Armed men

The Victorian Age was a time of movment of thought from Romanticism. At this time, unlike the prior Romantic Age, literature and philosophy became rather balanced, neither purely rational and logical nor romantic and emotional, but both. The great playwright of this time, George Bernard Shaw, reputedly second only to Shakespeare in his English dramatic ability, emphasizes this point in his Arms and the Man, a comedy about two soldiers from opposing factions and ideologies, and their connection through one girl of age twenty-three. In this play, Shaw makes it clear that the better ideology is that of a logical thinking Rationale.
When first we meet Bluntschli, a Swiss soldier-for-hire working for the Serbians, he is fleeing a lost battle and has evaded capture through escaping up a drain-pipe into the bedchamber of young Raina, fiancé to the Bulgarian officer Sergius. Bluntschli, known at this point only as “The Man,” enters the room to find Raina; the two enter into conversation concerning the war and its tragedies. Bluntschli, a seasoned soldier, tells the girl why he had run instead of romantically dying as one could see a more emotional man doing. He fled to live another day, carries no rounds for his pistol but as much food as he comes by, as his priorities are survival and marginal comfort as opposed to glory in the heat of battle.
Conversely, Raina’s fiancé, Sergius, who led the charge which disbanded Bluntschli’s regiment, is a very Romantic character. He charged into battle, which would have been the end of him had the opposition had the correct cartridges for their guns. He returns to Raina’s home when peace is agreed upon, and, having decided he is not a proper soldier, decides to pursue another career. Upon meeting Bluntschli and learning of his bedchamber antics with his fiancé, Sergius challenges the man to a battle of swordplay, which the Swiss agrees upon, only because he expects a quick, easy victory, as his skills are much greater than Sergius’. The idea of settling a problem with an out-dated fight-to-the-death is indubitably Romantic.
As the play nears its close, Raina is faced with the choice of two men to marry, one of which, Sergius, she is married to but can no longer stand, the other, Bluntschli, the practical soldier who, unbeknownst to Raina, swept her off her feet. At the conclusion, Raina and Sergius agree to not marry, as they are not suited for each other, as Raina herself was a rather rational thinking non-Romantic. Sergius then asks Raina’s maid Louka, a girl with Romantic high-hopes, for her hand, and Bluntschi asks for Raina’s.
Although all characters involved turn out happily ever after, Shaw makes it clear that the Romantic viewpoint is a rather frivolous one. Rational-thinking Bluntschli is portrayed as wiser and even counsels Sergius as to the duties of his office. Unfortunately for some, Shaw’s beliefs on the matter didn’t last, as the following Age returned to the idea that Romanticism was superior.