How can George Bernard Shaw's play, Candida, be explained as a play of ideas and a problem play?

George Bernard Shaw's Candida as a
problem play; note the following the definition—it is a kind
of...

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...drama that developed in the 19th
century to deal with controversial social issues...and stimulate thought and discussion.
[For example,] Henrik Ibsen...exposed hypocrisy, greed...in a number of masterly plays.
His influence encouraged others to use the form.  href="http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Shaw%2C+George+Bernard">George
Bernard Shaw brought it to an intellectual peak with his plays and their long,
witty
prefaces.

Candida's
purpose is not to expose social ills (though it does casually refer to "socialism and
corruption in government"); it deals more with "controversial social issues" such as the
reality of marriage in the 19th
Century.

Candida is a play of
ideas.

[Shaw]
has been credited with creating the “theater of ideas,” in which plays explore such
issues as sexism, sexual equality, socioeconomic divisions, the effects of poverty, and
philosophical and religious
theories.

Some of Shaw's
critics often find...

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that his plays are merely tracts for expressing
Shaw’s ideas on love, war, property, morals, and
revolution...

...but
not with regard to Candide. Whereas many of
his plays deal with social issues and rebellion, this play deals mostly with the
old-fashioned institution of marriage. Morell is married to Candida; Marchbanks is a
young, unrealistic poet who idealizes Candida and admits to Morell
that he loves Candida. The idea here is: what is love? It ends up
being about marriage, not the romantic ideas of
Marchbanks.

Whereas Marchbanks (eighteen years old) is part
of generation of young people who do not look at the world realistically—but with the
"rose-colored glasses" of idealism—Morell is  href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grounded">grounded
("mentally and emotionally stable: admirably sensible,
realistic, & unpretentious") as a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clergy">clergyman, husband
and father. Marchbanks is appalled that Candida is reduced to menial tasks within the
household (like peeling onions), but Candida is much more sensible than Marchbanks; she
easily assumes her role as wife, mother and homemaker. She may feel a friendly affection
for the young man, but nothing else.

On the other hand,
Morell, having listened to Marchbank's poetic spoutings, wonders if he is not, indeed,
too "mundane" for his wife. However, Candida is presented as a strong woman who is happy
to support her husband and do what she can to see to his
success.

Marchbanks demands that Candida decide—she chooses
"the weaker one,"—her husband. He needs her support and faith in
him. He is not presented as a weak figure, but as a man who
succeeds because of his wife's dedication. The two have a solid
give-and-take relationship that allows them to be happy with their marriage and love for
each other. Their relationship is not the stuff poetry is made of, but realistically,
life generally is not.

Marchbanks leaves: he has the soul
of a poet—searching for places where he might change the world. The "mundane" life of
marriage is not for him.

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Many regard this, a husband and wife coming to a
fuller understanding of each other, as the central aspect of the
play.

Candida
may be seen as a play of ideas in that it is philosophical: comparing the views of
idealistic and inexperienced rebellious youth to the more realistic experiences of those
working through life's challenges, such as marriage, which require dedication and
devotion.

Additional
Source:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grounded