Character sketch of Raina Petkoff in 'Arms and the man',

          Raina is a protegonist. She one of Shaw's most delightful heroines from his early plays. In the plai ‘Arms and the Man’ Shaw presents her as a being a romantically idealistic person in love with the noble ideal of war and love; yet, she is typical middle class in its philistinism and ridiculous in aptitude. In fact she has extra ordinary charm but her attitude towards life is abnormal. In the bigininig and the middle she is presented as to only sing a song of romantic nation and regarding life and things.

Her Romantic Idealism:

      In beginning we find that Raina lives in realms of romantic idealism. She is fear from the grim world of reality. She adores Sergius as an ideal hero. She loves Sergius as he is one of the Knights of the Ancient days of chivalry. She expresses her love to Sergius by addressing him – “My Lord!.. My King!..” when she get the news of Sergius’ attack on the enemy, she is overwhelmed (Abhibhut - in Gujarati). Her concept of war, love and marriage is deeply romantic.

Like Medieval Madonna:

        Besides being Excessively romantic and idealistic, she is poetic too. As she likes to live in the world of dreamy idealism, she thinks that her own beauty is a part of nature……

     Character of Raina in ‘Arms and the Man’ is presented as a medieval Madonna, whose only aim is only to worship and adore a hero romantically. When she is with the Sergius, she find him as ‘a hero and worship him’ She feels deep love for Sergius as she says-

     “And you have never been absent from my thoughts for a moment. (Very solemnly.) Sergius: I think we two have found the higher love. When I think of you, I feel that I could never do a base deed, or think an ignoble thought.

………

“I trust you. I love you. You will never disappoint me,…..”

      In the beginning of the play. She contempt to Bluntschli. She mokes him and calls him ‘a chocolate cream soldier’. But gradually he realize his true worth. At the end of the play She is happy with her ‘a chocolate cream soldier!’ and accepts him as a husband.

Having a typical Womanly Quality:

        Raina has all qualities and weakness of woman. She is a snob and proud to be a Petkoff; and so she has feeling of superiority. She is very much worried to appear civilized and fashionable and posing. She is spoiled child. She is jealous when her mother praise Sergius; and in Looka’s affair her jealousy clearly seen. She has all, the venoms of viper and ferocity of tigress. She is showy and pompous, artificial and hypocrite  also; yet dignified at end.

Alert minded Person:

       Raina, after being romantic and poetic, she is alert minded person. She is able to adjust herself in the change circumstances. Her alertness is responsible to get herself became a realist from a romantic. At the end of the play, we find Raina as a shrewd and wise. She is able to recognize the hollowness of her romantic attitude toward love and war. She is able to recognize  Sergius and reject him. She is also able to realize true worth of Bluntschli and accepts him. She is brave and courageous. She is not afraid of when a pistol aimed at her. She is very tender hearted and pitiful to the persons who are suffering.

Conclusion:

       In short we can say that, Raina is perhaps a combination of all the above qualities. She is romantic, for example, when she remembers an opera (Verdi's Ernani) in which a member of the aristocracy shelters an enemy; thus, she shelters Bluntschli, since it is "chivalrous" to protect him. She does possess exalted ideals, but she is also pleased to step down from her pedestal and enjoy life directly; finally, in spite of her aristocratic background, she marries a person with "the soul of a hotel keeper."

Charecter sketch of Bluntschli in Shaws 'Arms and the man'.

Real Hero of the play:

       Captain Bluntschli is  the most interesting and impressive character in ‘Arms and the Man’. He  enters the first and  dominates the play throughout to a happy ending with marriage to Raina. He is not only a hero of the play but a mouthpiece of the writer. He is a simple and balanced man who can view and think without prejudice.

         Captain Bluntschli is  the chivalrous and a perfect Gentleman. He has soft corner for Raina, yet he makes an attempt to make compromise between Raina and Sergius. He does not like to take advantage of immature girl, but when he realize that Raina is grown up he comes forward.

Only a realist in the Play:

         Captain Bluntschli is a thirty-four-year-old and of medium height. Though he has no distinguishing features, he is attractive. His quick and clear eyes are indicative of his sharp intelligence. He is good ang gentlemanly manners. He is the only realist who sees through the absurd romanticism of war. Captain Bluntschli is a professional soldier, trained in waging a war in a highly efficient, businesslike manner. These methods allow Sergius to refer to his ability to wage a war as being low-class commercialism, devoid of any honor and nobility. Bluntschli would agree with this appraisal since he sees nothing romantic about the violent and senseless slaughter of human beings, even though it is his profession.

         He never mistakes unreal for real, the shadow for substance, the false for true. He lives in present, He takes the news of his father’s death coolly, he  agrees to merry Raina, he never quarrels with anybody. His love for Raina is different from that of Sergius. Sergius has romantic feeling while Bluntschli has realistic sense of love.

Wise clever and Intelligent:

         When Bluntschli first hears of Sergius' cavalry charge and refuses to view Sergius' actions in any way except as a foolhardy display of false heroics, he reveals his complete practicality and subjects himself to Raina's charge that he is "incapable of appreciating honor and courage." Yet, his questioning of Sergius' actions causes Raina to question Sergius' qualities.

      His appearant lightness covers hie shrewdness. He is wise clever and intelligent. He is full of wisdom and practical sense. He is sincere and modest. He takes fancy for Raina and keeps it up to the end of the play.

Practical Person :

         Being a professional soldier, he adopts a practical and wise view (his name is a combination of Blunt, plus the ending, which in Swiss means "sweet" or "endearing" or "lovable"). Given the choice of being killed or saving his life by climbing up a balcony and into a lady's bedroom, he chooses unheroically not to be killed. Practically, he knows that a dead professional soldier is of no value to anyone; thus, he saves his life by the most expedient method available — he hides in a lady's bedchamber. Likewise, given the choice of killing someone or of not going hungry, he chooses to eat rather than to kill; thus, he carries chocolates rather than cartridges, a highly unromantic but very practical thing to do.

        Thus we can say that he is practical and never annoyed person.  Everybody impressed by his practical out look. He is shrewed judge of man, charcter, situation and things. He is the first person to see through the Raina. He is adventures and romantic. He joins army for his love for romance and adventure, yet his realistic and practical beahviour is such that he hardly seems adventures and romantic.

Well balanced between emotion and reason:

        Bluntschli is unemotional and does not get excited easily. He meets all crisis calmly and philosophically. He is well balanced between emotion and reason, sentiment and thoughts, impulse and determination, intellect abd insight. He is witty and humours, but in reality he is serious. He is a true soldier in battle field. He is An honest and commercial traveler in trade market of human life.

Full of Humor Sense:

          He has wonderful sense of Humor, he laughs at the romanticism of Raina.  We find his sense of humor when he was talkin with Raina. Here are some of them –

“Bless you, dear lady. You can always tell an old soldier by the inside of his holsters and cartridge boxes. The young ones carry pistols and cartridges; the old ones, grub. Thank you.”

…….

“Ugh! Don't do things so suddenly, gracious lady. Don't revenge yourself because I frightened you just now.”

……

“You haven't been under fire for three days as I have. I can stand two days without shewing it much; but no man can stand three days: I'm as nervous as a mouse. (He sits down on the ottoman, and takes his head in his hands.) Would you like to see me cry?”

Conclusion:

       In short we can say that Blintschli is typical Shavian  hero (hero of G B Shaw).  He is Prectical man who has no illution about life and things. He is not affected by the romantic glory of war. He alos believes that love is folly and marriage is biological necessary.