Shaw-Pygmalion

Pygmalion was interesting because it presented a story about a poor girl who wanted more than anything to be an accepted member of a higher society. She was very unhappy with her current occupation and wanted to be trained to be something more. Henry Higgins makes a bet with Colonel Pickering that they can make this poor girl into duchess.

Since Shaw was a proponent of speaking correctly, it is the prominent theme in his story. The language of the flower girl improves dramatically throughout the story as she cannot be understood in the beginning. "Dont you be so saucy. You aint heard what I come for yet. Did you tell him I come in a taxi." (1017)

Pickering is proud of his ability to pronounce the vowel sounds. He brags: "I rather fancied myself because I can pronounce twenty-four distinct vowel sounds; but your hundred and thirty beat me." (1016) The ability to speak well therefore seemed to be a way in which people were separated by class in this story. This really seems to still be the case because everyone judges the intelligence of others partly through their speaking ability. If one does not speak well then they are thought to be stupid. Higgins finds no value in the girl as he instructs his maid to burn her clothes and to clean her up. He treats her as if he can do whatever he wishes with her, as if she were the victim in an experiment.

An interesting subplot in the story was the difference between Alfred and Liza Doolittle. While Alfred comes looking for a free handout from Huggins, Liza is willing to work for her advancement. This subplot brought to light an important argument put forth about the plight of poor people. Many people believe that the poor do nothing to improve their situation, but most of the time they are held down by other factors such as their poor quality of education. The difference of education based on economic factors often keeps the rich wealthy and keeps the poor poor.

The story ends showing how Eliza transformed from a simple flower girl to an educated lady. It really served as an example of how little a difference there is between the rich and the poor. When given only a new set of clothes and a little training, Liza was able to pass herself off as a princess. One simple opportunity in a persons life can change their fortunes from living in the streets to living in luxury.