Candida
Candida
A Wall of Bookshelves and the Best View of the Garden
Of all of Shaw’s earlier plays, it is perhaps with Candida that gardens and libraries contribute the most to understanding some of the deeper nuances and implications of Shaw’s intentions in certain aspects of the play. The world of the play belongs to Morell, the off-stage settings being the parish which he serves and the parsonage (his habitat by virtue of his position as parish priest), and, on stage, his library. Shaw’s use of a part of London, Victoria Park, and its implications, as well as the on-stage setting of Morell’s library, which is an extension of the off-stage setting, clearly point to and help define Morell. In addition to being one of “the finest parks in the East End,” Victoria Park is also known as the “People’s Park” because it has always been a center for political meetings and rallies of all persuasions, surpassing even Hyde Park in this regard. This area of London, impoverished as it is, has a tradition of left-wing parties, and the radicalism of the East End contributed to the formation of the Labour Party. Morell’s social message is a part of the very fabric of such an area.
Keywords: Parsonage, East End, Victoria Park, Socialism, Parishioners, Clergyman
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