Man and Superman: Character Mind Map & Summary
George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman: the key characters, the Life Force, the “Don Juan in Hell” dream, a quick summary and the exam facts.
The Character Mind Map
Tap any name to open the details.
John Tanner (Jack)
A rich, talkative revolutionary, author of The Revolutionist’s Handbook. He is made guardian of Ann Whitefield under her father’s will. Believing he is free and that men pursue women, he slowly realises that Ann is hunting him. He flees across Europe by motor car, but Ann follows and he is captured by the Life Force.
Ending: agrees to marry Ann🎯 The Pursuers
The Life ForceAnn WhitefieldThe heroine
Role: Charming and determined, she pursues Tanner as the Life Force drives woman to seek a father for the Superman.
Marries TannerViolet RobinsonOctavius’s sister
Role: Secretly married to the American Hector Malone; firm and practical about money.
🎩 The Men
Ideas & classOctavius Robinson (Tavy)A sentimental poet
Role: Loves Ann romantically, but she rejects him. Tanner says the artist pursues his art as woman pursues man.
Roebuck RamsdenAnn’s other guardian
Role: An old-fashioned liberal who thinks himself advanced but is shocked by Tanner.
Henry StrakerTanner’s chauffeur
Role: A proud, educated mechanic, the “New Man” of the working class.
MendozaA brigand chief
Role: Captures Tanner in the Sierra Nevada; a lovesick socialist robber.
Memory Hook: Don Juan in Hell
In Act III Tanner dreams that the characters return as figures from Don Giovanni.
Key Points
What exams usually ask about.
Quick Summary
The plot act by act.
Act IThe Will
- Ramsden and Tanner are named Ann’s guardians. Violet is thought to be pregnant and unmarried.
Act IIThe Motor Car
- Straker reveals Ann’s pursuit of Tanner, who flees to the Continent.
Act IIIThe Sierra Nevada
- Mendoza’s brigands capture Tanner, who dreams the long debate of “Don Juan in Hell”.
Act IVGranada
- Violet’s secret marriage to Hector is revealed; Ann catches Tanner, who agrees to marry her.
Must-Know Exam Facts
Quick points for UGC NET, SET and PGT.
Publication
Published 1903; first staged at the Royal Court in 1905 without the dream scene.
Subtitle
“A Comedy and a Philosophy“
Don Juan in Hell
The Act III dream is often staged on its own, a debate between Don Juan and the Devil.
Source
A modern version of the Don Juan legend, with Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Here the woman is the pursuer.
Key Themes
Creative Evolution, marriage, the artist and the Superman, and class.
100+ Key Works of English Literature
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