As is typical of Shaw's work, Act 1 of Arms and the Man begins with an elaborate two paragraph description of the scene in the bedchamber. Your assignment is basically to paraphrase this description. Your paraphrase should include both a description of the physical setting and of Raina and her mother.
The physical setting is the bedroom of Raina Petkoff, a young woman from a wealthy Bulgarian family. Shaw's description emphasizes a sort of cultural hybridity. Shaw praises the beautiful Oriental textiles and disparages the "cheap Viennese" influences. He describes several elements that will become important later in the plot, including the balcony through which Captain Bluntschli will enter the room. Shaw also describes in great detail the portrait of Sergius. Shaw also describes the canopied bed, religious shrine, dressing table, chair, washstand, chest of drawers, and box of chocolate creams, that will become an important element of the dialogue.
For characters, Shaw's description emphasizes the way Catherine and Raina both ape Viennese fashion, implying that their native Bulgarian strength and traditions are actually the more admirable cores to their personalities and that their attempts to become Europeanized fail because of their inauthenticity.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
What was the scene inside Raina's bedchamber when the Russian officer came looking for the fugitive Captain Bluntschli in Act 1 of Arms and The Man?
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