“She is no doubt as clean as she can afford to be; but compared to the ladies she is very dirty. Her features are no worse than theirs; but their condition leaves something to be desired; and she needs the services of a dentist” (I.9). George Bernard Shaw wrote the play Pygmalion to challenge his audience’s notion of a typical romance. It is missing the usual happy ending of romance plays, and includes more comedy than romance, and just a hint of tragedy. Although Shaw’s work is widely considered revolutionary for this reason, there are other ways this play can be analyzed. The dialogue, tone of the characters, and the constant shifts of power can be viewed with a new lense. The different social classes of the characters create an enthralling
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However, she feels a disconnect in how Higgins treats her. She feels as though she is still treated as a low-class peasant by Higgins, even though she has all of the pleasant qualities of a duchess. Higgins corrects her, and theorizes that, “The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another” (V.77). This is an attempt by Higgins to justify his actions and disrespect towards Liza earlier in the play, as if he had some moral compass that he was always sticking to, and that Liza was just misconstruing his intentions. What Higgins imposes is an explanation that all people can advance holistically if they treat everyone with the same level of respect. But what we know about society is that this is rarely the case, and presumptions of others reign supreme over good morals. It is rare that a poor person will gain the same respect by the rich. Another shift in power is from Liza to Higgins when Higgins produces a manipulative response to Liza who is worried about what she will do with her life after Higgins’ training. Higgins responds, “... and you’re not bad-looking; it’s quite a pleasure to look at you sometimes—not now, of course, because you’re crying and looking as ugly as the very devil; but when you’re all right and quite yourself, you’re what I should call attractive. That is, to the people in the marrying line, you understand. You go to bed and have a good nice rest; and then get up and look at yourself in the glass; and you won’t feel so cheap” (IV.61). His facetious tone reveals that even though he cared enough to train Liza, he expects that she can now go out into the world and make something
However, she feels a disconnect in how Higgins treats her. She feels as though she is still treated as a low-class peasant by Higgins, even though she has all of the pleasant qualities of a duchess. Higgins corrects her, and theorizes that, “The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another” (V.77). This is an attempt by Higgins to justify his actions and disrespect towards Liza earlier in the play, as if he had some moral compass that he was always sticking to, and that Liza was just misconstruing his intentions. What Higgins imposes is an explanation that all people can advance holistically if they treat everyone with the same level of respect. But what we know about society is that this is rarely the case, and presumptions of others reign supreme over good morals. It is rare that a poor person will gain the same respect by the rich. Another shift in power is from Liza to Higgins when Higgins produces a manipulative response to Liza who is worried about what she will do with her life after Higgins’ training. Higgins responds, “... and you’re not bad-looking; it’s quite a pleasure to look at you sometimes—not now, of course, because you’re crying and looking as ugly as the very devil; but when you’re all right and quite yourself, you’re what I should call attractive. That is, to the people in the marrying line, you understand. You go to bed and have a good nice rest; and then get up and look at yourself in the glass; and you won’t feel so cheap” (IV.61). His facetious tone reveals that even though he cared enough to train Liza, he expects that she can now go out into the world and make something