<ul> <li>This edition includes the editor&#39;s reflection on <i>Philosophical themes addressed in Shaw&#39;s &quot;Man and the Superman&quot;</i></li></ul><br />&ldquo;Man and Superman&rdquo; is a four-act drama written by George Bernard Shaw in 1903. The drama was written in response to a call for Shaw to write a play based on the Don Juan theme. Although &ldquo;Man and Superman&rdquo; can be performed as a light comedy of manners Shaw intended the drama to be something much deeper, as suggested by the title. This title comes from Friedrich Nietzsche&#39;s philosophical ideas about the &quot;<i>&Uuml;bermensch</i>&quot; (&quot;Superman&quot;).<br /><br />&ldquo;Man and Superman&rdquo; centres on John Tanner, a confirmed bachelor despite the pursuits of Ann Whitefield and her persistent efforts to make him marry her. Ann is referred to as &quot;<i>The Life Force</i>&quot; and represents Shaw&#39;s view that in every culture, it is the women who force the men to marry them rather than the men that take the initiative.