Private Practice
The private practice of medicine is a key theme in this play as it is a primary reason Ridgeon is able to pass over treatment of Louis. Ridgeon's private practice is only able to handle 10 patients, maximum 11 to cure of tuberculosis as he does not have the resources for more at any one time, and his beds are currently at 10. If the system of healthcare were to be nationalized each patient would be treated and no one would be left behind, whereas Shaw shows us that by allowing privatization of medicine an individual doctor can determine at will whom he treats, and in this case whom will die.
Betrayal
Ridgeon betrays the trust of Jennifer by passing along the care of her husband to Dr. Bonington, a man he knows is only half capable of curing him. He does so in order to marry her for himself. We also see Louis is a man who has betrayed the morality of society in order to live in a manner that pleases him. The difference being that Louis' misgivings are not fully revealed to Jennifer while Ridgeon readily admits them to her in the end.
One Life vs. Another
One great issue that the dilemma in this play so acutely points out is that Ridgeon is given the ability to choose to value one man's life over another. He scrutinizes each patient he selects in order to determine if they are worth saving. Ironic, given the fact that he acts without honor in passing off Louis to Bonington. Would Ridgeon be a man worth saving if placed in the same circumstance?
