Shaw emerged as a playwright in the politically charged environment of 1892, for both female suffrage and Irish independence. His plays quickly advocated for societal changes with regard to women's roles, while expanding this advocacy into considerations of Ireland. Shaw's engagement with marriage and union as a personal contract with nationhood have never before been considered as a methodology with which to view his work. This book demonstrates that Shaw was deeply engaged with and committed to the Irish question and to social and gender issues.

Offers unique insight into Shaw's Irish background and how he engages with Ireland, politically and socially Aligns the drive for female suffrage with the efforts of Nationalist Ireland to achieve independence Examines Shaw's use of the marriage trope to interrogate notions of identity, union, disunion and ownership

Autorentext

Audrey McNamara lectures at University College Dublin, and is an adjunct lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. She was guest co-editor for Shaw 36.1: Shaw and Money (2016) and co-editor for Shaw and the Making of Modern Ireland (2020).

Inhalt

1. Introduction: Women, Nation, Enablement, and the Irish Question.- 2. The Opposing Strata of Feminism: Widowers' Houses and Mrs Warren's Profession.- 3. The Marriage of Change: Candida & Getting Married.- 4. John Bull, Nora Reilly and the Garden City: A Match Made in Heaven.- 5. The Wild West Meets the West End.