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LESSON NAME- IF I WERE
YOU
By Douglas James

INTRODUCTION
This play is the story of an intruder. He breaks into a lonely house. A
man named Gerrard lives there. He is a playwright. The intruder is a
criminal. He has killed a policeman and is now on the run. This man
has some physical resemblance to Gerrard. His plan is to kill Gerrard
and live there under his name. But Gerrard is smarter than the
criminal. He tells the intruder that he has also killed someone and
the police are after him. He offers to take the intruder in his car to
safety. He opens a door and tells the intruder that it goes to the
garage. As’soon as the intruder enters, Gerard locks the door. In fact
it is not the way to a garage but the door of a cupboard. Then he
phones the police to come and arrest the intruder.

 Gerrard is a typical English gentleman who is an actor-playwright. He is well-educated, fearless and full of humour. The
play opens with Gerrard answering a phone call which is from a client whom he promises to deliver the props for
rehearsal. He is busy packing for travel in this connection when an intruder, flashily dressed in an overcoat and a soft hat
and carrying a revolver in his hand, surprises him from behind. But Gerrard keeps his cool and tries to figure out who the
intruder is when the latter threatens him with dire consequences if his questions are not answered. However, the intruder
declares that he is not there to tell him about himself but to know the personal details of Gerrard. The intruder tells
Gerrard that he is a robber who specialises in the theft of jewels and that he plans to use Gerrard’s house and car for his
schemes. The intruder then announces that he is going to kill Gerrard and later assume his identity as there is a good
resemblance between the two of them. In this way, he can evade the police and lead a peaceful life. The intruder further
surprises Gerrard by telling him that he has noticed his (Gerrard’s) manner of speech and has taken care to adopt a
resemblance to him in looks too. He needs to change his identity because the cops are searching him for having killed one
of their colleagues. He also tells Gerrard how he has come to know about him by overhearing a conversation between two
people. But it is Gerrard who has the last laugh when he fools the intruder into believing that he too is running from the
law and is about to flee. He completely befools the intruder by making him check for himself if everything is safe outside
before they escape. He makes him peep into a dark cupboard giving the impression that it leads to the garage. The
moment the intruder peeps in, Gerrard pushes him into the cupboard, knocking the revolver out of his hand. While the
intruder keeps rattling the door and shouting, “Let me out of here!”, Gerrard gets down to business. Very coolly he
answers a phone call, apologising that he wouldn’t be able to deliver stage props in time for rehearsal. At the same time,
he requests the caller to send the sergeant to his place. All this while he guards the cupboard with the intruder’s revolver.
Gerrard is so amused by this incident that he decides to use it as the plot for his next play.
SUMMARY

ABOUT AUTHOR
 James Douglas, (born Aug. 15, 1803, Demerara, British Guiana—died Aug. 2, 1877, Victoria, B.C.,
Can.), Canadian statesman known as “the father of British Columbia.” He became its first governor
when it was a newly formed wilderness colony.
 Douglas joined the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821 and rose to become senior member of the
board, in charge of operations west of the Rocky Mountains. After the establishment of the
southwestern boundary with the United States, he moved the company’s headquarters
from Oregon to Vancouver Island in 1849. As governor (1851–64) of Vancouver Island when gold
was discovered on the Fraser River in 1858, he extended his authority to the mainland in order to
preserve Britain’s foothold on the Pacific in the face of an influx of settlers from the United States.
His action was approved by the British government, which then created the colony of British
Columbia. Douglas became its governor in 1858 after severing his connection with the Hudson’s
Bay Company. He was knighted in 1863 and retired in 1864.

CHARACTERS
 Intruder
 The intruder is a villainous scoundrel, a confirmed criminal who makes intriguing plans to dodge the police. He has evil intentions and crafty
plans to achieve his aims. Cold blooded and cruel as he is, he does not hesitate from murdering innocent people for his selfish gains. But his
wickedness cannot sustain him for long.
 The intruder is a criminal who has been eluding the police ever since he killed a cop. Having no sense of remorse for the crime he has
committed, he is further sinking in the mire of criminal activities. Over-confidence makes him feel that he has made a brilliant plan of
murdering Gerrard and escaping the law by impersonating him. However, he is soon outwitted by Gerrard and he unsuspectingly walks into
the latter’s trap. All his tall claims about his intelligence prove to be hollow. This heartless and hardened criminal meets a befitting end.
 Gerrard
 Gerrard, the protagonist of “If I Were You” is portrayed as a man of many virtues. He is endowed with a brilliant wit, a sharp
mind, smart thinking, and a sense of humour. All these qualities, combined with a cool temperament enable him to handle
even a life-threatening situation very successfully and easily.
 Gerrard is associated with the theatre. He writes, acts and provides props for plays. He is a refined and a cultured man, who
keeps his cool even in the most difficult situations. The sight of an intruder doesn’t ruffle him and he talks to him very
courteously and pleasantly. His sense of humour irritates the intruder many times. Even when acting funny, he keeps his
presence of mind and lays a trap for the intruder. Everything comes so naturally and spontaneously to him that the intruder
walks into his trap unsuspectingly. Gerrard’s intelligence not only outwits the intruder and saves his own life, but also helps
the police in nabbing a wanted criminal. In fact, Gerrard, with his unagitated, composed mind stands as a foil to the cruel
and villainous intruder


THEME
 The theme of the play emphasizes the significance of intelligence, the presence
of mind and a cool head in situations of crisis. Panic complicates matters but cool
temperament can help one wriggle out of the tight corners with ease. Criminals,
who mastermind most deceitful crimes, can also be outwitted because they have
a fear of getting detected and caught by the law. Hence, a tactful planning and
handling of a situation can trap even the so-called smart criminals.

TITL
E
 “If I Were You” is a very appropriate title. It refers to the wishful thinking of the
intruder who wants to assume Gerrard’s identity in order to escape the law. His
idea of eluding the police by living on a borrowed identity remains unfulfilled as
he is trapped by Gerrard and outwitted before he assumes his life. His dream to
impersonate Gerrard is quashed and the ‘If’ in “If I Were You” looms forever with
no hope of becoming a concrete reality. The title, therefore, hints at the basic idea
of the story, and is, therefore, very apt.

MESSAGE
 The play gives the message that over-confidence can lead to disastrous results. One should never
consider oneself to be smarter than the opponent as is done by the intruder who thinks that
Gerrard is no match for him. The play also conveys that intelligence, the presence of mind, and
cool-headedness can help us overcome the gravest of problems that we may encounter.

HUMOUR
 Though the play deals with a criminal and a playwright caught unaware by him, there is a thread of
humour in the very texture of the play. The humour is neither boisterous nor unnatural. It is refined
and subtle. Gerrard’s cool-headedness and presence of mind make him come out with such witty
and sarcastic remarks that the criminal feels irritated and the audience feels amused. When the
intruder asks him to talk about himself, rather than panicking, he says he is happy to have a
sympathetic audience. When the intruder proposes to live in his cottage, Gerrard, rather than being
shocked, says, You have not been invited”. Talking about the intruder’s looks, Gerrard remarks, “You
are not particularly decorative”. Such humour runs throughout the play and makes it a gripping and
amusing drama.

NAME:- ELISHA KALA
CLASS:- 9TH-A
ROLL NO. :- 12

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IF I WERE YOU

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IF I WERE YOU