『비사회적 사회주의자』에 나타난 청년 쇼의 정치사회적 고민과 속류 마르크스주의 비판

Abstract

The genre George Bernard Shaw took the first step into as a man of letters is not the play but the novel. Shaw’s five novels have not attracted popular attention, but they already conceived a variety of ideas for many dramas which won him fame as a playwright. However, the domestic studies about Shaw’s novels are too poor, especially considering his literary reputation. As a result, I will introduce and analyze An Unsocial Socialist, expecting more advanced studies regarding his novels forward. Sidney Trefusis, the hero, who is a snobbish socialist dyed with vulgar Marxism as well as a member of the contemporary English ruling class, severely criticizes his father, who grew from a petty merchant to a mammoth capitalist, and his maternal grandfather, who succeeded in being in collusion with capitalists as a peer, based on the theory of exploitation of surplus value. While the surplus value in vulgar Marxism is generally the theoretical base of the revolution of militant class struggles, Trefusis opposes the violent struggles and insists on the dissemination of socialism by means of propaganda and organization. His moderate strategy is seen as a germ of Fabianism, which Shaw decides to devote himself to later. Trefusis is confronted with one problem to figure out how much he should pay his hired man for a fair wage and another problem with the value of artistic genius which is likely to differ from that of ordinary commodities. Probably Trefusis does not know that utility is important in deciding upon the value as well as the quantity of labor is. Shaw describes Trefusis as a snob who sticks to the mechanical cause of vulgar socialism while ignoring human desires and nature. Trefusis disparages fine art as a simple hand-skill but highly appreciates photography, for he aims to reveal the miserable realities of capitalism by taking advantage of photos. In An Unsocial Socialist, the romantic traits of the remaining feudal culture and the anti-romantic elements reflecting the capitalistic realities appear to be mixed, particularly as for love and marriage. Meanwhile, Trefusis tends to expose his patriarchal attitude, regarding ‘unsocial’ women just as the objects of edification. In addition, meticulous readers can notice that this novel includes a faint root of Shavian eugenics and life force, the Shavian New Woman who is not active for social reform, and the background that Show turns his genre into the drama from the novel.