Catherine (entering hastily......Heaven's child !
(a) ; Who is Catherine ? (2)
Catherine is Raina's mother and the wife of Major Paul Petkoff. They are a Bulgarian family. Paul is off at the war the Bulgarians are fighting against the Serbs.
Catherine, we are told by George Bernard Shaw, is a "woman over forty", whose most outstanding trait is that she is "imperiously energetic". She is also very concerned her social status and does all she can to pass off as a Viennese lady "and to that end she wears a fashionable tea gown on all occasions".
(b) : Give a detailed account of the news that Catherine has brought. (4)
Catherine has come to Raina's room and is excited to give Raina the news she has received from her husband. She informs Raina that the Bulgarians have fought a battle with the Serbs at Slivnitza and won. She is proud to note that it was Sergius, the fiance she had chosen for her daughter, Raina, who had led the Bulgarians to victory and that Sergius is the "hero of the hour and the idol" of his regiment. Her husband, Raina's father, is safe.
Catherine gives Raina a vivid account of the battle at Slivnitza. She notes how the Russian commanders of the Bulgarian army when the realised that their cavalry faced Serbian artillery were cautious. Sergius, however, showing courage and Bulgarian patriotism and daring took matters into his own hands and personally led his own regiment in an attack on the Serbs. Probably catching the Serbs by surprise, the Bulgarians led by Sergius were soon over the enemy lines "scattering the wretched Serbs and their dandified Austrian officers like chaff". Sergius and his regiment thus secured victory for their country.
(c) : Who is Raina ? (2)
Raina is the only daughter of Catherine and Paul Petkoff. The dramatist in the introduction to Act 1 speaks of her as a "young lady", who is "intensively conscious of her own youth and beauty". Her long mantle of furs which "on a moderate estimate" are worth "about three times the furniture of the room" tells us of how she is doted upon by her parents. Raina is betrothed in marriage Sergius Saranoff.
Raina seems to be a dreamy romantic person on one hand and a very realistic person on the other who knows that real life is seldom like the fairy tales of romance literature.
(d) : Catherine calls Raina a "child". What does this tell you about the way she relates to Raina ? Can you note another incident when Catherine relates to Raina in this manner ? (2)
When Catherine calls Raina a "child", she indicates to us that though her daughter is of marriageable age, Catherine still thinks of and treats her daughter as a child - i.e. as someone who has always to be cared for and looked after.
In choosing a husband for her daughter and scolding her for not trusting in her choice, Catherine shows that she does not relate to raina as an adult who can make significant decisions for her own life.
(a) ; Who is Catherine ? (2)
Catherine is Raina's mother and the wife of Major Paul Petkoff. They are a Bulgarian family. Paul is off at the war the Bulgarians are fighting against the Serbs.
Catherine, we are told by George Bernard Shaw, is a "woman over forty", whose most outstanding trait is that she is "imperiously energetic". She is also very concerned her social status and does all she can to pass off as a Viennese lady "and to that end she wears a fashionable tea gown on all occasions".
(b) : Give a detailed account of the news that Catherine has brought. (4)
Catherine has come to Raina's room and is excited to give Raina the news she has received from her husband. She informs Raina that the Bulgarians have fought a battle with the Serbs at Slivnitza and won. She is proud to note that it was Sergius, the fiance she had chosen for her daughter, Raina, who had led the Bulgarians to victory and that Sergius is the "hero of the hour and the idol" of his regiment. Her husband, Raina's father, is safe.
Catherine gives Raina a vivid account of the battle at Slivnitza. She notes how the Russian commanders of the Bulgarian army when the realised that their cavalry faced Serbian artillery were cautious. Sergius, however, showing courage and Bulgarian patriotism and daring took matters into his own hands and personally led his own regiment in an attack on the Serbs. Probably catching the Serbs by surprise, the Bulgarians led by Sergius were soon over the enemy lines "scattering the wretched Serbs and their dandified Austrian officers like chaff". Sergius and his regiment thus secured victory for their country.
(c) : Who is Raina ? (2)
Raina is the only daughter of Catherine and Paul Petkoff. The dramatist in the introduction to Act 1 speaks of her as a "young lady", who is "intensively conscious of her own youth and beauty". Her long mantle of furs which "on a moderate estimate" are worth "about three times the furniture of the room" tells us of how she is doted upon by her parents. Raina is betrothed in marriage Sergius Saranoff.
Raina seems to be a dreamy romantic person on one hand and a very realistic person on the other who knows that real life is seldom like the fairy tales of romance literature.
(d) : Catherine calls Raina a "child". What does this tell you about the way she relates to Raina ? Can you note another incident when Catherine relates to Raina in this manner ? (2)
When Catherine calls Raina a "child", she indicates to us that though her daughter is of marriageable age, Catherine still thinks of and treats her daughter as a child - i.e. as someone who has always to be cared for and looked after.
In choosing a husband for her daughter and scolding her for not trusting in her choice, Catherine shows that she does not relate to raina as an adult who can make significant decisions for her own life.
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