Remember: a man’s power of love and admiration is like any other of his powers: he has to throw it away many times before he learns what is really worthy of it.

Exp These lines, spoken by Valentine to Gloria, have been extracted from Act III of the play You Never Can Tell written by George Bernard Shaw. Here he tries to pacify her and to convince her of his true love for her.

Mrs. Clandon is above the weakness of love. She teaches Gloria in such a way that she can resist the influence of love. But like all weak women, she fails to protect herself. Bein urged by the life force, she has been caught up in the meshes of the amrous glances of Valentine. So Mrs. Clandon wants to arouse jealousy in the heart of Gloria. To do so, she tells her daughter that Valentine is a past master in teh game of love. He is in the habit of setting traps to catch women and Gloria has been caught in his trap. His traps are often baited with love-speeches. Now Gloria is maddened with jealousy. She asked Valentine whether he set similar traps baited with love speeches to win the hearts of other women. He says ‘yes’. She raises her clenched hands to strike him. Her mother stops her from hitting him. In order to convince Gloria, he says there is nothing to be surprised at in his attempt to win the hearts of women. He argues that a man’s power of love and admiration is just like any other power of his mind. All power’s of mind need to be exercised for their development.
A man first tries his one power on one object. If he finds that the object is not suitable, he throws it away and tries another object. In this way, he stops his trial when he finds the fittest object. Similarly, love is a power of mind and it has to be tried on one woman after another, till the worthy object of love is found. Valentine assures her that he has at last found the worthy object of his love, that is, Gloria.

Basic Study : MA Final in Seven College Under Dhaka University
Subject Name: Modern Drama (Study Guide)
Subject Code: ENM 504
Written and Edited Credit : Md. Layek Ali
Use : Non-Commercial with free Education Purpose
First Published: February 2022
ISBN: 984-70020-0745-0
Text: You Never Can Tell
Writer: George Bernard Shaw
Text Type: Explanations
Act: III

Related Post

How many times he has laid the trap in which he has caught you; how often he has baited it with the same speeches; how much practice it has taken to make him perfect in his chosen part in life as the Duellist of S/ex.

March 6, 2024

Yes, Mrs. Clandon: the Higher Education of Woman delivered Gloria into my hands; and it was you who taught her to believe in the Higher Education of Woman

March 6, 2024

Let me tell you, Mr. Valentine, that a life devoted to the Cause of Humanity has enthusiasms and passions to offer which far transcend the selfish personal infatuations and sentimentalities of romance.

March 6, 2024

No, no, no. Not love: we know better than that. Let’s call it chemistry. You can’t deny that there is such a thing as chemical action, chemical affinity, chemical combination– the most irresistible of all natural forces. Well, you’re attracting me irresistibly–chemically.

March 6, 2024