Professor Henry Corrie
CHARACTER SKETCH OF “PROFESSOR HENRY CORRIE” INTRODUCTION: St. John G. Ervine presents the sensational drama “PROGRESS” in which the story rotates around the characters of Professor Henry Corrie and his sister Mrs. Meldon. Professor Henry Corrie is about sixty years of age. He lives in a remoter village in the North of England. He is happy in isolation because he can concentrate on his secret research work. APPEARANCE: Corrie has cold humorless eyes. There are cruel lines on his face but they are bidden behind the thickish beard.
He is very dangerous but apparently he does not seem to be so. He is a symbol of tyranny. destruction, selfishness and materialism. INTELLIGENT SCIENTIST: Corrie is D. Sc. And highly, educated scientist of England. He is completely absorbed in his research word. After a life long struggle, he has been successful in discovering a terrible formula of a devastating bomb. It will devastate a district. It will release a powerful, spreading poisonous gas, without colour or smell. Those who will inhale it, their bodies will rot and rust and nothing will save them happily he says: “Ah!
At last by heaven I Have done it, at last. ” MATERIALISTIC AND UNPATRIOTIC: Corrie is the complete representative of today’s materialistic world. Although his bomb will kill thousands with in no time, and will wipe out big cities like Manchester yet he feels proud of his invention and say: “This will bring fame and fortune to me. I shall be rich now, but more than that I shall be famous. ” He is mad after wealth. Greed and lust of wealth has turned him not only materialistic and selfish but also unpatriotic. “If they won’t pay my price, I’ll offer it to son ebody else”.
This is the height of treachery. The great scientist fails to visualize that if the enemy uses that bomb, his own country-men would be eliminated. UNSOCIAL AND UNCOURTOUS: Corrie is not a social man. He is so lost in his work that he has lost all interest for the human beings. Although he makes a promise to go to the station to the receive his only sister yet he does not go. It is the third death anniversary of Eddie. Mrs. Meldon’s only son. She is sad, instead of sympathizing with her, he proudly talks about his sinister bomb. He is cruel and selfish.
He forces her to rejoice at the dreadful invention. He asks her: “but look at the maher from a, Broad point of view. Put your Own feelings aside! ”. HATRED FOR WOMEN: Corrie lacks aesthetic sense. He is a misogamist. He is disinterested with the finer values of life. That is why he has not married as yet. He hates women and his sister is no exception to his hatred. He say: “Oh how women do fuss! No Application. No concentration. That’s why no women have Ever been great artists or scientists. ” PROUD AND CALLOUS: Corrie is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Corrie is doing nothing to reduce poverty or hunger. Rather he has been busy in inventing a dangerous bomb for his own selfish motives. In his own words: “With a single bomb we could Wipe out the population of a city As big as Manchester. Single bomb Charlotte! ” CONCLUSION: Mrs Meldon asks him time and again to suppress his evil invention. But he pays no heed to it. Rather he becomes angry and calls her morbid, fool of a woman. He makes fun of her ideas, laughs harshly and finally says: “Well, shan’t. Give up my Invention for a lot of demand sentiment! Not likely! ” n her desperate step to save the world from destruction, she stabs him to death. In fact he was the symbol of vice, destruction and enemy of mankind. He suffered in a deserving way. CHARACTER SKETCH OF “MRS. MELDON” INTRODUCTION: St. John G. Ervine presents the sensational drama “PROGRESS” in which the story rotates around the characters of Mrs. Meldon and Professor Henry Corrie. Mrs. Meldon is also called Charlotte. Her heart brims with the love of Mankind and is against wars and war mongers. She symbolizes love and affection, peace and tranquility modesty and humanity.
