The Devil's Disciple by George Bernard Shaw (1897): A Review
Author: George Bernard Shaw
Publication Year: 1897
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Pages: 96
Source: audiobook @storytel.tr
Genre: Drama
How did I end up listening to George Bernard Shaw?
If you know me, you know that I maintain my Today in Bookish History lists, recording books published on every day of the year. You may also know that, for the past few weeks, I have been avoiding books or perhaps books have been avoiding me. At this point, the separation appears mutual.
Today, I decided to choose something short, classic, and published before 1900. There, waiting patiently on my October list, was George Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple.
One and a half hours later, I had finished the audiobook. Look at me completing something. Historic event. Please update the lists.
Set during the American Revolutionary War, the play follows Richard Dudgeon, a family outcast and “Devil’s Disciple”. That is his description, not my theological assessment. Despite his alarming personal branding, Richard turns out to be more honourable and self-sacrificing than nearly everyone who publicly claims moral respectability.
Through a case of mistaken identity, Richard is arrested in place of the local minister, Reverend Anthony Anderson. Rather than correct the misunderstanding and save himself, he accepts the consequences in a surprisingly Christ-like act of sacrifice.
Yes, the Devil’s Disciple becomes the Christ figure.
Shaw clearly woke up and chose irony.
The play manages to be tragic [on second thought, maybe not] and comic simultaneously, while mocking religious hypocrisy, conventional ideas of goodness, and British military authority. The redcoats arrive with power, uniforms, and confidence, only to become part of Shaw’s comedy.
My interpretation — assuming I have not misunderstood everything — is that the play asks who truly deserves to be called “good”. The respectable characters do not always behave honourably, while the man labelled wicked becomes capable of genuine sacrifice.
Apparently, good and evil are less interested in their assigned roles than society would prefer.
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