Bernard Shaw's The Black Girl in Search of God: The Story behind the Story (Florida Bernard Shaw)

187 Pages·2003·5.56 MB·English

by  Leon Hugo

BERNARD SHAW’S
The Black Girl
in Search of God
The Story behind the Story
Leon Hugo
Bernard Shaw’s The Black Girl in Search of God
The Florida Bernard Shaw Series
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola

The Florida Bernard Shaw Series
Edited by R. F. Dietrich
This series was made possible by a generous grant
from the David and Rachel Howie Foundation.
Pygmalion’s Wordplay: The Postmodern Shaw, by Jean Reynolds (1999)
Shaw’s Theater, by Bernard F. Dukore (2000)
Bernard Shaw and the French, by Michel W. Pharand (2001)
The Matter with Ireland, second edition,
edited by Dan H. Laurence and David H. Greene (2001)
Bernard Shaw’s Remarkable Religion: A Faith That Fits the Facts,
by Stuart E. Baker (2002)
Bernard Shaw’s The Black Girl in Search of God: The Story behind the Story,
by Leon Hugo (2003)
“Hiding green thoughts in green shade.” Farleigh’s cover design
for The Black Girl. Reproduced by permission of The Society of
Authors, on behalf of the Bernard Shaw Estate.
Bernard Shaw’s
The Black Girl in Search of God
The Story behind the Story
Leon Hugo
University Press of Florida
Gainesville ·Tallahassee ·Tampa ·Boca Raton
Pensacola ·Orlando ·Miami ·Jacksonville ·Ft. Myers
Copyright 2003 by Leon Hugo
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free,
TCF (totally chlorine-free) paper
All rights reserved
08 07 06 05 04 03 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hugo, Leon.
Bernard Shaw’s The black girl in search of God : the story
behind the story / Leon Hugo.
p. cm. — (The Florida Bernard Shaw Series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8130-2626-1
1. Shaw, Bernard, 1856–1950. Adventures of the black girl
in search of God. 2. Women, Black, in literature. 3. Religion
in literature. 4. God in literature. I. Title. II. Series.
PR5365.A42H84 2003
822'.912—dc21 2003047335
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing
agency for the State University System of Florida, comprising
Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida
Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida
State University, University of Central Florida, University
of Florida, University of North Florida, University of South
Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611–2079
http://www.upf.com
Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Foreword xi
Acknowledgments xv
1. Antecedents: Voltaire and Others 1
2. Foreshadowing 24
3. Accident 40
4. Publication 52
5. Reaction, Censorship, Repudiation 71
6. Rejoinder 98
7. Champion 130
Notes 151
Works Cited 157
Index 163

Illustrations
following page 59
Frontispiece: Farleigh’s cover design for The Black Girl
1. Shaw’s rendering of Micah
2. Farleigh’s rendering of Micah
3. Shaw’s rendering of “the myop” (Pavlov)
4. Farleigh has eliminated the carrion birds
5. Shaw’s version of the Roman soldier
6. Farleigh’s Roman soldier
7. Cover design for C. H. Maxwell’s Adventures of
the White Girl in Her Search for God
8. Title page of W. R. Matthews’s The Adventures of Gabriel
in His Search for Mr Shaw
9. Cover design for Marcus Hyman’s The Adventures of
the White Girl in Her Search for Knowledge
10. Shaw criticizing his version of the “laborer in flight”
11. Farleigh’s rendering of the “laborer in flight”