� � BERNARD SHAW with Special Reference to PYGMALION, ST.JOAN & MAN A Title ND SUPERMAN(II) Author(s) 新井, 広 Citation 北海道学芸大学紀要. 第一部. A, 人文科学編, 16(2): 132-142 Issue Date 1965-12 URL http://s-ir.sap.hokkyodai.ac.jp/dspace/handle/123456789/3794 Rights Hokkaido University of Education Vol. 16, No. 2 Journal of Hokkaido Gakugei University (Section I A) Dec., 1965 BERNARD SHAW with Special Reference to PYGMALION, ST. JOAN & MAN AND SUPERMAN (II) Hiro ABAI The Department of English Literature, Asahigawa Branch SAINT JOAN 1. Introduction The three persons who seem to have given direct suggestion to Shaw for his writing SAINT JOAN were : Sir Sydney Cookerell who sent Shaw T. Douglas Nurray's " Jeanne D'Arc". He also introduced him to his friend "the Abbess of Stanbrook, whose saintliness and unencloosed mind " impressed Shaw greatly, cf : (Margaret Shenfielb, p. 105) ; Mary Hankinson, cf. G. B. Shaw's letter, (ST. JOHN ERVINE, p. 496) " To Mary Hankinson, the only woman I know who does not believe that she is the model for JOAN and the woman who actually was ..." and Charlotte, Shaw's wife " who left books about JOAN lying in every room he was likely to imhabit. He found himself practically picking up one of these books and reading in it, until one day he suddenly exclaimed to the wise and smiling Charlotte ..." G. B. Shaw is well-known as a propagandist as well as a man who utilizes anything anybody he knows, so it is not surprising that he writes such a letter as mentioned above, even if Mary is not the main motif. A. Henderson also writes of Sir Sydney Cockerell's sending G. B. SHAW that book. As for his wife's attitude to Shaw about writing SAINT JOAN I can only say it is very proable of her to do so, judging from her conduct to him those days. Bernard Shaw might have written the play SAINT JOAN even if there had been no suggestion made to him froin others. He is said to have been a rigorous Puritan, though not a church-goer. It is said that he has seen some absurdities in a minister's sermon which dislikes him to attend church. But his religious belief as a Christian seems to have become deeper and greater as years went by. His later works show this fact. He has not been perfectly satisfied with being a non-church-goer-Christian. In his heart he must have been secretly ashamed himself of his obsfinacy. I can say that his —132— Hiro Arai SAINT JOAN is his turning point in his attitude toward religion. The work has been truly made didactically and with a great success. That is the reason I believe, why he has written such a long and deliberate essay in the form of PREFACE TO ST. JOAN, dividing it into as many as 41 sections and spending as many as one-third of the whole pages of the book. It is entirely my supposition that his attitude toward religion must have been different as he grew older, but, judging from his ST. JOAN, my supposition is not without reasons. If Joan had not been cannonized, he would not have written the work. Shaw says that he does not whole-heartedly agree with Joan's cannonization if that means the condemnation of those who sentenced Joan guilty. It is clear that Shaw is speaking for "the church and for those who punished Joan. He is careful in his treatment of Joan in order to convince every reader the inevitability of Joan's death and yet her innocence. As A. C. Ward says : "He wrote to open people's minds to new ideas, not to stir their feelings " and the new idea does not mean his favorite destructive ideas, even though it looks like that, but really it is to see "not only her (Joan's) point of view but also her opponents' reasons for destroying her " (INTRO- DUCTION TO SAINT JOAN BY A. C. WARD). The readers of ST. JOAN also see in the treatment of ST. JOAN that, though he may not be a church-goer, his belief in Christianity is not less than that of any regular church-goer. In order to present his ideas of Joan as he expressed in his PREFACE better, I purposely postponed my reference to the PREFACE, following first the movement of Joan in each scene in relation to the PREFACE, following first the movement of Joan in each scene in relation to other characters of the play. 2. SCENES I, H, M, and N Of the seven scenes, SCENE I seems one of the best as a stage performance goes- opening the scene by the shrill voice of handsome Robert's (the head of the castle) "No eggs! No eggs!. .." and closing it by the same person's cry, "Christ in Heaven! She did come from God", and under him, his trodden worm, namely his steward, crouching, but holding high over his head a basket filled with " five dozen eggs !" So, it has a beauty of unity, and the contrast agreeable to be seen though this sort of technical devise would be the one commonly seen in a traditional play. Robert must be a suitable captain of the castle of those days. First of all, it must be his physical condition that has made him the master of the castle. He is handsome and physically energetic, which characteristic must have covered his defects even if he had many. His lack of will is, in a way, a merit. It shows he has not much confidence in himself. So he saks for the advice of Paulengey rather politely as to how to deal with Joan. Paulgengey is straightforward in his answer. He has no doubt. His answer is positive. There is never a shadow of hesitation in his answer. Now, if Robert is positive as Paulengey or much wiser than he really is, there might have been unknown enemies, —133— BERNARD SAW with Special Reference to PZGMALION. ST. JOAN & MAN AND SUPERMAN like Socrates, watching the chance of castng him down from that honored position. He is rather sensitive about " money matters ", I dare say. It is about " no eggs " that has pricked his sense and caused him to see Joan. It was also " lots of eggs " he actually could see that made him cry, "She did come from God." Also, he was unwilling to pay sixteen francs for a horse and was surprised to hear Paulengey's determination to pay for it. The trodden-worm-ste.ward might have deliberately made use of that weakness of his master's, hid the eggs and announced the sterility of the hens. There is nothing, however, to testify the truth of it. Probably the record of the history would show the truth. But there is one expression made by the steward, "... but she puts courage into us". This shows that he was also hearing Joan speak to the soldiers, that he might have forgotten to feed the hens properly, or the hens had been affected with the unusual atmosphere of the courtyard, etc., etc. The most singular character is Joan's. The girl takes an initiative part, vanguard position to anyone she meets with, just as Eliza Doolittle in the " PYGMALION " takes almost the same position, just as Eve toward Adam in the Old Testament. Her manner is sprightly and direct and frank. As her good intention is invitably felt, her familiar manner in calling the Captain Robert or Paulengey Polly is not so appalling as Robert's abuses ; "... the worst, most incompetent, drivelling, snivelling jibbering jabbering idiot of a steward in France." SAINT JOAN of SCENE I is full of Joan's hope and God's blessing upon her on hand and her defiance of the archibishop and others on the other which is in spite of bombastic resistance made her loneliness and sadness the deeper. SCENE II is perhaps more grand and impressive than the first scene because the high ranking personages gather together, the Archibishop, La Tremouille and the Dauphin, and the scene is ironical rather than interesting. A passage, " with nothing of the ecclesiastic about him except his imposing bearing" well characterizes the ARCHIB1SHOP. What would be the typical characteristic of " ecclesiastic " is something I can not tell clearly, and yet I may be right in guessing G. B, Shaw's irony therein. His intention would be to reveal a human weakness seen even in a highest dignitary, perhaps seen more in a so-called great person. Bernard Shsw's attitude to his characters in SAINT JOAN is to reveal their weaknesses, while in the PYGMALION the author seems to reveal each character's meritorious side of it. This Archibishop seems to represent all the Ecclesiastic world leaders. I-Iis speech does not go beyond that world. His lending money to the Dauphin is all right. The funny thing about him is his quarrelling with the Dauphin about money matters or ridiculing the Dauphin's poverty and an insignificant physique. "He (the Dauphin) has never a suit of clothes that I would throw to a curate." The Archibishop's speech or action does not go beyond commonsense just like Polonius's in HAMLET, yet his appearance is so imposing that his sort of commonsense would be the very one to convince ideotic people. It is also after he has read through the letter concerning Joan that he finally says : "The Church must examine the girl before anything decisive is done about her.