# Phyllis — Short Plays character guide

> Phyllis in Short Plays by George Bernard Shaw.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Phyllis, Phyllis Shuddering, Fitz Affecting, Fitz, Fitz Phyllis, Fitz Kneeling, Fitz Solemnly

**First appearance:** 0011-passion-poison-and-petrifaction

## Snapshot

Phyllis, a young woman caught in a melodramatic whirl of poison, disguise, and sudden fortune in Shaw's gleeful parody of Victorian stage thrillers.

## Who they are

In Passion, Poison, and Petrifaction, Phyllis is the ingenue whose romantic entanglements and perilous circumstances drive the farcical machinery of the plot. She is earnest where the play is absurd, which makes her the perfect straight face for Shaw's mockery of theatrical convention, and her affections are pulled between suitors and schemes with breathless rapidity. Her sincere distress amid the ridiculous events anchors the comedy's early and middle scenes, giving the parody something like a heart even as it sends up everything around her.

## Links

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