a stereotypical dreamer girl
Lydia Languish (Lucy Briggs-Owen), a dreamer, lives in a fantasy world of romance. Her ideas
of love are gleaned from sentimental C18th novels and this has fixated her on the idea of
marrying a poor man living in ‘blissful poverty’. Lydia is in love with a lowly ensign, Beverley.
If she marries without the permission of her aunt, Mrs Malaprop, she will lose two-thirds of her
fortune. In reality, Beverley is Captain Jack Absolute. He knows that if he tells Lydia the truth
about his own fortune, she will lose interest.
“Ah! my soul, what a life will we then live! Love shall be our idol and support! we will worship
him with a monastic strictness; abjuring all worldly toys, to centre every thought and action
there. Proud of calamity, we will enjoy the wreck of wealth; while the surrounding gloom of
adversity shall make the flame of our pure love show doubly bright.”.
idealistic girl
Lydia remains ridiculously idealistic throughout the play, from her initial sending of her serant
lucy out of romantic novels such as THE DATAL CONNEXION so that she can model her life
upon them, she refuses to marry within her social realm, preferring the penniless Ensign Beverly.
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In her illusory state, she even goes so far as to create conflicts so that they can be romantically
resolved as in her novels. She tells Julia that she was afraid that she and Beverly would never
have a lovers’ quarrel, so she has fabricated one:
“I wrote a letter to myself, to inform that Beverly was at that time paying his addresses to
another woman. I signed it your unknown, showed it to Beverly, charged him with his falsehood,
put myself in a violent passion, and vowed I’d never see him more”.
So idealistic that she learns the true identity of Beverly as the same man( jack Absolute) that her
Aunt and sir Anthony, his father desire her to marry, she still rejects jack even though she will
lose her inheritance. It is not until he informs her that he is in a duel, that she accepts him
because he can, then remain her romantic hero.
Rude and stubborn
Lydia is also stubborn and enduring, causing much tension between her and her guardian.
Though she is the heiress of a large sum of money, she seems all too willing to throw it all away
to pursue her love of adventure and romance. Mrs. Malaprop is Lydia’s aunt and legal owner of
her fortune until Lydia becomes of age. She is strictly opposed to Lydia’s frivolous behavior and
often scoffs at her desire for romance and love.
Not a money-oriented
She spurns Jack Absolute when she learns that he is not the penniless Ensign Beverley, but she is
greatly impressed when she learns that he is to fight a duel because of her, and he wins her hand.
Social satire ‘’arms and man”
Intro
Shaw was a professed social reformer and Satire was the weapon he used to convert the society
to his own point of view. In each successive play, he lashes at one social evil after another. In
'Arms and the Man' he had satirized The romantic ideals of life. More specially the romantic
view of war and soldiering and romantic love and social snobbery. In this play his main aim was
to bring a correct understanding of the true nature of love and war. He presents a contrast
between the pros and cons of the same idea. He says that when he wants to change a person from
his/her follies, first of all he wants to change the root for an idea, which a society had in
particular. Shaw had ruthlessly exposed the vanities and follies of man. However, the play is a
satire on the romantic notions of young peoples' idea of war and love. Often the dramatist laughs
with mild nature without any corrective intention, merely for the sake of the laugh.
Glorification of War
Arms and the Man is also a social satire because Shaw laughs at the romantic illusions of both
war and marriage life. The romantic view of war is that men fight because they are heroes. The
soldier who killed maximum number of men is treated as great hero.  The First Act of the play is
set in the bed-chamber of a beautiful young lady in Bulgaria. She  is the only daughter of Major
Petkoff and Catherine, who belong to the elite class. Her father and betrothed fiancee Sergius
have been fighting in the battle. Raina Petkoff, in the beginning of the play, wants to become the
wife of Major Sergius Saranoff.  News has come home to Raina and her mother  that Sergius has
ridden bravely at the head of a victorious cavalry charge and Raina is very happy because  she
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can now believe that her would be husband is glorious and noble as he looks. In the opening
scene of the play Raina goes to bed kissing Sergius’ portrait, murmering, ‘My hero! My hero!”
This is a romantic girl’s romantic view of life. But her dreamy world is destroyed and she is
brought down to reality by ‘the Man – Bluntschli – a professional Swiss soldier fighting for the
Serbs.
He tells her that every experienced soldier is afraid to die and they keep chocolate in their
pockets instead of cartridges because food is as important to a soldier as weapons. Professional
skill and intellience are as important as physical courage.
He also tells her that the great Bulgarian cavalry charge led by Sergius was the most foolish
thing in the world.  The man must be the very maddest. He and his regiment would have
committed suicide if the Serbs had ammunition. The wise thing in the battle is to avoid death and
killing and that is why professional soldiers like Bluntchli keeps chocolate creams in his rifle
instead of cartridges. Life is more precious than anything else in the world
Obsessed with marriages
Cure of deceptions
Bluntschli has cured her of the two deceptions which ruled her life when the play began. Her
illusions of a romantic view of war and marriage life. The characters Bluntschli, Raina, Sergius,
Louka, Catherine, Nicola and Major Petkof are the vehicles of Shaw’s ideas of life and war.
Shaw believes that the purpose of marriage is to give birth to new and better generation.  He also
believes that marriage is a sacred contract, not a foolish domestic excursion. Similarly war is
horror. If possible it must be avoided. Professional skill and intelligence are as important as
physical courage.

Obsessed with high social status


In any society people feel proud and rich because of money, gold etc,. In this play the idea of
richness has been depicted in a humorous way. Whereas nowadays nobody cares for riches by
having small, simple and lesser valuable things, prestige and social status has been ridiculed by
cutting them down from their normal level. Social snobbery too comes within the lash of Shaw.
The Petkoffs are proud of their social status, where we may not be proud of such things. Shaw
has satirized such false notions of superiority, and tried to curb them by laughing at them. Here
we can see the situations farcical and humorous. Humour grows 'satiric' when there is moral
indignation and a desire to reform
and correct.
Setting: Shaw laughs at the Bulgarian people's nature of richness. Laughing with others is
humour and laughing at them grows satirical. Here Petkoff also behaves like a hypocrite,
hypocrisy can be seen in the mentioning indirectly about having a library, which means prestige
for them. The setting of the play show the libarary in the house of Major Petkoff which sybolises
the aristocratic style. In this way aristocratic class shows themselves superior from the other
society.
Raina Petkoff:
Raina, the heroine of the play, is the only child of Major Petkoff and Catherine Petkoff. She is a
'romantic' and had romantic notions of love and war. She wants to get married and thinks that
marriage is the only fruitful thing a lady can do. She is a dreamer.
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Catherine Petkoff: Catherine Petkoff, Raina's mother, is a middle - aged affected woman, who
wished to pass off as a Viennese lady. She is 'imperiously energetic' and good looking. She is
very much obsessed with the social prestige.
Catherine: “Ah, but you did not tell them that we have an electric bell in it?
1 have had one put up”
This is humorous because Catherine feels having an electric bell is one of the status symbol for
her, where as the readers would understand her intention about false prestige.
At the end of the play when Captain Bluntschli is ready to marry Raina, Catherine objects for
the marriage as he doesn't have any higher position and riches to provide a comfortable life to
her daughter.
“the perkoffs and the saranoffs are known as the richestand most important families in the
country” so bluntchli doesn’t match with her status.
So in return, in order to prove that he is a rich man he reads out his letters, which shows that he
is a rich man with good property. In this process
Bluntschli's interaction about riches by comparing with tablespoons, forks, and tablecloths and
horses and their carriages is comic, where as Shaw ridicules the idea of richness where the
Bulgarians, especially in the characters of Shaw's composition is revealed. Thus the last part is
funny and ends up in a note of Sergius's comments,
which is satiric: 'What a man. What a man”.

Major Petkoff:
Major Petkoff has acquired his position in the army more because of his wealth than his ability.
In military strategy he takes help from Bluntschli, but believes that he himself has made all the
plans. However, he is a good father and husband.

“Petkoff: well, I'll tell you something Ive learnt too civilized people don't hang out their
washing to dry where visitors can see it; so you better have at that {indicating the clothes
on The bushes) put somewhere else.”
These dialogues are satirical on the backwardness of Bulgaria and such other countries.
Catherine tells the major that in his absence she has installed an electric bell in the house.
Catherine explains to him that the device is for calling servants. Such passages gave an offence
to the Bulgarians at that time. Here, Petkoff pretends to be civilized when he says about drying
the clothes, where as he doesn't know what an electric bell is, here simple things don't mean.
Shaw deflates their narrow mentality about manners.
Moreover When he enquires about the health of Catherine, she says that she is suffering from a
throat problem. Major Petkoff reminds her habit of taking bath every day is not good for health.
He says that it all came from the English mannerisms of taking bath every day, which became a
bad habit of Bulgarians. He gives an example of his father not taking bath for years, and he's the
healthiest man at Bulgaria, this looks ridiculous about the nature of Bulgarians backwardness.
Here Shaw has represented the Bulgarians as uncivilized and dirty. Here we can see Shaw
laughing and ridiculing at the customs and nature of the Bulgarian people.
Sergius:
Sergius is handsome, as a romantic hero ought to be, has a good position
in the army and is supposed to be brave. He supposedly in love with Raina, but
flirts with Louka. He doesn’t care about her class and promises to marry her.
“If I choose to love you, I dare marry you, in spite of all Bulgaria.”
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Captain Bluntschli:
Bluntschli is a Swiss professional soldier. He believes that it is better to be armed with
chocolates than with ammunitions on the battlefield. In contrast to Sergius he is of middling
stature and undistinguished appearance. He is energetic and carries himself like a soldier. He was
not obsessed with money though he belongs from a very rich background but still he doesn’t
show off. He even kisses the hand of a maid
Bluntschli: ...(To Louka) Gracious young lady, the best wished of a good Republican! (He
kisses her hand, to Rnina's great disgust, and returns tohis seat)

Louka:
Folly of Louka as a class as been shown, because of the demand of the society, the poor also
wanted to get rich by what ever the means. louka knows that Raina is going to marry Sergius,
still she flirts with Sergius and neglects Nicola. Whom, she promises to
marry but rejects just because he is a servant.
“Louka: I have right to call her Raina; she calls me Louka” she is ashamed of her class.
Louka rises from the level of maidservant to the aristocratic class by marrying Sergius and
behaves like a liberator by saying have a right to call her by name.

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