Great Catherine (Whom Glory Still Adores)

In Short

Bernard Shaw’s historical comedy depicts the clash between rigid British decorum and the unruly reality of Russian imperial power. Captain Edstaston arrives at the St. Petersburg court expecting standard diplomatic courtesy, only to be tossed about by the drunk, terrifyingly clever Prince Patiomkin and the formidable Empress Catherine II. Unfazed in his parochial arrogance, Edstaston resists Catherine’s advances through sheer stiff-upper-lip obliviousness. The play has endured for its hilarious, satirical contrast between imperial absolutism and parochial English self-righteousness.

The Story

The play opens in the quarters of Prince Patiomkin, who lies sprawling, drunk, and unkempt while his niece Varinka complains about his filthy habits and erratic behavior. An old Cossack sergeant announces the arrival of Captain Edstaston, a handsome, highly recommended English officer of the Light Dragoons. Edstaston enters expecting formal state conduct, but Patiomkin alternates between wild rages, absurd physical antics, and sudden moments of razor-sharp political calculation. Patiomkin drinks, feigns intoxication, and reads Edstaston’s credentials instantaneously with a squinted eye. Recognizing the young Englishman's pride and potential to amuse the sovereign, Patiomkin drag-lectures him on Russian realism, offers him gems, and forcibly hauls the bewildered officer off to see Empress Catherine II.

In her private chambers, Catherine complains bitterly to her courtier Naryshkin about the empty tedium of imperial ritual, claiming that as a Liberal philosopher, she gets no real enjoyment from her throne. Patiomkin bursts in, pretending to be dead drunk, and collapses on the floor. Catherine kicks him in annoyance, breaking her toe, before turning her attention to Edstaston. Fascinated by the captain’s stiff manner and refusal to play the flattering courtier, she grows coquettish, slapping his cheek and granting him her favor. However, upon returning to Patiomkin, Edstaston reveals that he is utterly uninterested in royal favors because he is engaged to an Englishwoman named Claire, who has just arrived in St. Petersburg.

Fearing Catherine’s possessive wrath, Edstaston plans a hasty escape, but Patiomkin’s men ambush him. A struggle ensues, and soldiers tie Edstaston neck and crop to a pole. He is carried into a triangular recess beside the royal ballroom, Catherine’s private torture chamber. Catherine enters, dismissing her terrified courtiers and rejecting traditional barbaric torture tools in favor of her own civilized method: mercilessly tickling Edstaston’s ribs with the tip of her shoe while unconcernedly reading a pamphlet by Voltaire.

Edstaston’s frantic screams prompt his fiancée Claire to burst into the room. A scene of frantic jealousy and absurd confusion follows, culminating in Patiomkin, Varinka, and the sergeant all falling to their knees to beg Claire to forgive her fiancé. Overwhelmed by the drama, Claire yields. Unbound, Edstaston remains completely blind to Catherine's romantic interest, blithely offering the Empress domestic advice on getting married again, having children, and replacing cold Russian stoves with good English open hearthrugs. Astonished and Speechless, Catherine lets the couple depart, leaving Patiomkin to offer horrific retributions, only for Catherine to confess her secret wish to have kept the absurd Englishman for herself.

How It Unfolds

An unruly reception Captain Edstaston arrives at Prince Patiomkin’s messy quarters, where he is met with violent mood swings, heavy drinking, and sudden bursts of acute political shrewdness from the formidable statesman.

Introduced to majesty Patiomkin physically drags the reluctant English officer into the imperial morning levees, presenting him to a bored Catherine II who is busily complaining about the hollow burdens of royal grandeur.

An imperial whim Catherine takes a liking to Edstaston’s insular confidence, slapping his cheek in flirtatious favor, while Edstaston panics and reveals to Patiomkin that he is already engaged to an Englishwoman named Claire.

Bound and captured As Edstaston tries to arrange a fast departure from Russia, Patiomkin’s soldiers overpower him in a violent tussle, tying him securely to a wooden pole to prevent his flight.

Civilized torment Delivered to Catherine’s private room, Edstaston is subjected to the Empress’s preferred form of restraint and punishment, as she casually unrolls a French pamphlet and tickles his exposed ribs with her shoe.

An explosive intrusion Hearing her lover’s hysterical yells, Claire crashes through the guards into the private chamber, discovering the Empress in a strangely intimate, playful confrontation with her bound fiancé.

A joint supplication A dramatic scene of jealousy is dissolved when Patiomkin, his niece, and the Cossack sergeant all drop to their knees in a bizarre, theatrical plea for Claire to forgive Edstaston.

Unsolicited domestic advice Once freed, Edstaston delivers an utterly tone-deaf sermon to the monarch of Russia, advising her to abandon philosophy, marry a nice man, and build a cozy family home around an open English grate.

The People

Catherine II (Empress of Russia)

• Wants: To be admired as an enlightened, Liberal philosopher-queen while indulging her sudden personal whims and romantic fancies without pushback.
• Obstacle: The dull etiquette of her court, the limits of her courtiers' intelligence, and Edstaston's complete immunity to her imperial charm.
• Transformation: Though accustomed to total submission, she is left speechless and strangely wistful by an ordinary Englishman who treats her like an elderly aunt needing domestic guidance.

Prince Patiomkin

• Wants: To maintain his towering influence over Catherine and manage foreign visitors through calculated theatricality and intimidation.
• Obstacle: His own drunkenness, wild temper, and the absolute unpredictability of English visitors.
• Transformation: He moves from playing the unhinged barbarian to acting as a manipulative matchmaker, ultimately reverting to fierce loyalty toward Catherine's desires.

Captain Charles Edstaston

• Wants: To deliver his diplomatic letters, secure an audience with the Empress, and maintain the rigid moral dignity of an English officer.
• Obstacle: The chaotic, uninhibited Russian court that ignores all standard social decorum.
• Transformation: Despite being dragged, tied up, and tickled by royalty, he remains entirely unchanged, leaving the court with his English moral superiority intact.

Claire

• Wants: To protect her fiancé Charles from foreign dangers and secure his immediate return home.
• Obstacle: The terrifying authority of the Empress and the strange, volatile behavior of the Russian court.
• Transformation: She transforms from a terrified fiancée storming the palace into a jealous, confused, and eventually exasperated partner forced into a public forgiveness scene.

In Its Own Voice

When Captain Edstaston demands proper diplomatic respect from the volatile Russian statesman, Patiomkin dismisses his English sensibilities with casual cynicism:

"In real life, darling, all facts are unpleasant."

Addressing her terrified courtier, Catherine defends her identity as an enlightened ruler while dismissing his primitive notions of punishment:

"How dare you name such abominations to a Liberal Empress?"

Upon unbinding Edstaston, Catherine offers a sharp assessment of his utter lack of romantic passion or intrigue:

"Captain Edstaston, you are a booby."

What It's Really About

Shaw’s play is a satirical examination of national character and the ridiculous nature of autocratic power. It contrasts the extreme, dramatic emotionality of the Russian court with the narrow, self-satisfied hypocrisy of the British ruling class. Catherine represents the contradiction of enlightened despotism—a monarch who reads Voltaire and preaches Liberal reform while maintaining absolute power over her subjects through intimidation and punishment. Edstaston embodies insular British provincialism; his rigid adherence to gentlemanly code makes him completely blind to real danger, political nuance, or sexual invitation. The play suggests that political grandiosity and high-minded ideology are frequently just thin veils for basic human appetites, absurd theatrical vanity, and petty domestic desires.

Why Read It Today

This play will delight readers who enjoy sharp theatrical comedy, fast-paced dialogue, and biting cultural satire. Reading it feels like watching a high-stakes comedy of manners where political history is gleefully stripped of its usual dignity. Shaw writes with rhythmic precision, balancing outrageous physical farce—such as tickling tortures and drunken physical scuffles—with witty, intellectual banter.

The play's brief length and kinetic energy make it an exceptionally quick and entertaining read. Readers should be prepared for period attitudes, heavy-handed national stereotypes, and phonetic rendering of drunken speech or foreign dialects, particularly in Patiomkin's slurred dialogue and the Cossack sergeant's submissive phrasing. However, these stylistic choices serve Shaw's central aim: exposing the absurdity of both imperial dominance and self-righteous nationalism. What stays with you is the hilarious image of an all-powerful autocrat rendered completely helpless not by armies or political opponents, but by the impenetrable, domestic absurdity of an ordinary English gentleman.