15 (i) : Raina says that she is as brave as a a man, because she really does consider herself so. She has also shown in her behaviour that she did not get too frightened by the Man's threat to her when he first came into her room and she began to have a conversation with him even though he was her enemy and an intruder.
Raina does not say that she is as brave as a man. She says that she is as brave as this Man whom she sees in front of her - who has said that he is afraid to die, He has shown that he is a bundle of nerves and gets terrified with a small action - like her snatching he empty box of chocolates from her and in just reacting when she shrieked after she had sat on his pistol.
I do not agree with Raina because unlike this man, and as he will explain later, she has not been in a battle and suffered after a prolonged period of interaction with the enemy. He is jittery and afraid for his life. She has the comfort of being in her home and with family and her own countrymen to come to her rescue. But she has proved that she is bolder than most women.
(ii) : The Man was under fire for three days because he was a mercenary fighting for the Serbs in their war against the Bulgarians. In the latter part of that war the Serbs had been engaging the Bulgarians at Slivnitza. The Bulgarians had routed the Serbs and the particular regiment in which this Man had been fighting. This Man had attempted to flee from the pursuing Bulgarian soldiers and had thus arrived into the town and sought refuge in Raina's room. It was after the third day (probably the day when Sergius' cavalry regiment had routed his artillery regiment) that he had fled and eventually reached Raina's home and room.
(iii) : The Man was as nervous as a mouse because he had had guns firing at him for the last three days and he had to defend himself, attack the enemy and he didn't know when a bullet could strike him. Thus he had been so alert all those three days that he was now oversensitive to any sound and thus afraid like the proverbial mouse.
It tells us that the Man was an ordinary soldier. Some soldiers might claim not be frightened but that is only a romantic notion of soldiers. Here the Man reveals what soldiers really suffer and how they are affected by battle. However, Raina who has a romantic view of soldiers thinks that he is a coward.
(iv) : The man feels like crying because he is so nervous and tense.
Later in the play he reveals to Raina that his fellow soldiers in the barracks used to play tricks on him which used to make him feel miserable. Later too in the lay he tells Raina that she has only to scold him and that he will cry like a child.
(v) : The Man is different from the romantic notion of a soldier that Raina has. Raina thinks that soldiers are very brave and that soldiers do not suffer psychologically as a result of war. She probably also believes that the army is a band of patriotic man who support their fellow patriots. However, the Man reveals to her that the constant battle and the stress of war does have a psychological impact on soldiers and that soldiers suffer psychologically as well as physically. He also reveals to her that in the barracks the interaction between the soldiers can be rough and more sensnitve souls could have a hard time.
Raina does not say that she is as brave as a man. She says that she is as brave as this Man whom she sees in front of her - who has said that he is afraid to die, He has shown that he is a bundle of nerves and gets terrified with a small action - like her snatching he empty box of chocolates from her and in just reacting when she shrieked after she had sat on his pistol.
I do not agree with Raina because unlike this man, and as he will explain later, she has not been in a battle and suffered after a prolonged period of interaction with the enemy. He is jittery and afraid for his life. She has the comfort of being in her home and with family and her own countrymen to come to her rescue. But she has proved that she is bolder than most women.
(ii) : The Man was under fire for three days because he was a mercenary fighting for the Serbs in their war against the Bulgarians. In the latter part of that war the Serbs had been engaging the Bulgarians at Slivnitza. The Bulgarians had routed the Serbs and the particular regiment in which this Man had been fighting. This Man had attempted to flee from the pursuing Bulgarian soldiers and had thus arrived into the town and sought refuge in Raina's room. It was after the third day (probably the day when Sergius' cavalry regiment had routed his artillery regiment) that he had fled and eventually reached Raina's home and room.
(iii) : The Man was as nervous as a mouse because he had had guns firing at him for the last three days and he had to defend himself, attack the enemy and he didn't know when a bullet could strike him. Thus he had been so alert all those three days that he was now oversensitive to any sound and thus afraid like the proverbial mouse.
It tells us that the Man was an ordinary soldier. Some soldiers might claim not be frightened but that is only a romantic notion of soldiers. Here the Man reveals what soldiers really suffer and how they are affected by battle. However, Raina who has a romantic view of soldiers thinks that he is a coward.
(iv) : The man feels like crying because he is so nervous and tense.
Later in the play he reveals to Raina that his fellow soldiers in the barracks used to play tricks on him which used to make him feel miserable. Later too in the lay he tells Raina that she has only to scold him and that he will cry like a child.
(v) : The Man is different from the romantic notion of a soldier that Raina has. Raina thinks that soldiers are very brave and that soldiers do not suffer psychologically as a result of war. She probably also believes that the army is a band of patriotic man who support their fellow patriots. However, the Man reveals to her that the constant battle and the stress of war does have a psychological impact on soldiers and that soldiers suffer psychologically as well as physically. He also reveals to her that in the barracks the interaction between the soldiers can be rough and more sensnitve souls could have a hard time.
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