24 (i): The speaker in this context is 'The Man' - the Swiss mercenary who had joined the Serbian army and who was in the artillery regiment that had been defeated by Sergius' cavalry regiment in the battle at Slivnitza. He had after that battle with others in his regiment fled through the Dragoman Pass and had come to the town in which the Petkoff's lived. Looking for refuge he had cli,bed up the pipe into the bedroom of Raina, who had given him refuge up to this time.
Raina, the daughter of Major Paul and Catherine Petkoff into whose room 'The man' had entered had now told him that he had to leave as she was doing the "soldierly thing".
Raina had told the Man to leave whereas before she had given him refuge and hidden him from her country's soldier and their Russian officer and even thus far from her mother, because 'The Man' had spoken of badly about her fiance Sergius, the officer who had led his cavalry regiment and attacked and defeated the Srerbian artillery regiment. 'The Man' had called Sergius a "fool", compared him to Don Quixote and noted that the manner in which he had acted wads unprofessional revealing a total lack of knowledge of the art of war. These opinions of the person to whom she was shortly to be married, had offended her and she decided to change her compassionate manner in which she had received him to a "professional" manner. Thus, she had asked him to leave as he was the enemy of her country.
(ii) : The speaker explained his change of attitude to Raina, saying that he had come up the pipe in fear for his life when he was being chased by the bloodthirsty Bulgarian mob and soldiers who were shooting and chasing the fleeing Serbian soldiers. Thus, the fear had given him the energy he now doesn't have. After being made to feel so welcome by Raina who had not only saved him but even given him her last three remaining chocolate creams, his fear had passed and now the fatigue he felt after being two days without sleep had nearly overcome him. Thus he was afraid of going down the pipe.
(iii) : 'The Man' says that he gives up and is beaten because he is so tired that if he attempted to go down the pipe he would not have energy either to go down the pipe or to keep running to save his life from the Bulgarian mob and soldiers who would once again be after him. He thus preferred that Raina give the alarm and that he surrenders to the Bulgarian army.
However, he also says this to win over Raina. By saying these words he admits that she had played a master stroke in challenging him to leave. She had thus beaten him in this exchange of words. 'The Man' is shrewd enough to know that he has already begun to win over Raina's heart and that she will not give enough - an attitude revealed when she says "but I will go out to the balcony and see if it is safe for you to climb down into the street".
(iv) : I think that the speaker's act of giving up both justifies and does not justify Raina's statement earlier in the lay that he is unchivalrous.
Earlier in the play, Raina had said that 'The Man' was unchivalrous as unlike courageous soldiers he had said that he was afraid to die. By giving up rather than putting up a fight and being killed in battle the man could be considered unchivalrous. However, the Man had also said that if he was captured the Bulgarians would treat him shamefully and he did not want that - thus he knows that he is in for rough treatment and still he is willing to face it - this shows that he is chivalrous !
(v) : Raina had been relating to 'The Man' in an ideal way. She had set aside the realistic (normal) way most people would have reacted (as did her mother - when Raina had said that she did not understand why people should kill wretched fugitives - her mother had replied that if the tables were turned the Serbs would do the same to the Bulgarians). She has decided to give an enemy refuge because she had seen the romantic play Ernani in which a nobleman gives refuge to his enemy. When Raina finds that the person whom she had saved is not so sensitive to her feelings nor respectful of the Bulgarian officer (who was also to be soon to be married to her) who had defeated his regiment in battle, she is shaken out of her idealism for a very short while and decides to deal in a "professional" (realistic) manner with 'The Man' by demanding that he leaves the safety of her room immediately.
We sense that her realism is also activated by her realisation that she has to get rid of the fugitive before other people realise that she had betrayed her country by hiding him from her country soldiers. Thus she exclaims shortly after this quotation "But what am I to do with you ?"
Raina, the daughter of Major Paul and Catherine Petkoff into whose room 'The man' had entered had now told him that he had to leave as she was doing the "soldierly thing".
Raina had told the Man to leave whereas before she had given him refuge and hidden him from her country's soldier and their Russian officer and even thus far from her mother, because 'The Man' had spoken of badly about her fiance Sergius, the officer who had led his cavalry regiment and attacked and defeated the Srerbian artillery regiment. 'The Man' had called Sergius a "fool", compared him to Don Quixote and noted that the manner in which he had acted wads unprofessional revealing a total lack of knowledge of the art of war. These opinions of the person to whom she was shortly to be married, had offended her and she decided to change her compassionate manner in which she had received him to a "professional" manner. Thus, she had asked him to leave as he was the enemy of her country.
(ii) : The speaker explained his change of attitude to Raina, saying that he had come up the pipe in fear for his life when he was being chased by the bloodthirsty Bulgarian mob and soldiers who were shooting and chasing the fleeing Serbian soldiers. Thus, the fear had given him the energy he now doesn't have. After being made to feel so welcome by Raina who had not only saved him but even given him her last three remaining chocolate creams, his fear had passed and now the fatigue he felt after being two days without sleep had nearly overcome him. Thus he was afraid of going down the pipe.
(iii) : 'The Man' says that he gives up and is beaten because he is so tired that if he attempted to go down the pipe he would not have energy either to go down the pipe or to keep running to save his life from the Bulgarian mob and soldiers who would once again be after him. He thus preferred that Raina give the alarm and that he surrenders to the Bulgarian army.
However, he also says this to win over Raina. By saying these words he admits that she had played a master stroke in challenging him to leave. She had thus beaten him in this exchange of words. 'The Man' is shrewd enough to know that he has already begun to win over Raina's heart and that she will not give enough - an attitude revealed when she says "but I will go out to the balcony and see if it is safe for you to climb down into the street".
(iv) : I think that the speaker's act of giving up both justifies and does not justify Raina's statement earlier in the lay that he is unchivalrous.
Earlier in the play, Raina had said that 'The Man' was unchivalrous as unlike courageous soldiers he had said that he was afraid to die. By giving up rather than putting up a fight and being killed in battle the man could be considered unchivalrous. However, the Man had also said that if he was captured the Bulgarians would treat him shamefully and he did not want that - thus he knows that he is in for rough treatment and still he is willing to face it - this shows that he is chivalrous !
(v) : Raina had been relating to 'The Man' in an ideal way. She had set aside the realistic (normal) way most people would have reacted (as did her mother - when Raina had said that she did not understand why people should kill wretched fugitives - her mother had replied that if the tables were turned the Serbs would do the same to the Bulgarians). She has decided to give an enemy refuge because she had seen the romantic play Ernani in which a nobleman gives refuge to his enemy. When Raina finds that the person whom she had saved is not so sensitive to her feelings nor respectful of the Bulgarian officer (who was also to be soon to be married to her) who had defeated his regiment in battle, she is shaken out of her idealism for a very short while and decides to deal in a "professional" (realistic) manner with 'The Man' by demanding that he leaves the safety of her room immediately.
We sense that her realism is also activated by her realisation that she has to get rid of the fugitive before other people realise that she had betrayed her country by hiding him from her country soldiers. Thus she exclaims shortly after this quotation "But what am I to do with you ?"
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