Table Of ContentBERNARD SHAW AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES
Language and Metadrama
in Major Barbara
and Pygmalion
Shavian Sisters
Jean Reynolds
Bernard Shaw and His Contemporaries
Series Editors
Nelson O’Ceallaigh Ritschel, Massachusetts Maritime Academy,
Pocasset, MA, USA
Peter Gahan, Independent Scholar, Los Angeles, CA, USA
The series Bernard Shaw and His Contemporaries presents the best and
most up-to-date research on Shaw and his contemporaries in a diverse
rangeofculturalcontexts.Volumesintheserieswillfurthertheacademic
understanding of Bernard Shaw and those who worked with him, or in
reaction against him, during his long career from the 1880s to 1950 as
a leading writer in Britain and Ireland, and with a wide European and
American following.
Shaw defined the modern literary theatre in the wake of Ibsen as a
vehicleforsocialchange,whileauthoringadramaticcanontorivalShake-
speare’s. His careers as critic, essayist, playwright, journalist, lecturer,
socialist, feminist, and pamphleteer, both helped to shape the modern
world as well as pointed the way towards modernism. No one engaged
with his contemporaries more than Shaw, whether as controversialist, or
inhissupportofother,oftenyoungerwriters.Inmanyrespects,therefore,
theseriesasitdevelopswillofferasurveyoftheriseofthemodernatthe
beginning of the twentieth century and the subsequent varied cultural
movements covered by the term modernism that arose in the wake of
World War 1.
More information about this series at
https://link.springer.com/bookseries/14785
Jean Reynolds
Language
and Metadrama
in Major Barbara
and Pygmalion
Shavian Sisters
Jean Reynolds
Polk State College
Winter Haven, FL, USA
ISSN 2634-5811 ISSN 2634-582X (electronic)
Bernard Shaw and His Contemporaries
ISBN 978-3-030-96070-4 ISBN 978-3-030-96071-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96071-1
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2022
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights
of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc.
in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such
namesareexemptfromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreefor
general use.
Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinforma-
tion in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither
the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with
respecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeen
made.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmaps
and institutional affiliations.
Cover illustration: The Print Collector/Alamy Stock Photo
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To Dick and Lori Dietrich
Acknowledgments
I wrote most of this book during the Covid 19 crisis, when conferences
werecanceledandtravelwasprohibited.Thankstotheinternet,however,
IwasabletostayintouchwithmyShavianfriends.GustavoA.Rodríguez
Martín and Bernard F. Dukore generously offered research help when
libraries were closed. Jesse Hellman volunteered to do proofreading
and fact checking. Enthusiasm from Mary Christian, Ellen Dolgin, Bob
Gaines,DorothyHadfield,AileenRoseRuane,andRobStaufferboosted
my spirits on days when progress on this book seemed hopelessly stalled.
Margaret Swanson and Janis Koike read my chapters about English
language issues and provided helpful feedback. The International Shaw
Society hosted two virtual Shaw Symposiums during the pandemic—
events that were a lifeline for me. I’m proud to be a charter member
of this group that has enriched my life in countless ways.
No author ever worked with a better editorial team than the one I
found at Palgrave Macmillan: They are dedicated professionals with a
commitmenttolisteningandcollaboration.EileenSrebernikcompetently
managedendlessdetails,andSuprajaGaneshexpertlyguidedmethrough
the publishing process. Karthika Purushothaman, the project manager,
was involved with this book from the beginning. Her expert copyediting
savedmefromanumberoferrors.NelsonO’CeallaighRitschelandPeter
Gahan—world-class Shaw scholars themselves—offered suggestions that
improved this book in countless ways. Their enthusiasm made working
on this book a joy.
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My husband, Charlie Reynolds, was always ready to offer support and
a fresh cup of coffee when needed. Without him this book would never
have been written.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York provided the digital
file for Pygmalion and Galatea by Jean-Léon Gérôme. I am grateful to
theAlHirschfeldFoundationforpermissiontouseAlHirschfeld’sposter
forthe1956BroadwayproductionofMyFairLady:©TheAlHirschfeld
Foundation. www.AlHirschfeldFoundation.org.
My special thanks go to Dick Dietrich—founder of the Interna-
tionalShawSociety—forhisencouragementandguidancethroughoutmy
journeyintoShavianscholarship.LoriDietrichhasalwaysbeenrightthere
with Dick, ensuring that the ISS is a wonderful resource for Shavians like
me—and that our events are stimulating and fun. This book is dedicated
to Dick and Lori, with my deepest gratitude.
Contents
Part I Barbara and Eliza
1 Shavian Sisters 3
2 “What’s to Become of Me?” 19
3 The Power of Imagination 41
Part II A Playwright at Work
4 Seeing Double 57
5 A Girl Becomes a Woman 81
6 The Undershaft Inheritance 95
Part III The Problem of Language
7 “Why Can’t the English?” 121
8 “It Don’t Matter, Anyhow” 139
9 Competing Components 165
10 “The Holiest and Greatest Things” 191
ix
x CONTENTS
Afterword 215
Works Cited 219
Index 225
