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 Through all kinds of unraveling moments, the romantic couples switch places,

producing interclass marriages, aristocrat with servant (Sergius and Louka),

aristocrat and bourgeois (Raina and Bluntschli). The war is over, and a new societ

begins with greater e!ualit, even as the class divisions were breaking down in the

"urope of Shaw#s time. $hen Bluntschli reveals his new wealth, %etko& asks him if 

he is "mperor of Swit'erland. Bluntschli replies that he is the highest rank inSwit'erland a citi'en. Swit'erland had the reputation of being a land of freedom

and e!ualit. uring centuries of religious persecution, man *ed to Swit'erland for

a refuge. +t was there that new ideas of political and religious freedom were born.

Bluntschli is a middleclass hero but an egalitarian. -e congratulates Louka on her

engagement, calling himself a Republican. +t is implied that he will grant icola#s

desire to move from servant to businessman b putting him in charge of a hotel.

 

Shaw himself was a socialist who believed the class sstem was outdated. Bulgaria

is depicted as a medieval holdout of ancient custom, tring to catch up with modernchanges. The intermarriages signal the future as much as the electric bell.

Romance, whether in terms of war, relationships, or the class sstem, must give

wa to modern realism. Shaw blows awa the past in a humorous fashion.

 

 The turning point in this act comes when Bluntschli confronts Raina#s acting as a

romantic heroine as a pose. +nstead of being angr, she is relieved to be found out.

ow she can be more real. Shaw is saing that the same thing is true of societ in

general. %eople are walking through an old fashioned drama. The need to be real,

because romantic illusion is a dangerous thing.

/nalsis

/fter the farcical bit about the discover of the old coat in the blue closet, which

perple0es 1a2or %etko&, Shaw then gets down to the resolution of the drama, which

involves the revealing of Raina3s, Sergius3, and Bluntschli3s true natures.

4irst, in Bluntschli3s interview with Raina, we see him as the practical man who will

not let Raina assume an of her poses5 he will laugh at all of the poses that she

assumes. 6aptain Bluntschli, while being charmed and captivated b Raina, refuses

to take her poses seriousl5 that is, he delights in her posturing, but he is not

deceived b them 7$hen ou strike that noble attitude and speak in that thrilling

voice, + admire ou5 but + 8nd it impossible to believe a single word ou sa.7 Thus,

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Bluntschli forces Raina to reveal her true nature, and she is delighted that someone

has seen through her guise and has allowed her to come down o& her pedestal. $e

were earlier prepared for this revelation when she told her mother that she would

like to shock Sergius5 alread, we have seen that she 8nds 7higher love7 to be

something of a strain on her. Thus, it is ultimatel a relief for her to discard all of her

arti8cial poses and 8nall become herself.

Likewise, Bluntschli changes. $hile he will not tolerate posturing, et, since he is

such a plainspoken man, we are surprised to discover that beneath his e0terior, he

has a romantic soul 9 that is, he came back with the 1a2or3s coat onl to have one

more glimpse of Raina, with whom he is infatuated. Therefore, as the practical man

is seen to change, so also does Sergius, whom we saw ver earl in the second act

confess to being tired of plaing this game of the ideal of the 7higher love.7 -e is

immensel relieved not to have to be the overideali'ed, noble ob2ect of Raina3s

love5 he found tring to live up to her e0pectations tiresome. /fter discovering thatthere is no nobilit or heroics connected with war, he is delighted to discover that

Raina3s heroics are not for him5 as a result, he turns to the more basic but et

attractive Louka.

 The resolution of the drama is brought about b the simple techni!ue of having all

of the characters recogni'e their basic nature and ield to it. 6onse!uentl, the

ending of this comed is similar to most classic comedies 9 that is, after a mi0up

or confusion between the lovers, everone is paired with the proper person 8nall.