A review by david_rhee
Candida by George Bernard Shaw

3.0

A standout among George Bernard Shaw's early works, Candida, is centered around the captivating Candida's choice between her husband and a young suitor. Eugene Marchbanks is a poet who apparently or supposedly knows exactly what are Candida's wants and needs yet shies from supplying them when the opportunity is given. James Morell is a Christian Socialist preacher who cannot speak to his wife in language other than heavily rehearsed platitudes. Each suffers from his own plainly evident lack, yet Candida makes her choice emphatically. The ending breaks a taut suspense but retains an open-endedness which balances its firm resolution with an element of wonder.