CANDIDA AS A NEW WOMAN

The New Woman was a term used at the end of the late nineteenth century, to describe woman
who were pushing against the limits which the society imposed on women. Today ,she might be
called a liberated woman or a feminist. Gail Finney gives a concise description of her:

“The New Woman typically values self-fulfillment and independence rather than the stereotypically
feminine ideal of self-sacrifice; believes in legal and sexual equality; often remains single because of
the difficulty of combining such equality with marriage; is more open about her sexuality than the
'Old Woman'; is well-educated and reads a great deal; has a job; is athletic or otherwise physically
vigorous and, accordingly, prefers comfortable clothes (sometimes male attire) to traditional female
garb.”

Shaw broke all the conventions and attacked the ideals and practices of Victorian drama from the
very beginning. He substituted the lady like gentle, charitable and delicate heroine of Victorian
drama with the women of sterner stuff striving for independence. Candida is an eponymous
character after whom the play was named. She is named after her being candid- meaning frank or
truthful. Candida is a domestic play that discusses homely matters. It is a clear description of the
Victorian society. Marriage, love, romance, freedom, human values are the main themes discussed
in the play. Shaw’s prime aim is to show the importance of women in the society. Shaw questions
the narrow mindedness of the patriarchal society. He asserts that the skepticism towards women
has to be completely destroyed. Candida is the ‘New Woman’ of the Victorian era. Though
economically she is dependent on her husband, she does not think her position in her home a bit
inferior to her husband. At the same time, Candida is not an emotional fool. She enjoys Marchbank’s
romanticism and finds it flattering to be loved by a man much younger than her. Candida is the
central pool of wisdom in the drama. She stands for common sense that enables one to see things as
they are. The character of Candida is very humane in the sense that like human beings, she too is a
bundle of goodness and weakness. Shaw intended to show her as unscrupulous person, a wife and a
mother who does not have the conventional morality which was considered the Victorian ideal of
family life. In the play she is depicted as strong which is on contrary to the traditional belief that men
are strong and bold and women are weak. In this way, the play questions the discrimination with the
women on the basis of gender. Shaw has tried to change the gender roles to show the strength of
woman. This play offers the readers a very powerful insight to understand better about male- female
relationships. Candida makes the readers ponder on the freedom given by parents, husband and
children to women. Shaw firmly believed in gradual reformation rather than revolutionary change in
the views on women in the patriarchal society. Shaw tried to release women from their double-
marginalized status. The play is significant even in the present context.