Relationship among Raina, Captain Bluntschli & Sergius in Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw

In beginning Raina is presented as being a romantically idealistic person in love and with the noble ideal of war and love and she worships her fiancé Sergius' brave feats in war and cherishing the pure love they share as she says “I think we two have found the higher love.”Sergius is the epitome of what every romantic hero should beand the acclaimed hero of a recent crushing victory in a recent cavalry raid which he led. He is possessed of only the loftiest and most noble ideals concerning war, romance, and chivalry, and he represents the quintessence of what a noble Bulgarian aristocrat should be.

On the other hand, Captain Bluntschli is a thirty-four-year-old realist who sees through the absurd romanticism of war. Furthermore, he is a professional soldier and knows that 'nine soldiers out of ten are born fools'. These methods allow Sergius to refer to his ability to wage a war as being low-class commercialism, devoid of any honor and nobility. Bluntschli would agree with this appraisal since he sees nothing romantic about the violent and senseless slaughter of human beings, even though it is his profession.

On the night of gun-battle, the Serbian Major, Bluntschli, entered secretly into Raina's bed-chamber. He demolishes Raina's false impressions of patriotism and heroism. By the end of the opening scene, Raina grows fond of the enemy having fallen asleep in her bed.

Although Sergius has won the battle of Slivnitza, he is not promoted in the Bulgarian army. When Sergius returns, he seduces and flirts with the Petkoff house-maid, Louka, and the same is detected by Raina. By the time Bluntschli re-appears to return Major Petkoff's coat, Raina is in love with her 'chocolate-cream soldier'.

Though Bluntschli offers up the fact of his wealth as evidence he would be a good husband, Raina makes clear that she fell in love with a tattered soldier, and her affection will not be “bought”. She says”I did not give them to the Emperor of Switzerland.” Her relationship with Bluntschli represents a kind of transgression of expectations, a union of “real love” rather than “true love.” Meanwhile, Sergius, the man held up as a heroic model for all men through the play, now holds up the realist Bluntschli as the man who should actually be admired and Sergius says the last line of the play “What a man ! What a man!”