The Doctor's Dilemma
Encyclopedia
The Doctor's Dilemma is a play by George Bernard Shaw
first staged in 1906.
In the play a number of dilemmas crop up, of which the main one is that of a doctor who has developed a new cure for tuberculosis, but has only enough of it for one patient. He then has to choose which patient he is going to give it to: a kindly poor medical colleague, or an extremely gifted but also very unpleasant young artist with a young and vivacious wife with whom the doctor is somewhat in love, which makes it even harder for the doctor to separate his motives for the decision. The extensive preface to the play points out that there is another dilemma: poor doctors are easily tempted to perform costly but useless (and in the best case harmless) operations or treatments on their patients for personal gain. "Can this man make better use of his leg than I of fifty pounds?"
This was reportedly inspired by the behaviour of a prominent Ear Nose and Throat specialist in London who had developed a simple and harmless operation to remove the uvula
. This did not benefit any of his patients but made the surgeon a great deal of money.
The play also mentions (then) new developments in the germ theory of disease
, namely opsonin
s, and included socialist and anti-vivisection
ist viewpoints. Specifically, it could be considered as advocating a National Health Service
, such as was created in Britain four decades later - since a doctor who is employed by the state and gets a fixed salary for treating whoever needs medical attention would not face the dilemma discussed in the foreword.
The theme of the play remains current: in any time, there will be treatments that are so scarce or costly that some people can have them while others cannot. Who is to decide, and on which grounds is the decision to be taken?
.
Roles and original cast:
An unexpected side-effect of the play's success was to greatly increase the popularity of the first name "Jennifer
" - name of the main female protagonist - in the English-speaking world.
Actress Katharine Cornell
produced the play in 1941, starring herself and Raymond Massey
.
A film adaptation
of the play, with the same title, was made in 1958, directed by Anthony Asquith
, starring Leslie Caron
and Dirk Bogarde
.
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
first staged in 1906.
In the play a number of dilemmas crop up, of which the main one is that of a doctor who has developed a new cure for tuberculosis, but has only enough of it for one patient. He then has to choose which patient he is going to give it to: a kindly poor medical colleague, or an extremely gifted but also very unpleasant young artist with a young and vivacious wife with whom the doctor is somewhat in love, which makes it even harder for the doctor to separate his motives for the decision. The extensive preface to the play points out that there is another dilemma: poor doctors are easily tempted to perform costly but useless (and in the best case harmless) operations or treatments on their patients for personal gain. "Can this man make better use of his leg than I of fifty pounds?"
This was reportedly inspired by the behaviour of a prominent Ear Nose and Throat specialist in London who had developed a simple and harmless operation to remove the uvula
Uvula
The palatine uvula, usually referred to as simply the uvula , is the conic projection from the posterior edge of the middle of the soft palate, composed of connective tissue containing a number of racemose glands, and some muscular fibers .-Function in language:The uvula plays a role in the...
. This did not benefit any of his patients but made the surgeon a great deal of money.
The play also mentions (then) new developments in the germ theory of disease
Germ theory of disease
The germ theory of disease, also called the pathogenic theory of medicine, is a theory that proposes that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases...
, namely opsonin
Opsonin
An opsonin is any molecule that targets an antigen for an immune response. However, the term is usually used in reference to molecules that act as a binding enhancer for the process of phagocytosis, especially antibodies, which coat the negatively-charged molecules on the membrane. Molecules that...
s, and included socialist and anti-vivisection
Vivisection
Vivisection is defined as surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure...
ist viewpoints. Specifically, it could be considered as advocating a National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
, such as was created in Britain four decades later - since a doctor who is employed by the state and gets a fixed salary for treating whoever needs medical attention would not face the dilemma discussed in the foreword.
The theme of the play remains current: in any time, there will be treatments that are so scarce or costly that some people can have them while others cannot. Who is to decide, and on which grounds is the decision to be taken?
Production information
The Doctor's Dilemma was first produced on 20 November 1906 at the Royal Court TheatreRoyal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
.
Roles and original cast:
- Mr. Danby – Lewis CassonLewis CassonSir Lewis Thomas Casson MC was a British actor and theatre director and the husband of Dame Sybil Thorndike.-Early life:...
- Sir Patrick Cullen – William FarrenWilliam FarrenWilliam Farren , English actor, was born the son of an actor of the same name, who played leading roles from 1784 to 1795 at Theatre Royal, Covent Garden.-Life:...
- Louis Dubedat – Harley Granville-BarkerHarley Granville-BarkerHarley Granville-Barker was an English actor-manager, director, producer, critic and playwright....
- Emmy – Claire Greet
- Dr. Blenkinsop – Edmund Gurney
- Minnie Tinwell – Mary Hamilton
- Cutler Walpole – James Hearn
- Sir Ralph Bloomfield Bonington – Eric LewisEric Lewis (actor)Frederic Lewis Tuffley , better known by his stage name, Eric Lewis, was an English comedian, actor and singer...
- The Newspaper Man – Trevor Lowe
- A Waiter – Percy MarmontPercy MarmontPercy Marmont was an English film actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1916 and 1968. He is best remembered today for playing the title character in Lord Jim the first film version of Joseph Conrad's novel, and for playing one of Clara Bow's love interests in the Paramount Pictures film...
- Jennifer Dubedat – Lillah McCarthyLillah McCarthyLillah McCarthy was an English actress and theatrical manager.McCarthy was born in Cheltenham. She studied elocution under Hermann Vezin and Emil Behnke, and made her first appearance on the stage in 1895...
- Redpenny – Norman Page
- Leo Schutzmacher – Michael Sherbrooke
- Sir Colenso Ridgeon – Ben Webster
An unexpected side-effect of the play's success was to greatly increase the popularity of the first name "Jennifer
Jennifer (given name)
Jennifer is a female given name; it became a common first name for females in English-speaking countries during the 20th century. The name Jennifer is a Cornish variant of Guinevere, meaning The White Fay or White Ghost...
" - name of the main female protagonist - in the English-speaking world.
Actress Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York.Cornell is known as the greatest American stage actress of the 20th century...
produced the play in 1941, starring herself and Raymond Massey
Raymond Massey
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
.
A film adaptation
The Doctor's Dilemma (film)
The Doctor's Dilemma is a 1958 British comedy drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Leslie Caron, Dirk Bogarde, Alastair Sim, Robert Morley and Terence Alexander. It is based on the 1906 play The Doctor's Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw....
of the play, with the same title, was made in 1958, directed by Anthony Asquith
Anthony Asquith
Anthony Asquith was a leading English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on The Winslow Boy and The Browning Version , among other adaptations...
, starring Leslie Caron
Leslie Caron
Leslie Claire Margaret Caron is a French film actress and dancer, who appeared in 45 films between 1951 and 2003. In 2006, her performance in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit won her an Emmy for guest actress in a drama series...
and Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
.