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“Pygmalion”, by George Bernard Shaw, is a modern metamorphosis of the story Pygmalion, legendary sculptor and king of Cyprus, who fell in love with his own statue of Aphrodite. At his prayer, Aphrodite brought the statue to life as Galatea. In his own play, Shaw reveals a twist in the Greek myth, where by he transformers a flower girl into a duchess through the power of speech. The author uses this mythology to portray aspects of Victorian England common social class classification.
The author uses speech and choice of word, along with other features to shed light on the social distinctions.
Language and social class interchanged widely in Shaw’s play “Pygmalion” drawing along with it, characteristics of characters’ as well as major themes.
The interchange between language and social class can be symbolized through Shaw’s characters. The author uses different characters to portray different aspects of class divisions. England’s social class, as a major theme, was clarified greatly through the art of speech.
Throughout most of civilization, people have been divided in classes.
There is the rich and powerful, the middle class who are less powerful but nonetheless respected, and the incapable poor.
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The author cleverly bestows his characters’ their own identity, by giving each a language and speech that suits their bubble of reality: their own social class. Shaw depicts members of all social classes, the lowest being Liza, known for her London’s working class cockney accent. Furthermore, the middle class (Doolittle after his inheritance) to the genteel poor (the Eynsford Hills) to the upper class (Pickering and the Higgins’ family).
Those who were classified in the upper class, where known for their proper articulation for the English language.
Even though the articulation was proper, it did not need to reach perfection.
The author reflects this through Mr. Higgins, who was rich and well articulated, but his manners when speaking where not genteel as it was naturally supposed to be. Nevertheless, Shaw symbolizes the idea of language being intertwined with speech through our very own Pygmalion Mr. Higgins, a professor of speech and phonetics.
Higgins was marvelous at his job and hobby, that he was capable of identifying where people were born- reveling their class- from their accents. This can be shown when the author stated, “ I can place any man within six miles. I can place him within two miles in London. Sometimes within two streets. ” Not only where characters, through their speech, a real representation of their class, but other factors too. The storyline’s major plot, in transforming Eliza into a duchess was a trigger for the realization of the British social class.
The author finds in Pygmalion a way to turn words into action, by hinging the fairy tale outcome of the flower girl on precisely how she talks. In this way, he draws our attention to his own art, and to his ability to create, through the medium of speech, not only Pygmalion's Galatea, but Pygmalion himself. When Higgins offers to help Eliza become a lady, merely to win a bet, he did not realize the consequences behind it. Higgins was not accustomed to the life of a working class, and so neglected the position Eliza would be put in.
When Eliza is transformed to a lady, she finds it hard to adjust in the upper class with her new identity. Her complete agitation to her new character makes her loathe the day she asked Higgins for lessons. This can be shown when the author said, “Oh! If only I can go back to my flower basket! Why did I give up? ” Eliza, like her father, realizes that class mobility changes ones’ identity. In light of the transformation, what happened to Eliza and her father expresses Shaws’ belief that people are capable in improving there lives with the cost of changing their character.
Thus, it does not seem astonishing that the difference between a lady and a flower girl lies “rather in her treatment than in her behavior”. Shaw also successfully portrays the difference in social class based on appearance. Within the book, readers find that the author took time in describing each character’s appearance. This is to show how appearance plays a major role in indicating ones class. At the beginning of the play, Eliza is described as a filthy common beggar from the way she spoke and dressed, by Higgins. The author uses Higgins to shed light on how the rich perceive the poor through appearance and speech.
When Eliza experiences her first proper wash and bathe, she transforms into someone decent enough to be passed off into a higher class than she is. That is of course, without her uttering a word. At her surprising transformation, even her father couldn’t recognize his own flesh and blood. This is shown when the author states: “: Beg Pardon, miss. Eliza: Garn! Don't you know your own daughter? Alfred: Bly me! Its Eliza. ” Shaw uses both language and appearance to demonstrate how the working class where not used to the luxuries of the upper class.
This trend of judging ones’ class from his appearance associated with speech was dragged till the end of the play. Without knowing about Doolittle’s alteration, Higgins judges Doolittle’s class from his appearance when talking to the maid. The author depicts this when he said, “Doolittle! Do you mean a dustman? Maid: Dustman! Oh no sir, a gentleman”. The way the rich viewed the poor, indicated the wide gap in society, as well as the arrogance of the elite rich. In conclusion, the author cleverly finds a way to reveal England’s social class through the support of speech.
Shaw, interchanges between speech and social class, to concentrate on his major themes along with shaping an identity for his characters. Much of the characters accents where a clear indication of their class. Furthermore, the transformation and overall appearance of characters closely indicated class distinction. The author finds a way to turn speech into an eye opening matter that has been extending all throughout civilization: social class. Shaw, truly draws his readers’ attention to his own art, and his ability to create, through the medium of speech.
Pygmalion social class essay. (2020, Jun 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/pygmalion-social-class-new-essay
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