George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion is a satire that uses comedy to highlight the social issues of the day. It is also based on a Greek mythological lady statue of the same name. According to Blank Shaw’s Pygmalion is a story that is original witty and the characters have recognizable personalities.
The plays plot begins when two phonetician make a bet to turn a street merchant; a flower girl into a lady who would pass as a ditches, teaching her how to speak, act and dress like a proper lady. They spend several months training her. Finally they are successful in their pursuit, the bet is won. However, what they didn’t foresee was what to become of her after they would have taught her the social graces of an “English lady”. During the …show more content…
As the plot unfolds it is revealed just who Higgin is. He is an arrogant, obsessed phonetics professor who is freakishly fascinated with teaching speech to working class women such as Eliza. We later find he does it much to the amusement of his friend Colonel Pickering, with whom he made a bet. “I’ll bet you all the expenses of the experiment you can’t do it. And I’ll pay for the lessons” (Act 2). Higgins does not seem to respect women it seems as though, he only agrees to help Eliza to bring attention to himself. Higgins, even though he is economically a part of the middle class hierarchy he has some short comings. Some of which Mrs. Pearce points out to him.
Throughout the play Shaw uses the two main characters Eliza and Higgins to highlight the differences between their social class and gender equality. Higgins uses Eliza as a personal assistant, having her complete numerous tasks. Eliza being who she is does as she is told because this is all she knows, being a woman in a male dominant society and of the lower class. This abuse of Higgins speaks to the discrimination of not only Eliza but women in that
The plays plot begins when two phonetician make a bet to turn a street merchant; a flower girl into a lady who would pass as a ditches, teaching her how to speak, act and dress like a proper lady. They spend several months training her. Finally they are successful in their pursuit, the bet is won. However, what they didn’t foresee was what to become of her after they would have taught her the social graces of an “English lady”. During the …show more content…
As the plot unfolds it is revealed just who Higgin is. He is an arrogant, obsessed phonetics professor who is freakishly fascinated with teaching speech to working class women such as Eliza. We later find he does it much to the amusement of his friend Colonel Pickering, with whom he made a bet. “I’ll bet you all the expenses of the experiment you can’t do it. And I’ll pay for the lessons” (Act 2). Higgins does not seem to respect women it seems as though, he only agrees to help Eliza to bring attention to himself. Higgins, even though he is economically a part of the middle class hierarchy he has some short comings. Some of which Mrs. Pearce points out to him.
Throughout the play Shaw uses the two main characters Eliza and Higgins to highlight the differences between their social class and gender equality. Higgins uses Eliza as a personal assistant, having her complete numerous tasks. Eliza being who she is does as she is told because this is all she knows, being a woman in a male dominant society and of the lower class. This abuse of Higgins speaks to the discrimination of not only Eliza but women in that