Women in Pygmalion Outline Pygmalion the myth Elizas background Elizas transformation The other female characters

Pygmalion the myth Pygmalion lived in the island of Cyprus and he was a sculptor who carved a woman out of ivory. He wasnt interested in the women of his town. He named his statue Galatea because she was so beautiful and so realistic. He fell in love with her. After a while it was time in his town to celebrate Aphrodite, the goddess representing love. Pygmalion made offerings at the altar of Venus. He wished that his ivory sculpture would be changed into a real woman. When he returned home, he kissed his ivory statue and found that its lips felt warm. He kissed it again and found that the ivory had lost its hardness. Venus had given Pygmalion the woman of his dreams. The story ended with Pygmalion marrying the ivory sculpture changed into a woman. George Bernard Shaw in his play Pygmalion is also bringing to life his creation Eliza Doolitlle. She was a guttersnipe, a girl who was born in Londons poor neighbourhood. She spoke with a strong cockney accent. Because of that accent everybody could hear that she was from the lower class and in those days, the Victorian era, you had to stay in the class you were born in. One of the differences between the myth of Pygmalion and the play Pygmalion is that Eliza expresses her feelings, her fears and her questions during her transformation. Galateas feelings are not important in the myth. Another difference takes place at the end of the play. Galatea marries her Pygmalion but Eliza will leave her creator, her Pygmalion, Mr Higgins. In a way we could say that it is a more modern ending. Higgins gave Eliza the means to make decisions on her own and she leaves him because of that. It is thanks to Higgins that Eliza can realize her dreams of becoming ladylike. So we can affirm that Higgins is Elizas Pygmalion. She changes herself and becomes a new person. Pygmalion // Higgins Galatea // Eliza Elizas background

Eliza comes from the gutter. She lives in a little flat in Lisson Grove (poor quarter in London). She is an independent woman because she earns a living and she lives in her own flat. Normally, under the Victorian era, women are under the control of their father or their husband but not Eliza. Although she is a guttersnipe, she is independent. The upper class women in the Victorian era couldnt have a job but Eliza does. The only future fort upper class women is to get married with a wealthy man who comes from the same class. Elizas transformation Eliza is different from the other women because she wants to change her class. For the Victorian era, she is a remarkable woman because in that era, when you are born in the lower class you stay in the lower class. She has the ambition to better herself. Here is was Eliza says. The flower girl (Eliza): I want to be a lady in a flower shop stead of selling at the corner of Tottenham Court Road. But they wont take me unless I can talk more genteel. He said he could teach me... (P26) To better herself, she needs to take English lessons, because she speaks English with a terrible cockney accent. To work in a flower shop and speak to the ladies and the gentlemen her accent must be better. Eliza is ready to pay money for these lessons. Eliza says: Eliza: Oh, I know waths right. A lady friand of mine gets French lessons for eighteen pence an hour from a real French gentleman. Well, you wouldnt have the face to ask me the same for teaching me my own language as you would for French ; so I wont give more than a Shilling. Take it or leave it. P27-28 It shows us that Eliza is ready to pay for the lessons but not as much as for a foreign language. At that time in the play she doesnt realize the difference between her world and the world of Mr Higgins, the difference between the world of the lower class and the world of the upper class. The first transformation is that she wants to change her social class after she meets Higgins. But its not the only transformation for Eliza. There are different levels of Elizas transformation. The second transformation will change her physical appearance but not her way of thinking. To begin her transformation, Eliza must take a bath. This bath has two meanings: it will physically clean her but it is also washing away her old life. Eliza is talking about the bath: Eliza: I couldnt. I dursnt. Its not natural : it would kill me. Ive never had a bath in my life p36 Eliza: I cant. I wont. Im not used to it. Ive never took all my clothes before. Its not right: its not decent.

This transformation costs Eliza to renounce some of her principles because in her world it she is not used to taking off her clothes or washing herself. But because she really wants to change she accepts this sacrifice. Eliza will have a bath for the first time in her life, she will be clean. She will look so different after one bath that her own father will not recognize her! Eliza: Garn! Dont you know your own daughter? (p. 48) Elizas speech shows the biggest transformation. I will show you three extracts that illustrate the changes of in Elizas speech. The first extract takes place at the very beginning of the play when all the characters meet in front of the portico of St. Pauls church. The second extract is Mrs Higgins at-home and Eliza has already made some progress in the speech and the last extract takes place during the garden party.(I show an extract of the movie Pygmalion) Eliza: Ow, eez, y9-ooa san, is e? Wal, fewd dan y d-ooty bwamz a mather should, eed oww bettern to spawl a pore gels flahrzn than ran awy athaht pyin. Will ye-oo py me fthem? (p11 and film) You have just seen the first extract and you can notice that it is extremely difficult to understand what she says. Now lets listen to the second extract. Eliza: Y-e-e-e-es, Lord love you ! Why should she die of influenza? She comes through diphtheria right enough the year before. I saw her with my eyes p60 At the first at-home of Mrs Higgins, she is ready with her accent and her speech. She is ready to speak about two topics only: the weather and health, but only for five minutes. But she isnt ready to feed a decent conversation and very quickly she falls back into her old manners or conversation topics. At this moment of the play she has changed her physical appearance and her accent but not her way of thinking. This will be the last and most difficult thing to change. It is at the garden party that she will have completed her transformation. Eliza: how kind of you to have let me come.(p70 and film) At the garden party she looks perfectly at ease. Whether we think about Elizas physical appearance, her English accent or her behaviour, she is just perfect. And people will look at her and think she is a princess from a European country. Hostess: She speaks English perfectly Nepommuck: Too perfectly. Can you shew me any English woman who speaks English as it should be spoken? Only foreigners who have been taught to speak it well. P71 Elizas last transformation would be her acceptance of the Victorian rules. She doesnt accept them completely; she becomes a proper lady in her way of speaking or her behaviour but not in her way of thinking. She will leave Mr Higgins (her Pygmalion) although a Victorian woman would be very happy to have him as a husband. To reach this stage she had to go through a lot. During all her transformation Eliza had to put up with the way Mr. Higgins was treating her.

Mr. Higgins calls her a guttersnipe (p.29) and he wants to put her in the dustbin (p.30).he calls her a presumptuous insect (p.76) and a damned impudent slut (p.104). We learn about the ultimate price that Eliza had to pay for her transformation when she realizes that she will not be able to go back to her flower basket. Eliza says I sold flowers. I didnt sell myself. Now youve made a lady of me Im not fit to sell anything else. I wish youd left me where you found me. (p.78) When we compare Eliza at the beginning and Eliza after her transformation, we see that she understands the price she had to pay. She doesnt accept to pay the price anymore because the price was not just money. In fact the price to pay is her freedom. Because she was poor but independent at the beginning of the book, but now that she has become a lady, she needs a husband, she is not a free woman anymore. The other female characters Mrs. Pearce She helps Higgins to change Eliza with the outside appearance. She also tries to tell M. Higgings what he is doing wrong with his behaviour. She tells him for example not to swear in front of Eliza if he is trying to teach her good manners. Mrs Pearce: But you really must not swear before the girl. (p.39) She also worries about Elizas future because she better understands Elizas position in society than Mr. Higgins does. Mrs Pearce: What is to become of her when youve finished your teaching? You must look ahead a little.(p.32) Mrs. Higgins She perfectly embodies the upper class woman in the Victorian era. As we can see in the play, she is very strict with her teatime. She also shows perfect manners in every situation, even when her son disrupts her at-home. Mrs. Higgins: Henry! What are you doing here today? It is my at-home day: you promised not to come. (p.54) She also worries about what will become of Eliza after the experiment. Mrs. Higgins: No, you two infinitely stupid male creatures: the problem of what is to be done with her afterwards. (p.67) Mrs Higgins: The manners and habits that disqualify a fine lady from earning her own living without giving her a fine ladys income! (p.67) Clara Eynsford Hill She comes from the upper class without money. So she is the perfect example of a woman who must depend on a good marriage to survive.

Miss Eynsford Hill (Clara): [who considers Higgins quite eligible matrimonially] (p.58) Clara is the character Eliza must look like after her transformation because she has no money but she has the manners of the upper class. Mrs Eymsford Hill She will do all she can to make sure her daughter finds a husband in the upper class. She knows she is not as rich as the rest of her friends, for example Mrs Higgins. Mrs Eynsford Hill: Were so poor! And she gets so few parties, poor child! She doesnt quite know. (p.63)