Social Classes in George Bernard Shaw’s "Pygmalion" and the Movie "My Fair Lady"

After Higgins, confesses to his undying love for Eliza. Eliza decides to leave Higgins’s home because felt that it would only hurt Higgins more to have her stay another moment in his home because she did not share the same feelings for him. She now resides at the home of Mrs. Higgins.

Eliza changed herself for the better. In act 5, she told the two men to start calling her “Miss Doolittle” and that was the beginning of learning her self worth. She was done being treated like a “live doll” and began to see herself like a Duchess, like Higgins

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw is a play that shows a great change in the character Eliza Doolittle. As Eliza lives in poverty, she sells flowers to earn her living. Eliza does not have an education. This shows through the way that she does not have the most proper way of speaking. This happens through when Eliza is speaking to the other characters when she meets then when she is still at a low level of poverty in her life. To understand the reasons Eliza is able to change and be changed into an almost Cinderella like character. With Eliza going from and growing and changing through the hardship she faces. In the play Eliza begins with no confidence and works towards having a way to reach trough from learning during her life

There are two different versions. The first version is Shaw’s version. Assuming to position Eliza in a real-life situation, Shaw seems to treat Eliza as an ambiguous character, thus the ending is indefinite. Through Eliza’s effort, she has gradually bridged the gap between herself and the life of the upper class people. Nonetheless, she has to face the dilemma: she may either continue to seek independence by making money on her own or be forced to get married to a rich nobleman. The vague ending has carried an implicit message: the female independence and unfair social relationships are yet to be

George Bernard Shaw and John Edwards seem to share some quite similar beliefs regarding language and identity. More specifically, how language alters one’s identity. Edwards uses discussions involving class, gender, and dialect; while Shaw uses his character, Eliza Doolittle to discuss these connections between language and identity. Both authors debunk the stereotypical perception about language and groups, just in two separate ways. Edwards explains it over several chapters of his text “Language and Identity”, whereas Shaw demonstrates it through one person.

This sudden change in character shows that an upgrade in social class not only changes the way that people look at you but that it can also have many benefits as well. Going against the thesis, there is one character, Colonial Pickering. Colonial Pickering is a friend and a safe haven to Miss Doolittle. She trusts him, and with good reason, from the beginning to the end of the play, he treats her the same, like a lady. ?Colonial Pickering is a compete contrast to the character of Henry Higgins in terms of manners and behaviour. Colonial Pickering is Shaw?s evidence that wealth and poverty can mix.? (Galens and Scampinato, 245). Most characters in Pygmalion expect the rich and poor to stay separate except for the open hearted and minded, Colonial Pickering.

Higgins tries to take all of the credit for Eliza’s transformation into a lady. In his mind, Eliza did nothing and without him, she would not have been able to accomplish this task. Mr. Higgins continues to express his dominance by telling Eliza what to do even though she does not work for him. Eliza does not like the way that Mr. Higgins treats her and leaves his house, angrily. After searching for Eliza, Mr. Higgins finally finds her and tells her that he paid for her services and she needs to finish her job. In this way, he treats her as if she is

In the movie, Higgins targeted phonological features proper of Eliza’s Cockney dialect. According to Higgins, Eliza’s accent should be modified to “transform” her into a fine lady. The undesired behavior was weakened by a series of reinforcements based on punishment and reward. Eliza was offered chocolate, for example, when she correctly pronounced a set of sentences. Once Eliza achieve the “correct” pronunciation she was offered multiple rewards. For example, she attended the Ascot Horse Race, for which she was offered a new wardrobe.

from the start to at the end, and the changes of Eliza, the main theme

However, readers of the play may argue that Eliza and Higgins stop working together and conflict later on so that supports the theory of class struggle by Marxism. But when the two characters conflict with each other it’s not because of class struggle or anything related to hierarchy, it’s because of Eliza not accepting Higgins as a teacher as Higgins starts mistreating her so rather Eliza gives the credit for her transformation to Colonel Pickering and have constant arguments with Higgins now that she have learned the dialect of a higher class. “Mrs Higgins. I’m afraid you’ve spoiled that girl, Henry.” Eliza can also be seen as spoiled because of all those higher class ways and lifestyle she just adapted to. This type of conflict can be related to a house dispute and doesn’t show a behavior of lower class revolting against higher class to gain rights. “Liza. That’s not true. He treats a flower girl as if she was a duchess. Higgins. And I treat a duchess as if she was a flower girl.” “Higgins. The question is not whether I treat you rudely, but whether you ever heard me treat anyone else better.” As for Higgins’s personality, he always treats people with rudeness so

Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw, describes Shaw’s viewpoint on social class distinctions in the 1900s by describing characters of the upper, middle, and lower classes in the play. Through the characters’ descriptions, language, and actions, the distinction between classes becomes very prominent. Similarly, Galileo, by Bertolt Brecht, describes Brecht’s take on the social class structure during Galileo’s time and how the differences between classes affected Galileo’s opportunity to do scientific research. Both plays depict a society ruled by the upper-class and a lack of coherence among the upper, middle, and lower classes that leads to eventual conflict. In both Pygmalion and Galileo, the authors highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the different social classes in order to critique how the relationships between people from different classes affect their interactions with each other.

     The opening scene is after an opera. The higher class people spill out into the streets. It is here that Eliza is selling her flowers. Eliza is a poor girl with a very thick accent. She is a respectable girl, which she insist throughout the movie, saying to Mr. Higgins, “I’m a good girl”. She’s had a hard life, her father being a drunk and therefore she and her mother had no money. It is

In the Victorian England period, how a person is viewed by society determines everything. What kind of jobs are available, who it is ok to marry, and even who is acceptable to interact with. How a person is viewed can change their life for better or for worse, and sadly women during this period must work twice as hard as their male counterparts to get the crucial social respect needed to succeed in their societies. How a person appears and how they dress plays a big part on how someone is viewed, but flower-girl-turned-duchess Eliza Doolittle must learn the hard way that just because a person fits the outside criteria of a lady does not exactly mean she would be treated as so, by society and most of all her mentor Henry Higgins. Throughout the play, Pygmalion, By George Bernard Shaw, the author makes the theme of prejudice against women very apparent by the way they are treated in society and the unreasonable expectations they are held up to, making it very difficult for women like Eliza Doolittle to move up in society and be seen as equal in the eyes of those above them.

This play deals with a lot many themes. To cite a few: Rewriting the tale of Cinderella and Sleeping beauty, Class, language and phonetics and Independence.

Social standing is central to the plot of George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion”. The portrayal of class identity in Shaw’s play appears to be a criticism of the distinctions between high society and the poorer classes in Victorian England. Shaw’s aim was to portray how the upper-crust of Victorian society viewed the lower classes, as evidenced by Higgins’ treatment of Eliza upon her first visit to his laboratory; Higgins treats her as though she is too stupid to understand that he is insulting her. The assumption is that the wealthy view the lower classes as being somehow lesser. So what is it that Shaw is trying to impart upon the reader? Shaw appeared to show open disdain not just for the upper class of society but for society in general, and Pygmalion may be interpreted as an open criticism of class distinctions in Victorian England.