Discuss the aptness of the title of the play ‘Candida: A Mystery’.

The play has been titled after the central character, Candida. She plays the pivotal role in the play. The name Candida has been derived from the word ‘candid’ which means fair, impartial and truthful. Candida has all three qualities. She is fair with her husband by telling him his strengths like being a good orator, relaxes minds of people and being physically attractive. She also tells him, his weaknesses like being too concerned about socialism, living in illusion that people follow his ideas and he is stronger than Marchbanks. She is impartial in the sense that she gave an equal opportunity to both Morell and Marchbanks to bid for her. She is truthful in the sense that she frankly tells Morell about the fact that Marchbanks is in love with her and she too is fond of him. She is true to herself also by understanding that what she and her children need is Morell and not Marchbanks. So, she keeps herself in the position of commanding the situation. So, the title of the play ‘Candida’ is justified.

The subtitle of the play ‘A Mystery’ is also appropriate. The outcome of the play remains a mystery till the very end and keeps the viewers’ curiosity at bay. The character of Marchbanks is also full of mystery. Nothing much is known about his background except as shared by Candida in the last scene of the play. The final mystery of the play, which remains a mystery, is Marchbanks’ leaving the place in the dead of night with a ‘secret’ in his heart. Shaw describes in the last line of the play that both Candida and Morell have no idea about that secret and has left it open-ended to be solved by the viewers as per their own perceptions. So, the twists and turns in the play justify the sub-title ‘A Mystery’.

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