The Doctor's Dilemma
4/5
()
About this ebook
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was born into a lower-class family in Dublin, Ireland. During his childhood, he developed a love for the arts, especially music and literature. As a young man, he moved to London and found occasional work as a ghostwriter and pianist. Yet, his early literary career was littered with constant rejection. It wasn’t until 1885 that he’d find steady work as a journalist. He continued writing plays and had his first commercial success with Arms and the Man in 1894. This opened the door for other notable works like The Doctor's Dilemma and Caesar and Cleopatra.
Read more from George Bernard Shaw
Major Barbara Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mrs. Warren's Profession Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saint Joan: A Play Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Candida Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Collected Works of George Bernard Shaw: Plays, Novels, Articles, Letters and Essays: Pygmalion, Mrs. Warren's Profession, Candida, Arms and The Man, Man and Superman, Caesar and Cleopatra, Androcles And The Lion, The New York Times Articles on War, Memories of Oscar Wilde and more Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Perfect Wagnerite Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBernard Shaw on Religion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMisalliance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Caesar and Cleopatra Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGeorge Bernard Shaw - A Selection of One-Act Plays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Philanderer Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bernard Shaw on Theater Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMan and Superman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Crime of Imprisonment Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Heartbreak House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJohn Bull's Other Island Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFanny's First Play Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bernard Shaw on Literature Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Devil's Disciple Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Works of George Bernard Shaw Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTHE COLLECTED WORKS OF GEORGE BERNARD SHAW: Pygmalion, Candida, Arms and The Man, Man and Superman, Caesar and Cleopatra… Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Never Can Tell Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Doctor's Dilemma Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Back to Methuselah: A Metabiological Pentateuch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bernard Shaw on Politics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSaint Joan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great Catherine: Whom Glory Still Adores Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to The Doctor's Dilemma
Related ebooks
Coriolanus, with line numbers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Enemy of the People Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Importance of Being Earnest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Doctor Faustus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPygmalion (Wisehouse Classics Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5She Stoops to Conquer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Merry Wives of Windsor Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Romeo and Juliet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Men in a Boat Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEve's Ransom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sense and Nonsensibility: Lampoons of Learning and Literature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Taming of the Shrew Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Volpone Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudy Guide to The Major Plays of George Bernard Shaw Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing Lear Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCoriolanus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tempest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for Maxwell Anderson's "Winterset" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMaybe Mermaids & Robots Are Lonely: Stories and a Novella Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Battle of Life. A Love Story - Charles Dickens Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Twelfth Night Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mother - A Play in Three Acts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudy Guide to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Other Works by Edward Albee Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Making of Americans Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJulius Caesar Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Gale Researcher Guide for: Charles Dickens's Bleak House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove, Lies and Taxidermy (NHB Modern Plays) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiterature Help: The Collector Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Titus Andronicus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Classics For You
Flowers for Algernon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Confederacy of Dunces Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5East of Eden Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Learn French! Apprends l'Anglais! THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY: In French and English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Little Women (Seasons Edition -- Winter) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Old Man and the Sea: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Farewell to Arms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Master & Margarita Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wuthering Heights (with an Introduction by Mary Augusta Ward) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sense and Sensibility (Centaur Classics) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odyssey: (The Stephen Mitchell Translation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ulysses: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Animal Farm: A Fairy Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Good Man Is Hard To Find And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Count of Monte-Cristo English and French Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebecca Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Republic by Plato Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Jungle: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As I Lay Dying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Doctor's Dilemma
34 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A small bit of historical memorabilia, interesting for the moralizing nature of the Victorian values, and the author's attempt to speak out against them; while his intent is glaringly obvious, it is a message not likely to be picked up by audiences today, who will probably see the character bearing Shaw's message as the cad that the other characters view him, thereby diluting the anti-moralizing message. The ethical dilemma suffered by the doctor is too obvious, the answer too plain, in the days of modern ethics. And few will find the underlying message palatable: that the artist is producing something of value, while the doctor is a wastrel that produces nothing anyone wants. Shaw cannot be faulted for failing to foresee that medicine in the future would become much more respected as it progressed suddenly from the rather stagnant position it had been in for centuries when Shaw was writing. The ethical issues of medicine are still there, but they have shifted; this play could be a good conversation starter.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I listened to this full cast audiobook while skimming/reading the play in my Kindle omnibus "The Plays of Shaw".I realized fairly quickly after starting this play that I had seen a film version of it with Leslie Caron. While I enjoyed listening to the play, I would recommend the 1958 movie over this audiobook to anyone interested in it. The pace of the audiobook (too slow) and the necessary (but not always complete) stage directions interrupting the flow both detracted from my enjoyment.Regarding the plot: Shaw has some funny scenes in Act 1 satirizing the successful "Harley Street" physician (Harley Street is a street in London that was well-known for being the location of society doctors; it is similar to the term "Fleet Street" meaning the location of publishers of newspapers). I was surprised by how apt some of the satire still is over 100 years later! The main dilemma is one of morality: is it ethical or right to deny possibly life-saving treatment to someone who is a cad? If the availability of treatment is limited, should the moral and potential future usefulness of the patient be a consideration? Shaw also uses Dubedat to challenge the views of the doctors (and audience) as to the relative importance of artistic genius compared to obeying society's rules. Even the ending raises some interesting questions: Dr. Ridgeon believes that he has saved Jennifer Dubedat unhappiness and pain by preventing her from finding out what a bounder Dubedat really was and letting her go through life with her idealized view of him intact. Regardless of the moral issue of whether he should be making such a decision in the first place, is he right? Perhaps she wouldn't have cared! Her sense of right and wrong are not necessarily the same as Ridgeon's. To add to the "dilemma", the good but poor doctor who got the treatment denied to Dubedat has become something of a know-it-all, no longer the nice man he was before. So doubt is thrown on using character as a guide to who deserves treatment from both sides.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This edition of ‘The Doctor’s Dilemma: A tragedy’ comprises of a preface, which consists of a rather long commentary on the behaviour and scandal of doctors during the turn of the twentieth century, and a play, which typifies Bernard Shaw’s wit and skill as satirist. The criticisms in the preface may not seem to be pertinent to modern medicine, however, I did feel that they were relevant in the wider debate surrounding alternative medicines such as homeopathy today. “And every hypochondriacal rich lady or gentleman that can be persuaded that he or she is a lifelong invalid means anything from fifty to five hundred pounds a year to the doctor.” The role of the private practitioner as a trusted authority is compromised by the financial incentives involved by keeping patients ill for longer.In the play, the ‘dilemma’ faced by Sir Colenso Ridgeon (who is the exceptional case of a doctor who does make ‘a very notable contribution to science’) is whether to treat a young, morally bankrupt but incredibly talented artist or to treat a poor, honest but slightly dull, doctor friend of his. The plot is complicated by the fact that Ridgeon is in love with the artist’s doting wife. I found that the play was hugely enjoyable and made me laugh out loud in many places, which was more than enough compensation for the fact that none of the characters were all that likeable.