Introduction
Based on the Greek mythology, Pygmalion outlines the deep social intrigues within the society regarding the aspect of class and social stratification. Professor Higgins, a specialist in phonetics makes a bet with Pickering that he (Higgins) is capable of training Eliza Doolittle (described as a Covent Garden flower girl) and transforms her linguistic ability so that she would be able to speak as a duchess (Shaw, 1916). While the “linguistic experiment” eventually becomes successful, the intrigues that follow greatly help to develop the plot of the story. This paper will focus on some of the salient thematic issues that Shaw outlined in the work. Specifically, the paper will underscore how the theme of class and social stratification …show more content…
To be a duchess at the ambassador’s party, Doolittle had to embrace “a veneer of gentility” and most importantly, she had to be well endowed with “impeccable speech.” This clearly shows that language was used in that society to show an individual’s social class. Language was the “ladder” through which individuals in the society would ascend or descend the social hierarchy. Pygmalion was a description of the rigid class stratification within the British social system. It positioned language as a the nucleus of the British social interaction and its significance in defining an individual, for how does a mere garden flower girl becomes “elevated” within the social strings because of learning a …show more content…
Other than the mere fact that an individual was to be well endowed in linguistics, there was need to carry oneself in a “cloud of decorum and appearance” that befits the nobility of the function. Perhaps this defines Professor Higgins’ decision to evaluate the results of his experiment through the ambassador’s garden party. He, well aware of the level of aristocracy required in the ambassador’s party, intentionally uses that platform to assess the results of his manipulative experiment on Miss Doolittle. He uses that platform to “gauge” whether the specks of nobility and decorum that he had fundamentally inscribed within the character of the experiment had reached the threshold of comportments required in the party hosted by the
Based on the Greek mythology, Pygmalion outlines the deep social intrigues within the society regarding the aspect of class and social stratification. Professor Higgins, a specialist in phonetics makes a bet with Pickering that he (Higgins) is capable of training Eliza Doolittle (described as a Covent Garden flower girl) and transforms her linguistic ability so that she would be able to speak as a duchess (Shaw, 1916). While the “linguistic experiment” eventually becomes successful, the intrigues that follow greatly help to develop the plot of the story. This paper will focus on some of the salient thematic issues that Shaw outlined in the work. Specifically, the paper will underscore how the theme of class and social stratification …show more content…
To be a duchess at the ambassador’s party, Doolittle had to embrace “a veneer of gentility” and most importantly, she had to be well endowed with “impeccable speech.” This clearly shows that language was used in that society to show an individual’s social class. Language was the “ladder” through which individuals in the society would ascend or descend the social hierarchy. Pygmalion was a description of the rigid class stratification within the British social system. It positioned language as a the nucleus of the British social interaction and its significance in defining an individual, for how does a mere garden flower girl becomes “elevated” within the social strings because of learning a …show more content…
Other than the mere fact that an individual was to be well endowed in linguistics, there was need to carry oneself in a “cloud of decorum and appearance” that befits the nobility of the function. Perhaps this defines Professor Higgins’ decision to evaluate the results of his experiment through the ambassador’s garden party. He, well aware of the level of aristocracy required in the ambassador’s party, intentionally uses that platform to assess the results of his manipulative experiment on Miss Doolittle. He uses that platform to “gauge” whether the specks of nobility and decorum that he had fundamentally inscribed within the character of the experiment had reached the threshold of comportments required in the party hosted by the