Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-01-23
THE %ECcENTRICTlES
OF BERNARD SHAW.
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UT
Mr.. Mansheld's production Of George
Bernard Shaw's new play. 1.-THE DeV1ls
Disciple" brings into the foreground again
n Of the distinctly unconventional careers
in the contemporary letters. says the chi
cage Post. Shaw is collectively an original.
Diluted in the acid Of analysis. he resolves
into many ingredients. To Americans ne -
Count OF his Arms and the Man" which
we have seen, and 1.-The Devils Disciple.
which we are soon to see. To some ne ID
and dolngs which have drawn him into
publicity. In England. where the multi
plicity of his achievements Is g. common
fact. he has 2 reputation tor a 6ts gs an
actor. then an art critic, novelist. pontica
essayist. public speaker and playwright,
By birth Shaw is an 1rishman. ny resi-,
1t Is said that he has written himself q
British renegade and a most loyal Ameri.
car. His father was a financial failure, MS
mother was an amateur musical success.
and the son has inherited these dominant
characteristics Of both. AS a boy he at.
tended various day schools. then WORKED
lii, but office work was entirely distasteful
to him. and at the age of 20 he went over
to London to try his luck. There Is no
royal ROAD, uOW6NeI, III " 70
fame, and Shaw found himself obliged to
tread the weary path Of privation. liz
many another before him. For several
years he struggled pe~rsls 9n,Iy MINT Wt't ana
novels that no publisher would publish. BUT
somehow or other he fought his way into
journalism. literature and PUBLIC HE. BE.
Shaw naturally avows penchant for lbsen.
He believes Ibsen Is greater than Shakes,
peare. and that Shaw Is Is, greater oamnt man an
the Bard Of AVON. But his uncompromising
attitude toward the merely conventional Is
shown in small things as we'll as In great.
While In religion declaring himself to be
anything but orthodox. in diet he Is a vege-
tartan: he Is a total abstainer; he even does
not smoke. and in dress refuses to submit
modern costume, such as the hard. shiny
cylinders of black and white" worn on the
head. neck and wrists. Needless to say. he
.i dass a mot cuns. a II ta IS ,s has s ana a he aoes not not
{ hesitate to, attend a Londo first night in
a flannel shirt and C. SLOUGH hat:
One of Shaw's distinct personalities Is his
fund Of wit INT eyer-ready speech. which
has served him we'll on more than one oc-
casion. When Arms and the Man. was
m aafss RfSs efose the IN cu maadop By s ana en Mas ssI,
audience. In the midst of their applause he
thought he detected a boot from a dis
satisned person in the upper tier. : The
friend in the gallery said he. but what
are two against so many?" On another oc-
talent for fiction. and he replied that 1t wa
revealed to him at an early age in the
very long prayers he used to make az a
self. he once replied that he was the
wittiest man in London and 1t would be
difficult to disprove his statement, II any
should be taken seriously. one writer re-
calls thai som one has declared we n
be said to hold a belief firmly till we can
afford to laugh at It; and II his Is SO. then
levers in the world.
The kernel Of Shaw's dramatic dogma, q
word which he would probably deny q place
position Of the mans gift of expression, is
contained in the following explanation of
his relation to his critics. which was writ
"a! sArm na a anS'y the 20 M misapp! s. shini very 91 few a1s
people know how troublesome dramatic
critics are. 1t is not that they are morally
nothing. Or. rather. II, is a great deal worse
than that; they know everything wrong.
Put a thing on the stage for them as it 10
a blank wonder of plain ignorance they re-
ject 1t with scorn as an imposture, on the
ground that the real thing is known to the
world as quite different. = / am,
among other things, q dramattst; but I am
not an original one. and SO l have to take
all my material either from life at first
hand or from authentic documents. The
more usual course is to taxi 1t out Of other
dramas; in which case, on tracing 1t back
from one drama to another. you finally
come to its origin In the inventive imagina-
fact as Invented by a dramatist differs
widely from q fact OF the same name as 1t
exists in real life. Not only stage pumps
and stage hi human AM. nature. d iasF' from mGaa1 thy
man who derives ali his SnoSledEe Of life
more unreal than objective, life. A dra.
matte critic is generally such a man: and
the more exactly I produce objective life
for him on the stage the more certain he is
to call my play an extravaganza. 1t may
be asked here whether 1t Is possible for one
who every day c~ontemplates the real world
for fourteen of his waking hours. and the
stage for only two. to know more of the
stage world than the real world. As well
might it be argued that a farmers wife
churning for only two hours a week and
must know more about geology. forestry
and botany than about butter. a man
knows what he works at. not at what he
Miss Elizabeth Marbury. the American
theatrical agent who handles Shaw's plays,
had occasion to remit him comparatively
Of his works, and she did so in rather an
apologize letter. The answer she received,
SO indicative Of shaw,s character. is here
Marbury:-what do you want me to make
a fortune for? Don't you know that the
draft you sent. me will permit me to live
and preach socialism for six months The
next time you have so large an amount to
remit please send 1t to me by installments.
or You will put me to the inconvenience OF
having q bank account. What do you
mean by giving me advice about writing a
play with a view to the box office receipts!
I shall continue writing just as I do now
for the next ten years. After that we can
wallow in the gold poured at our feet by q
dramatically regenerated public"
One Of the closest students of this man
has said of Shaw that what gives unity to
his work in all its ranches Ito none OF
which he is willing to give precedence over
the others) is the underlying principle OF
usage, whether in religion, politics, art OF
everyday life. Add to this his unhesitatine
endeavor to act upon the conclusions 80 de.
rived and We see an attitude that in
variably attracts attention If It does not
command respect.
A Matter of Taste.
Tho dining car and eating house service
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