Heartbreak House

Heartbreak House is a farce of a play that the reader can readily visualize all the comings and goings of the characters, the exaggerations, and a general nuttiness that’s silly and fun. However, it is in fact an allegory that examines the ignorance, indifference, and self-indulgence of the wealthy, at the eve of World War I. Though written from 1913 to 1916, its publication was pushed out to 1919, after the end of WWI in Nov of 1918.

This book has a LONG preface, where Mr. Shaw was quite clear of his searing feelings. I’ll admit guilt that I skimped it. The “Note” at the beginning served as an informative synopsis of the preface. If you’re highly allergic to spoilers, don’t read the “Note” until after you read the play.

Set in a country estate home of the retired Captain Shotover, built in the shape of the ship (the play uses starboard and port as stage directions), the Shavian wit has us examining the lives of the Shotover family and friends who by some unplanned coincidence descend on said estate one after the other. In these 3 acts, a mixed bag of truths are revealed where nothing is as it seems. Who’s using who? Who’s wealthy and who’s not? Who’s in love or not? It was amusing to read of the two daughters, Hesione Hushabe and Lady Ariadne Utterword, “fascinating” the men around them. Clearly, the women are the stronger sex here. These middle aged beauties bestowed their knowledge on the younger and less financially fortunate Ellie Dunn. show more Mayhem unfolds and reveals are surprisingly voluntary. The social classes and issues surface themselves in a subtle but recognizable way, many of which are still relevant today making this play all the more enjoyable.

If this play is ever produced locally, I’m going!

Two Quotes:

On being the owner of a business – I laughed:
“MRS HUSHABYE. Don’t cry; I can’t bear it. Have I broken your heart? I didn’t know you had one. How could I?
MANGAN. I’m a man ain’t I?
MRS HUSHABYE. (half coaxing, half rally, altogether tenderly) Oh no: not what I call a man. Only a Boss: just that and nothing else. What business has a Boss with a heart?”

On feeding the soul – I paused and thought about this one; there is some partial truth to it:
“CAPTAIN SHOTOVER. Is it? How much does your soul eat?
ELLIE. Oh, a lot. It eats music and pictures and books and mountains and lakes and beautiful things to wear and nice people to be with. In this country you can’t have them without lots of money: that is why our souls are horribly starved.” show less

Our group pretty much agreed that a) it's a readable play (Shaw had some trouble getting some of his more caustic plays on stage, and then there was WWI to consider). b) It shows the upper classes of Shaw's time, the landed gentry, the horsey set, as totally unequipped to confront the coming World War, or much of anything else that was to come in the 20th century. In many ways, they have lost the art of what Captain Shotover called 'navigation' - and I'm afraid that many in our current society have done the same.
Do we know what is around the corner? And will we be able to meet it? What would Shaw say today?

I would have liked to see this play as a production, or even as a read through, rather than just reading it by myself. But it's an homage to Chekov, and a good Shavian sermon, as the movers and shakers of Western civilization get a dressing down for their handling of the end of WWI. The dialogue is crisp, and the characters are clearly drawn. I found it enjoyable, but I need another six people, who like Shaw, to do a reading.
Written in 1919.

Heartbreak House was not what I would consider the best of George Bernard Shaw's plays. The Preface, in particular, was difficult to get through, but after a time it began to get interesting. The idea of the play was to write about World War I from a civilian's perspective -- the point of view of one seeing the War as a novelty rather than the tragedy that it truly was. The play takes place over (two? one?) night at a country manor in the shape of a ship, symbolic of a leisurely Europe sailing into the new century. The play covers the mundane topics of everyday life in Britain in the time, various satirical references to the young lady's marrying for wealth and wealth alone. Each character is torn down to the bare minimum of what they are, ending in an amusing scene in which the "practical businessman" deigns it proper to strip bare since already he has been stripped to his mere morality. The play ends with shots being fired and bombs being dropped near the house, the War that nobody mentioned prior to this point in the play being brought home and perhaps knocking the unaware to their senses as to what really matters.

A clever play with another wonderfully strong female character in Ellie. She is not dissuaded in the least to go after what she wants and what will make her happy. A strong cast of colorful characters.

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