Man And Superman

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1903

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Summary

Act Summaries & Analyses

Acts I-II

Acts III-IV

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

Progressivism versus Conservatism

In the first scene, Jack particularly bothers Ramsden because Ramsden considers himself a progressive thinker while Jack’s revolutionary ideals make Ramsden look conservative. This is because Ramsden’s progressive beliefs entail working within the existing social system while Jack’s require the dismantling of that system—an actual revolution. The play ties progressiveness to the young people in the play and conservatism to the older characters. In fact, Ramsden seems to be both afraid of Jack’s ideas and unable to fully understand them. The supposedly symbolic gesture of tossing Jack’s book in the trash serves to excuse Ramsden from reading a text that he probably could not understand.

A dichotomy occurs between Hector Malone, Jr. and Hector Malone, Sr., or perhaps more accurately, between Malone, Sr. and Violet, who is pulling the strings. Malone is fighting a long-gone battle by devoting his life to revenge on the English for their poor treatment of the Irish. In fact, buying property from English nobility who cannot afford to keep those properties up is actually helping the English in a sense. Malone takes on the traditional, conservative role of patriarch, using his money as a means to exert control on his son’s life. However, Malone quickly meets his match in Violet, who manipulates him into accepting her as both a daughter-in-law and as someone who has final say on big family decisions such as purchasing property in England.

Although Jack’s idea of progressiveness is about lifting up the man as a Superman—someone who is above allowing women to compromise him—the play shows that the women will ensure they’re included regardless. In a sense, Ann and Violet are just as progressive as Jack. Though constrained by a patriarchal system, Ann maneuvers around it to exert her own power. Violet refuses to accept the proscribed path in which she waits for permission to marry and follows her own will regardless. The women of the play have limited freedoms, but they manage to achieve their own agency.

Class Hierarchies

Jack is a wealthy man who loves to talk about socialism. He wants to spread ideas but has not stepped up to be the first to redistribute his wealth. Even his idea to sell wedding gifts in order to pay for more copies of his book to be handed out would benefit him financially. Jack is a man of ideas much more than he is a man of action. This is the true line that divides the classes. The wealthy men are men of words. They are artists, writers, and philosophers. The working class men are the ones who labor to make the country work. And Man and Superman shows that philosophy is a luxury of the wealthy, and that the elite class are ultimately beholden to the working class.

Jack is particularly enthralled by his chauffeur, Henry, whom he describes as a “New Man.” Henry’s education is in a practical trade. He is a driver who can repair automobiles, both skills that Jack himself does not possess. Whereas the working class has largely centered on trade and unskilled work, the advancement of technology has created a class of worker that requires education and technical ability. Education is no longer only about the erudite, but also about practical skills. This means that those workers who do possess skills have power over the rich men who employ them. Henry can make demands about how often Jack allows him to drive (even though Henry insists that it has less to do with desire than the practicalities of keeping the car functioning).

The play suggests that class is an almost-immutable characteristic that requires trickery to circumvent. Although Malone manages to rise above his station by earning money, his son is now unfit to enter the workforce. Violet’s class prevents her from being a suitable wife for Hector, and she must use her guile to manipulate Malone. Mendoza escapes society altogether but creates a new class system in which he is the president. He works to undermine the upper class, first by robbing them outright and then by manipulating Malone out of his money.

The Social Construction of Marriage

Jack’s fear of marriage stems from the belief that a woman will ruin his commitment to his revolutionary ideas. He fears Ann and seems to fear women in general. Jack believes that in his quest to become a Superman, he has evolved past the need for traditional domesticity or a wife. However, as Don Juan explains in the dream sequence, marriage is a social construct. This includes the value placed on virtuous behavior, such as chastity before marriage and fidelity. The ultimate purpose of these behaviors is the propagation of the species by people who are prepared to care for them.

Jack argues against the romanticized view of marriage that Octavius and Hector seem to hold. The way that Octavius idealizes Ann makes their marriage impossible, since Ann could only disappoint him in her inability to live up to the way he has imagined her. This, Jack argues, will ruin him as a poet. Hector’s romantic view of marriage involves chivalry and protecting his wife, despite the clear indication that Violet is more than capable of protecting herself. However, marriage is also complicated by class hierarchies and what makes a “suitable mate.” Whether or not Don Juan is correct in saying that marriage and sex are not about love, it is certainly never merely about love.

When Jack finally “must” marry, Jack attempts to strip the romance out of the affair. He insists that it will be a casual affair at the registrar and that all attendees will wear everyday dress. He plans to convert their wedding gifts into cash with which to buy more copies of his book to give away. However, the affair of the wedding doesn’t seem to matter. Violet and Hector were married in secret, and their unconventional wedding doesn’t make their marriage less romantic. In the end, marriage is a social contract for all involved.