Major Barbara
1907
What happens when your father makes money from death, and wants to give it to your charity? This is the explosive premise at the heart of Shaw's most devilishly smart play. Barbara Undershaft is a Major in the Salvation Army, devoting her life to helping London's poor. She hasn't spoken to her father Andrew in years - he's an arms manufacturer, and she considers his wealth absolutely tainted. But when he reappears, wanting to donate a fortune to her shelter, Barbara faces an unbearable question: can money be dirty? Can goodness be bought? Shaw's characters clash over dinner tables and in Salvation Army halls, each making a devastating case. Undershaft argues that his weapons create jobs and feed families, while Barbara's charity merely treats poverty's symptoms. Is it nobler to give a hungry man soup, or to ask why he's hungry in the first place? The play refuses easy answers, leaving both Barbara and the audience genuinely torn. A century later, the questions sting even sharper. Major Barbara remains essential for anyone who thinks seriously about ethics, class, and whether purity is possible in an imperfect world.
