# Captain Edstaston — Short Plays character guide

> Captain Edstaston in Short Plays by George Bernard Shaw.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Edstaston, Edstaston Bows, Edstaston Shortly, Edstaston Ironically, Naryshkin, Naryshkin Captain Edstaston, Edstaston Pardon, Edstaston Delicately, Edstaston Resisting, Edstaston Struggling, Edstaston Dignity, Edstaston Precisely, Edstaston Following

**First appearance:** 0035-great-catherine

## Snapshot

A stiff, well-meaning English officer abroad in Catherine the Great's court, Edstaston is strapped, tickled, and thoroughly undone by Russian hospitality and an Empress's whim.

## Who they are

Edstaston arrives at the Winter Palace as a model of English propriety, engaged to the jealous Claire and determined to behave like a gentleman in a country that has no interest in gentlemen. Catherine takes one look at him and decides to keep him, subjecting him to mock tortures that are really flirtations while Claire watches in mounting fury. His helplessness between the two women turns him into Shaw's comic specimen of English stiffness melting under foreign heat.

## Relationships

### [Great Catherine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_plays_se/characters/great_catherine)

_romantic_

Captain Edstaston is a reluctant suitor to the powerful and domineering Great Catherine, who toys with him romantically.

### [Claire](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_plays_se/characters/claire)

_romantic_

Captain Edstaston and Claire are engaged, but their relationship is strained by Catherine's interference.

### [Patiomkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_plays_se/characters/patiomkin)

_rivalry_

Captain Edstaston and Patiomkin are adversaries, with Patiomkin threatening Edstaston's safety at Catherine's court.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_plays_se/characters/captain_edstaston
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_plays_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_plays_se/characters