George Bernard Shaw’s “The Devil’s Disciple”

When we are first introduced to Richard Dudgeon, at the reading of his late father Timothy’s will in his childhood home, we have already learned of his character from the opinions of three other characters: firstly, his mother, then from Anthony Anderson, the minister, and finally, from Anderson’s wife Judith. None of these accounts are in Richard’s favour, although Anthony Anderson is perhaps the least against Richard of them all. Richard’s mother considers Richard to be the lowest of the low and a disgrace to his society; she believes that there is nothing admirable about him at all. However, one could argue that she is not much of an admirable woman herself, embittered by having been forced to marry Timothy Dudgeon and not Timothy’s late brother Peter, for whom she really had feelings. We learn that Timothy was the good and righteous brother, whereas Peter was not and was therefore disgraced and cast into shame by his relatives and peers