# Valentine — You Never Can Tell character guide

> Valentine in You Never Can Tell by George Bernard Shaw.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mr. Valentine, Valentine Clandon, Valentine Astonished, Valentine Dazed, Valentine Jumping, Valentine Stiffly, Valentine Dread, Valentine Quailing, Valentine Pooh, Valentine Panting, Valentine Waiter, Valentine Gloria, Valentine Mrs. Lanfrey Clandon

**First appearance:** 0000-you-never-can-tell

## Snapshot

A charming, penniless dentist who falls for Gloria Clandon and finds himself cross-examined by her formidable mother before he can even finish his tea.

## Who they are

Valentine is a young professional with a practice in Madeira and a habit of falling in love, which lands him in Mrs. Clandon's parlor being interrogated about his intentions toward Gloria. He meets her moral seriousness with disarming wit and a confession that he is always in earnest, yet somehow always ends up in trouble anyway. His breezy honesty and refusal to be intimidated make him the comic engine of the play's central courtship, and his gunnery analogy hints that he understands more about the Clandon family's tangled history than anyone expects.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/you_never_can_tell_se/characters/mr_valentine
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/you_never_can_tell_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/you_never_can_tell_se/characters