# Mr. Bernard Shaw — Heretics character guide

> Mr. Bernard Shaw in Heretics by G. K. Chesterton.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mr. Shaw, IV Mr. Bernard Shaw, Bernard Shaw, a Mr. Bernard Shaw

**First appearance:** 0005-iv-mr-bernard-shaw

## Snapshot

A dazzling dramatist who would rather be a politician, using epigrams like 'the golden rule is that there is no golden rule' to disarm every serious conviction.

## Who they are

Chesterton treats Shaw as the wittiest of the moderns, a man whose plays sparkle precisely because he cannot stop preaching. The tension is that Shaw wants to be taken as a prophet while dodging the burden of any fixed creed, and Chesterton keeps catching him in the contradiction. Debating Shaw lets the book sharpen its central question: whether a man can be sincere and funny at once, and whether a joke can carry a dogma.

## Relationships

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_rivalry_

The narrator frequently critiques and debates Shaw's ideas, positioning him as a primary intellectual opponent.

### [Mr. McCabe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/mr_mccabe)

_rivalry_

Shaw and McCabe are often discussed together as representatives of modern heresies, with the narrator contrasting their views.

### [Nietzsche](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/nietzsche)

_social_

Shaw and Nietzsche are linked as thinkers who challenge traditional morality, though the narrator distinguishes their philosophies.

## In the story

### [I: Introductory Remarks on the Importance of Orthodoxy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/chapters/i-introductory-remarks-on-the-importance-of-orthodoxy)

Quoted for his epigram 'The golden rule is that there is no golden rule,' representing the modern dismissal of general theories.

### [I: Introductory Remarks on the Importance of Orthodoxy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/chapters/i-introductory-remarks-on-the-importance-of-orthodoxy)

Again referenced as a heretic whose philosophy is 'quite solid, quite coherent, and quite wrong.'

### [II: On the Negative Spirit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/chapters/ii-on-the-negative-spirit)

Chesterton references Shaw's 'Quintessence of Ibsenism' and his summary of Ibsen's teaching as 'The golden rule is that there is no golden rule.'

### [Mr. Bernard Shaw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/chapters/iv-mr-bernard-shaw)

Chesterton analyzes Shaw's philosophy, his realism, his Ibsenism, and his turn to the Superman ideal, arguing that Shaw lacks humility and fails to see the wonder of ordinary humanity.

### [IX: The Moods of Mr. George Moore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/chapters/ix-the-moods-of-mr-george-moore)

Contrasted with Moore; praised for tenacity of conviction and fighting spirit, which Moore lacks despite his pugnacity.

### [XVI: On Mr. McCabe and a Divine Frivolity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/chapters/xvi-on-mr-mccabe-and-a-divine-frivolity)

Cited as an example of someone who is both funny and sincere, contrasting with Mr. McCabe's view that humor undermines seriousness.

### [Concluding Remarks on the Importance of Orthodoxy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/chapters/xx-concluding-remarks-on-the-importance-of-orthodoxy)

Presented as a socialist dogmatist whose best plays are propaganda; Chesterton disagrees with him but respects his dogmatism.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/mr_bernard_shaw
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters