Pygmalion: What's Inside in Context

Pygmalion
Study Guide by Course Hero
she comes to life.

What's Inside
j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1 d In Context
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 3

Great Britain Emerges from
h Characters .................................................................................................. 4
Victorianism
k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 7
Pygmalion was written and produced as Great Britain was
c Act Summaries ........................................................................................ 13 emerging from the Victorian era. Spanning the reign of Queen
Victoria (1837–1901), this period was marked by peace and
g Quotes ........................................................................................................ 20
prosperity; medical, scientific, and technological advances; and
l Symbols ..................................................................................................... 24 the expansion of the British Empire. Notions of what it meant
to be English or an Englishman—standards and codes of
m Themes ....................................................................................................... 25 conduct—became idealized, and the concept of the perfect
woman—the subservient wife and "domestic angel"—was
b Motifs ........................................................................................................... 27
advanced. A heightened sense of social responsibility dictated
e Suggested Reading .............................................................................. 28 Victorian social behavior. Likewise, a sense of order and
stability stemming from British confidence in commonly held
social values, social identity, and meaningful religious faith
characterized English society.
j Book Basics However, sharp divides existed between the upper, middle,
working, and lower classes of society. Women felt these social
AUTHOR barriers more keenly than men. Their social, political, and
George Bernard Shaw economic rights and options were far more limited. As the
Victorian era wore on, artists and writers began to confront
FIRST PERFORMED
these idealized notions of proper behavior and social
1913
stereotypes. They took aim at the conventions of the Victorian
GENRE era; in particular, a woman's perceived place in society. Their
Romance efforts were in line with another challenge to these
conventions: the socialist movement.
ABOUT THE TITLE
The title, Pygmalion, refers to a Greek character in Ovid's poem
Metamorphoses who sculpts a woman so perfect that he falls
in love with her. With the intervention of the goddess Venus,
Pygmalion Study Guide In Context 2
British Socialism and Modern The Problem Play and

Realistic Drama Pygmalion
Various organized groups built on socialist ideas emerged in Dramas that dealt realistically with controversial social issues
Britain in the 1880s, growing out of intense dislike of the social were known as "problem plays" or "discussion plays." They
effects of the Industrial Revolution. Among their goals were strove to make the audience think and discuss the issues.
social reform, enfranchisement of women, and improvement of Henrik Ibsen demonstrated the potential of the problem play,
living conditions for the working class. Their ideas found but Shaw brought this type of drama to its intellectual peak. He
expression in late Victorian literature. used polished wit and clever language to transform the English
theater into a marketplace of ideas. Scenes of ugliness or
In the theater, Realism replaced Romanticism, a style of drama suffering are rare in Shaw's plays. Unlike the somber Ibsen, he
marked by exotic locations and larger-than-life heroes. This preferred to keep his audience laughing while confronting
new realistic drama featured ordinary people in believable serious issues.
situations and examined the harsh truths hidden beneath the
bland surface details of their lives. Rather than offering In Pygmalion, Shaw tackled the idea of language as a class
entertaining escapism, realistic drama attempted to barrier, showing how speech and manners can dictate a
thoughtfully explore contemporary issues and expose social person's place in society. Written during the tumultuous days
evils. of the suffragette movement in Britain, it also addressed the
role of women in society.
Norwegian playwright and poet Henrik Ibsen introduced
realistic drama to the European stage in the second half of the
19th century. Audiences expecting traditional theater were
dismayed and sometimes scandalized by the dark topics of
Text Variations and Optional
Ibsen's plays and their lack of happy endings. Yet, his plays
continued to be produced by progressive theaters across
Scenes
Europe, including England. His works were disturbing. They
Pygmalion earned Shaw a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925.
pushed his audience to candidly scrutinize the foundations of
Since its German-language translation production in 1913, the
their morality and social conscience. Considered the father of
play has undergone some changes. One impulse for change
modern theater, Ibsen has also been called the father of
came from Shaw's desire to clarify the play's ambiguous
Realism.
ending and the future relationship between Eliza and Higgins.
One outspoken advocate of socialism and the new theater of In 1916 Shaw wrote the sequel to the play—a lengthy
Ibsen was George Bernard Shaw. In 1884, he joined the explanation in which he established that Eliza marries Freddy,
recently established Fabian Society. The society was not not Higgins. Nevertheless, to Shaw's frustration, audiences
radical but aimed to peacefully implement social reforms persisted in believing that Eliza marries Higgins.
through existing institutions and Parliament. Believing that all

A 1938 film version of the play further cemented this idea of a
major social problems could be solved if socialism were
happy ending in the audience's mind. It also inspired some
implemented, Shaw became one of the Fabian Society's
additions to Shaw's original play, incorporating into the text
leading members and its spokesperson. His concerns and
changes made for the film. In 1941, Shaw wrote a "definitive
beliefs, as well as his admiration for Ibsen's "theatre of ideas,"
text," which included the additional scenes. A line of asterisks
inspired his first play, Widowers' House (1892). They were
separates these scenes from the earlier theatrical script. While
likewise the thematic basis for subsequent works, including
some critics feel that the original text, without the film scenes,
Pygmalion.
is superior, the 1941 text was authorized by Shaw and widely
distributed. However, Shaw was aware of the difficulty and
expense of staging these additional scenes and noted that
they could be omitted.
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Pygmalion Study Guide Author Biography 3
Shaw's interest in socialism had a profound effect on his

A Note about Punctuation and writing. In 1884, he joined the recently established Fabian
Society, a British socialist organization intent on advancing the
Spelling principles of non-Marxist evolutionary socialism. He became
one of its leading members and regularly wrote and lectured
Some texts of the play preserve Shaw's distinctive punctuation on socialist topics. Often he focused on themes of marriage,
and spelling practices. He preferred to use the apostrophe education, politics, class struggle, and religion. As a self-
only when absolutely necessary and removed it whenever he professed socialist, Shaw was a vigorous proponent of gender
could, as in Ive, thats, werent, and wont. However, he retained equality. He believed that all people have a purpose in life and
the apostrophe where its omission might cause confusion, as that women were being denied the chances to play their
in I'll, it's, and he'll. Shaw also preferred to use the archaic critical roles in society. He actively supported efforts to alter
spelling of shew for show. the marriage laws, eliminate patriarchy, establish female
suffrage, and recast gender roles. Shaw felt that "unless
woman repudiates her womanliness, her duty to her husband,
a Author Biography to her children, to society, to the law, and to everyone but
herself, she cannot emancipate herself." As a playwright, his
George Bernard Shaw, born on July 26, 1856, was a leading portrayal of remarkable, clever, and powerful women departed
dramatist of his time. In addition to his contributions as a from the 19th-century stereotype of the male-dominated,
playwright, he was a music and theater critic, a novelist, and an sweetly fragile, self-sacrificing female. Pygmalion clearly
outspoken social reformer. demonstrates this departure from the norms of the day.
Shaw was born in Dublin as the third and last child of George Shaw's career as a playwright began in 1891 when he met J.T.
Carr and Lucinda Elizabeth Gurly Shaw. He suffered what he Grein, the director of The Independent Theatre—a new,
described as "a devil of a childhood." His father was a civil progressive venue for "the theatre of ideas" inspired by the
servant turned unsuccessful corn merchant, as well as an realistic "problem plays" of Henrik Ibsen. Grein offered to read
alcoholic—all of which reduced the family to living in genteel Shaw's play, Widowers' House. He accepted it almost
poverty. His mother—the daughter of a well-to-do immediately, and it was first publicly performed in 1892. Over
family—found escape from the family difficulties in music. A the next six years, Shaw completed a collection of dramas
professional singer and student of the conductor George called Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant. Each attacked with
Vandeleur Lee, she eventually followed him to London to varied ferocity the social evils of the day. His writing successes
pursue her own career and improve her situation. These life continued to the eve of World War I, when Pygmalion opened in
events encouraged Shaw to be a life-long teetotaler (person Vienna in 1913 and in London in 1914. It was a hit. However, with
who does not drink alcohol), imbued him with a strong interest the outbreak of war, Shaw's plain-spoken antiwar views and
in music, and kindled his sensitivity to the plight of women in pamphlets created uproar. He was shunned by friends and
Victorian society. ostracized by the public. Nevertheless, he continued writing
plays, and by 1923, with the production of Saint Joan, he
In 1876, Shaw joined his mother and Vandeleur Lee in London. succeeded in reviving his career. In 1925, Shaw was the
He expanded his knowledge of music to include literature. He recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature.
read voraciously, attended socialist lectures and debates, and
pursued a career in journalism and writing. His first attempts to Pygmalion remains one of Shaw's most famous plays. It was
write prose—a string of five novels—were rejected by adapted to film in 1938, earning Shaw an Academy Award for
publishers. However, he did land a job as a freelance critic for screenwriting. Continuing its rise to fame, a musical
an influential daily paper, the Pall Mall Gazette. The liberal adaptation—My Fair Lady—opened on Broadway in 1956 and
political leanings of the paper were in line with Shaw's growing ran for more than nine years. A film version of the musical hit
interest in socialism. His articles and critiques of art, music, and the movie screen in 1964 and earned eight Academy Awards.
theater written for this and other publications brought him at
Shaw continued writing until his death on November 2, 1950, at
last to the attention of London literary society.
age 94. At the time, he was working on yet another play.

Pygmalion Study Guide Characters 4
h Characters Pickering
In addition to his expertise in language, Colonel Pickering is the
"author of Spoken Sanscrit" and is a master of Indian dialects.
Higgins He is an "elderly gentleman of the amiable military type," and
throughout the play, he demonstrates a generous and
In addition to being an authority on phonetics, Henry Higgins is courteous nature, particularly noticeable in his treatment of
the author of Higgins's Universal Alphabet. He is described as Eliza—both as a flower girl and a lady. In fact, it is Pickering
"a robust, vital, appetizing sort of man of forty or thereabouts" who kindles Eliza's feeling of self-respect when, on the day she
and is "of the energetic, scientific type, heartily, even violently first comes to Wimpole Street, he calls her "Miss Doolittle."
interested in everything that can be studied as a scientific Thereafter, he shows her in "a hundred little things" that she is
subject." He is also "careless about himself and other people, "something better than a scullerymaid" and to him, she will
including their feelings." This trait becomes most evident in his always be a lady. For his part in the experiment, Pickering pays
treatment of Eliza. Yet his "genial bullying" and "stormy for Eliza's lessons and clothes. He also provides a
petulance" are balanced by a forthright manner and lack of any counterbalance to Higgins's chronic insensitivity. He is
malice, so that "he remains likeable even in his least reasonable sincerely alarmed when Eliza, driven by anger and hurt, leaves
moments." Throughout the play, his complex temperament the professor's home and indicates that she will not be
serves as a catalyst for events, beginning with his ill-mannered returning. His final words to her before accompanying Alfred
eavesdropping on Eliza and boorish comments about her Doolittle to the former dustman's wedding are, "Do stay with
English in Act 1. His continued inability to see and treat Eliza as us, Eliza."
anything more than a lowly flower girl forces her to take a
stand for independence and self-respect. While Higgins
remains fundamentally unchanged by the end of the play, he
gains a new perspective on Eliza and holds her in higher regard
Doolittle
and with more respect.
Alfred Doolittle is described as "an elderly but vigorous
dustman." A happy member of the undeserving poor, he
"seems equally free from fear or conscience" and exhibits skill
Eliza at wheedling money out of others. "He has a remarkably
expressive voice" and, as Higgins discovers, no morals at
Eliza Doolittle, also called Liza, is a girl perhaps 18 or 20 years all—he is willing to turn his daughter over to Higgins, no
old. Her initial appearance as a flower girl is quite unattractive: questions asked, for five pounds. During the course of the play,
dirty, shabbily dressed, and in need of a dentist. Her Cockney Doolittle comes into money and, as a result, is vaulted into
accent and "kerbstone English" place her in London's lower middle-class status. Lacking the courage to reject the money,
class, yet her intelligence and ambition allow her to aspire to he finds himself forced to align with the higher standards of
something finer. The flower girl who presents herself at middle-class morality, which includes marrying his live-in
Higgins's laboratory is a "deplorable figure," making her missus. In misery he laments that "happier men than me will call
transformation to a lady who can pass for a duchess all the for my dust ... and I'll look on helpless, and envy them."
more awesome. Yet, as Eliza points out to Pickering, her fine
speech and manners are acquired skills, nothing more.
Learning them was "just like learning to dance in the
fashionable way." The real transformation comes with being
Mrs. Higgins
treated like a lady and, from there, gaining self-respect. By the
Mrs. Higgins is a gracious member of the upper class. Her
end of the play, Eliza emerges as a poised, independent
affection for Higgins does not shield her from irritation at his
woman who knows her own worth and intends to make her
lack of manners, and she is adept at putting him in his place.
own way in the world.
Intelligent and perceptive, she soon discerns the problems that
her son's experiment will cause for Eliza, and sympathizes with

the girl. As the conflict between Eliza and Higgins erupts, it is

to Mrs. Higgins that Eliza turns for help.
Freddy
Freddy is a young man of 20, a member of the upper class,
good-natured though somewhat weak, and a true gentleman.
He is infatuated with Eliza, writes to her daily, and is happiest
just spending time on the street where she lives. At the end of
the play, Eliza suggests that she might marry Freddy, though
he has no money to support them both and seems unfit for
work. But he is devoted to her, can offer the kindness that she
needs, and, unlike Higgins, he won't try to make something out
of her.
Mrs. Pearce
Mrs. Pearce has been Higgins's housekeeper for some
time—long enough to know his singular ways and, without fear,
to reproach him when needed for his lack of social graces. She
has a strong sense of propriety, and takes it upon herself to be
sure that Eliza is cared for properly while in the house. A bond
between them grows, and Mrs. Pearce frequently pushes
Higgins to show consideration for Eliza and to think about her
future.

Character Map
Higgins
Mother Housekeeper
Professor of phonetics;
expert in speech and
manners
Friends
Pickering
Doolittle
Teacher Kindly gentleman and
Dustman (garbage man)
language expert
Father Patron
Eliza
Flower girl who wants
to be a lady
Surrogate
mother
Advocate
Mrs. Pearce
Mrs. Higgins Admirer Middle-class expert in
Stately older lady
proper behavior
Freddy
Young gentleman
Main Character
Other Major Character
Minor Character

Pygmalion Study Guide Plot Summary 7
Full Character List The sarcastic

The sarcastic bystander takes refuge
from the rain in Act 1 and challenges
bystander Higgins to identify where "the
gentleman" comes from.
Character Description
The constable is an older policeman

Henry Higgins, also the note taker in
who comes upon Eliza and Freddy
Higgins Act 1, is a professor of phonetics and The constable
kissing at the end of Act 4; he
Eliza's tutor.
appears in the 1941 text.
Eliza Doolittle, also the flower girl in

The first landing footman is a servant
Eliza Act 1, wants to be a lady and comes The first landing
at the embassy; he appears in the
to Higgins for speech lessons. footman
1941 text.
Colonel Pickering, also the

The footman is a servant at the
Pickering gentleman in Act 1, is Eliza's patron The footman
embassy; he appears in the 1941 text.
and a language expert like Higgins.
The host receives Eliza at the

Alfred Doolittle is Eliza's father, a
The host embassy party; he appears in the
Doolittle dustman (garbage man) and a
1941 text.
scoundrel.
The hostess receives guests at the

Mrs. Higgins is Henry Higgins's
embassy party and asks Nepommuck
Mrs. Higgins mother, a wise and stately woman The hostess
to learn everything he can about
and Eliza's champion.
Eliza. She appears in the 1941 text.
Freddy Eynsford Hill is a young

Freddy Nepommuck, also Whiskers in Act 3,
gentleman who falls in love with Eliza.
is a former student of Henry Higgins
Nepommuck who determines that Eliza is a
Mrs. Pearce is Higgins's housekeeper Hungarian princess. He appears in
Mrs. Pearce who takes on the surrogate role of the 1941 text.
Eliza's mother.
The second constable is a young
The bystander takes refuge from the The second policeman who tells Eliza and Freddy
The bystander rain in Act 1 and identifies Higgins as constable to move along, off the streets in Act
a gentleman by his boots. 4. He appears in the 1941 text.
Clara Eynsford Hill, also the daughter The second landing footman is a
The second
in Act 1, is sister to Freddy and one of servant at the embassy. He appears
Clara landing footman
the first to meet the new, more in the 1941 text.
ladylike Eliza.
The taximan drives Eliza home in Act
Mrs. Eynsford Hill, also the mother in 1, and later drives her and Freddy to
The taximan
Mrs. Eynsford Act 1, is the mother of Freddy and Wimbledon Common in Act 4. He
Hill one of the first to meet the new, appears in the 1941 text.
more ladylike Eliza.
The parlor-maid is a servant in the

The parlor-maid
home of Mrs. Higgins. k Plot Summary
Pygmalion opens on a summer night in the London
marketplace Covent Garden. A sudden downpour has

pedestrians sprinting for shelter or taxis. Beneath the portico "playing with your live doll" without considering what will
of St. Paul's Church, several people have gathered, including a happen to Eliza when the experiment is over. She points out
young Cockney flower girl, an older gentleman of military that Eliza will have the refinements of a lady, which inevitably
bearing, and a man taking notes on the flower girl's speech. will bar her from earning a living. Untroubled by this prospect
the two depart, and Mrs. Higgins cries out in frustration, "Oh,
The flower girl assumes the note taker is a policeman. men! men!! men!!!"
Terrified, she protests her innocence of any wrongdoing. Soon
it becomes clear that the man is only interested in phonetically Months later, after Eliza has further honed her skills, Higgins
noting her "kerbstone" English—"English that will keep her in and Pickering put Eliza's accomplishments to the test, and she
the gutter to the end of her days." He boasts that he could performs flawlessly. Back at the Wimpole Street laboratory,
teach her to speak like a duchess in three months. It turns out Higgins and Pickering bask in the victory, with no thought of
that he is the famous phonetician Henry Higgins. The elderly Eliza. Higgins declares "Thank God it's over," so now he can go
gentleman is Colonel Pickering, an admirer and fellow speech to bed "without dreading tomorrow." Directing Eliza to turn off
expert. Higgins invites Pickering to come around the next day the lights, Higgins starts upstairs, but then returns to get his
to his home on Wimpole Street. Then, flinging a generous slippers and finds Eliza weeping with rage. She flings the
collection of coins at the flower girl, Higgins departs for supper slippers at him and asserts that they mean more to him than
with the colonel. she does; she has won his bet for him, and now he will toss her
back into the gutter. The stormy scene that ensues ends with
The next morning, the flower girl—Eliza Doolittle—boldly shows Higgins stalking out and slamming the door. In his anger and
up at Higgins's home. She explains that she wants to be a lady hurt, he is oblivious to the fact that Eliza intends to leave.
in a flower shop, and she offers to pay him to teach her to "talk
more genteel." Pickering, who is present, says he will cover all The next morning, Higgins and Pickering visit Mrs. Higgins to
expenses if, in six months, Higgins can pass Eliza off as a lady. tell her that Eliza is missing. Shortly, the parlor maid announces
Intrigued, Higgins accepts the terms of the bet. Mr. Higgins's that a gentleman is waiting to speak to Mr. Higgins. His name is
housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce, urges Higgins to consider the girl's Mr. Doolittle. Higgins learns, to his astonishment, that an
future: "What is to become of her when you've finished your offhand mention of Doolittle in a letter to a rich American has
teaching?" she asks. "You must look ahead a little." made the former dustman very well off. Far from pleased by
this turn of luck, Doolittle accuses Higgins of robbing him of his
While Higgins's housekeeper bathes Eliza and orders new freedom and happiness. Now he is trapped by middle-class
clothes, another visitor arrives: Alfred Doolittle—Eliza's ne'er- morality and on his way to get married, like a respectable
do-well father. A poor dustman (garbage man), he has no citizen.
paternal interest in Eliza beyond handing her over to Higgins
for five pounds. His callousness is slightly diminished by the In this, Mrs. Higgins sees good fortune for Eliza, who now will
fact that he believes Higgins's motives are honorable. Higgins have someone to support her. She reveals that the young lady
gives him "a fiver," and Doolittle departs. is upstairs and defends Eliza's choice to leave him and
Pickering. The two have behaved heartlessly and selfishly
Some months later, Higgins takes Eliza on a surprise visit to his toward her.
mother, an intelligent and dignified lady. While the girl's
pronunciation is quite good, she needs to learn what to say, A calm, composed Eliza comes downstairs and greets the men.
and Higgins hopes his mother can help. Also at the get- She thanks Pickering for treating her with respect from the
together are Mrs. and Miss Eynsford Hill, a mother and very beginning. To Higgins she explains that he will always
daughter encountered earlier in Covent Garden, as well as treat her like a common flower girl, though now she has it in
Pickering and Freddy. Though Eliza now looks and acts the her power to be his equal. No, she will not come back.
part of a fine lady, her vocabulary and unfortunate choice of
topics gives away her humble beginnings. With some difficulty, Higgins is pleased with Eliza's unexpected transformation from
Higgins covers her gaffes, and Freddy is smitten with the lovely whimpering girl to self-assured woman, and tells her so. All the
Eliza. same, as she leaves with Mrs. Higgins to see her father wed,
Higgins cannot resist instructing her to buy some gloves and a
Later, Mrs. Higgins scolds her son and Pickering both for tie for him. Eliza replies, "Buy them yourself," and sweeps out.

Complacently, Higgins chuckles, certain that "she'll buy em all

right enough."

Plot Diagram
Climax
11
10
12
9
Falling Action
Rising Action 8
13
7
6 14
5
15
4
Resolution
3
2
1
Introduction
9. Eliza's final test is a complete triumph.

Introduction
10. Higgins dismissively proclaims the experiment is over.
1. On a rainy night in London, a poor girl sells flowers.
Climax
Rising Action 11. Enraged by Higgins's boorish insensitivity, Eliza runs off.
2. Phonetics expert Higgins busily records the girl's words.
3. Higgins chances on Indian dialect expert, Pickering.

Falling Action
4. Higgins claims he could teach the girl to speak like a lady.
12. Higgins finds Eliza staying with his mother the next day.
5. The flower girl, Eliza, takes Higgins up on his boast.
13. Eliza asserts she has choices now and no longer needs
6. Higgins begins tutoring Eliza in speech and manners. him.
7. Eliza's first test in public is a marginal success. 14. Higgins accuses her of ingratitude, yet asks her to return.
8. Higgins's mother scolds him for treating Eliza like a doll.

Resolution
15. Eliza departs, but Higgins is sure she is not gone for good.

Timeline of Events
Rainy evening, 11:15 p.m.
Higgins boasts to Pickering that he can teach a flower

girl to speak like a lady.
The next day, 11:00 a.m.
The flower girl, Eliza, takes Higgins up on his boast and

asks him to teach her to speak properly.
Later that morning
Eliza's father, Doolittle, visits Higgins and accepts a five-

pound note in exchange for Eliza.
Afternoon, months later
Eliza visits Higgins's mother and tests—with mixed

results—her ability to pass as a lady.
Later that day
Mrs. Higgins cautions her son and Pickering to take care

in this experiment with Eliza.
Midnight, months later
Eliza's final foray into upper-class society leads Higgins

to declare his experiment a triumph.
Later, same night
Feeling unappreciated and disrespected, Eliza tells

Higgins she is leaving.
7:00 a.m. the next day
Eliza returns by taxi to Higgins's home to pick up her

things.
Later that morning
Higgins finds Eliza staying at his mother's. He asks her to

return, but it seems she may not.

Pygmalion Study Guide Act Summaries 13
duchess of the flower girl by teaching her to speak properly.

c Act Summaries Meanwhile, the rain stops, and soon the bystanders, including
the two ladies, have dispersed.
Pygmalion is written in five acts. Unlike plays written with
Only the elderly gentleman, note taker, and flower girl remain. It
scenes that have multiple settings, the play has only three
turns out the men share a common interest in language and
settings: Covent Garden, Henry Higgins's apartment, and Mrs.
have been intending to seek each other out. The elderly
Higgins's apartment.
gentleman is Colonel Pickering, a student of Indian dialects and
the author of Spoken Sanscrit. The gentleman is Professor
Act 1 Henry Higgins, author of Higgins's Universal Alphabet. Higgins

invites Pickering around to his home at 27A Wimpole Street the
next day, and the two men depart for a chat over some supper.
At the pricking of his conscience, Higgins tosses a handful of
Summary coins in the flower girl's basket as he leaves. It's a fortune by
her standards, and when poor Freddy pulls up in a taxi for his
In Covent Garden, a district of London, a sudden torrent of rain
mother and sister (who have taken the bus), she takes it off his
sends people hurrying for shelter under the portico of St.
hands and goes home in style.
Paul's Church. Among them are a finely dressed lady and her
daughter, who have been to the theater and are now
desperate to find a taxi to take them home. Another is a man Analysis
with a notebook in which he is busily writing. The lady's son,
Freddy, rushes in bearing the bad news that no cabs are Act 1 serves three main purposes: to introduce the play's three
available. Impatiently, his mother sends him back out to try main characters, establish the central premise of the play, and
again. As he sets off he runs into a dirty and disheveled girl provide social context for the events that will unfold.
selling flowers and sends her flower basket flying. With a swift
apology he dashes out into the rain, leaving her to pick up her The first main character introduced is the flower girl, later
scattered flowers. Despite the objections of the lady's revealed to be Eliza Doolittle. Shaw's description of her and her
daughter, Clara, the lady pays the girl for two bunches of first nearly unintelligible words to Freddy's mother paint the
ruined violets. picture of a girl doomed to a life of struggle by her appearance,
manners, and way of speaking. Translated, her statement to
Moments later, an elderly gentleman dressed in evening the mother that begins, "Ow, eez ye-ooa san, is e? Wal, fewd
clothes hurries in out of the rain. He pauses near the flower dan y'de-ooty bawmz a mather ..." means "Oh, he's your son, is
girl, who tries to sell him some flowers. He hasn't enough loose he? Well, if you'd done your duty by him as a mother should,
change to pay for any but gives the girl three hapence, or half he'd know better than you to spoil a poor girl's flowers and
pennies, and walks off. A bystander warns the girl to give the then run away without paying. Will you pay me for them?" Her
gentleman a flower in exchange as there is another man Cockney accent attracts the attention of the note taker
eavesdropping and taking down her every word. He may be a (Professor Henry Higgins), and he writes down her exchange
detective. Panicked that she will be accused of soliciting for with the gentleman, later identified as Colonel Pickering.
prostitution, the girl hysterically confronts the note taker, who Pickering, of course, turns out to be a language expert like
dismisses her fear, saying, "Oh, shut up, shut up. Do I look like a Higgins. In this way, language draws the three characters into
policeman?" However, a general hubbub among the a lasting relationship that is basic to the plot.
bystanders erupts in defense of the frightened girl. Things turn
a bit hostile when the note taker begins identifying where Language, in fact, is the unifying thread in a network of
various speakers come from, based on their speech. The characters that emerge as the act progresses. Gathered
people don't like the sense of being played with or patronized. beneath the portico of St. Paul's Church while sheltering from
The tension eases when the note taker turns his trick on the the rain, an array of London citizenry represent the different
elderly gentleman, and then on the lady and her daughter. The levels of Victorian society, from the high class of Higgins and
note taker brags to the elderly gentleman that he could make a Pickering to the low class of Eliza. The mother and daughter

(Clara) represent the genteel poor—those born into wealth but Eliza takes a taxi to her lodgings. Shaw describes the damp,
who have fallen on hard times. The bystanders represent dreary room decorated with pictures torn from newspapers—a
classes in between—those who work in service or at a trade hint that Eliza dreams of something better for herself. When
and those who have the potential for upward mobility. the light of the gas lamp goes out, she is torn between
spending another penny for light or going to bed. At the time
The origins of all the characters can all be identified by their that Shaw wrote Pygmalion, people paid for the gas supply for
patterns of speech. For example, Eliza's Cockney accent a room or house as needed by depositing a coin in a meter.
places her home in Lisson Grove, a former slum area in central Eliza's "gnawing sense of the need for economy" wins and she
London—not "fit for a pig to live in," according to crawls into bed, sleeping in her clothes to keep away the cold.
Eliza—urbanized during the mid-19th century and remaining In this scene, Shaw shows the deprivation that Eliza endures
poor into the 20th century. Higgins identifies the bystander as and will attempt to escape.
coming from the seaside village of Selsey, and the sarcastic
bystander's speech patterns place him in the trade and
manufacturing center of Hoxton. Shaw uses the characters,
especially Eliza, to establish the main premise of the play: the
Act 2
role of language in determining a person's place in society.
Shaw asks, can an expert in speech teach a common girl
speaking "kerbstone English" to pass as a member of the elite
Summary
class?
The morning after the gathering under the portico of St. Paul's
Higgins specializes in helping people hide their places of origin Church, Pickering visits Higgins at his home and laboratory on
by teaching them to speak properly. As he says, it "is an age of Wimpole Street. As the professor winds up an exhaustive
upstarts," and society is changing. Industrialization and demonstration of the various devices he uses to study speech,
capitalism have created the possibility of upward mobility. Yet, his housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce, announces the arrival of a
Victorian class standards still prevail, and speaking properly is young woman. She is "quite a common girl," has a dreadful
key. As Higgins says, men who begin in Kentish Town—a accent, and insists on seeing Higgins. Thinking this may offer
working-class district of London—and end in upper-crust Park an opportunity for further demonstrations, Higgins tells Mrs.
Lane "want to drop Kentish Town; but they give themselves Pearce to send the young woman in.
away every time they open their mouths." Just as he claims to
Immediately he recognizes the flower girl from the night before
help them, he says that he could pass Eliza off as a duchess at
and, having no further use for her, tells her to go away. But the
an ambassador's garden party if given just three months with
flower girl, whose name is Eliza, stops him with the revelation
her. This plants the seed in Eliza's mind that leads her to
that she has come for speech lessons, "and to pay for em, too."
Higgins's home in Act 2; it also foreshadows her later triumph
Eliza aspires to become a lady in a flower shop "stead of
at the ambassador's party.
selling at the corner of Tottenham Court Road. But they won't
Clothing is also an important feature in this act and throughout take me unless I can talk more genteel." She reminds Higgins
the play. Eliza's dirty, shabby clothes, worn boots, and soot- of his claim that he could teach her, and offers him a shilling an
blackened hat are clear indications of her impoverished state. hour to do so—quite a substantial sum for a person with her
In contrast, the fine evening clothes of Pickering, Freddy, the income. The challenge intrigues Higgins. Pickering says he'll
mother, and Clara place them in the upper classes. When pay for the lessons if Higgins succeeds, and count him the
Higgins is first mistaken for a policeman or informer, the greatest teacher alive. Higgins accepts the wager, vowing to
bystander points out, "It's all right: he's a gentleman: look at his "make a duchess of this draggletailed guttersnipe" in six
boots." As the play progresses, Eliza's clothing will reflect months. Then he instructs Mrs. Pearce to find a room for Eliza
various stages of her transformation into a lady. to stay in and to give her a bath, burn her clothes, and order
new garments.
In the 1941 published play, Shaw added scenes inspired by the
film adaptation of Pygmalion, which starred Leslie Howard and Mrs. Pearce chides Higgins for thinking he can "take a girl up
Wendy Hiller. The first one appears at the end of Act 1 when like that as if you were picking up a pebble on the beach." She

advises Eliza to go home to her parents, but Eliza says they sweets. Otherwise, everything is useful and handy, set up for
have turned her out to earn her own living. Mrs. Pearce sternly Higgins's tastes, interests, and pursuits. Even the art on the
asks Higgins on what terms Eliza will stay in the house and walls echoes his scientific nature, featuring subdued
what will become of her when the experiment is done. architectural engravings and portraits in steel or copper. There
Impatient with such details, Higgins leaves them to Mrs. Pearce are no paintings, which reflects his preference for austerity
to settle with Eliza. over Victorian art's vibrant colors.
While Eliza bathes, "an elderly but vigorous dustman" who When Eliza presents herself to Higgins, she has attempted to
claims to be Eliza's father visits Higgins and Pickering. He is clean herself up and dress for the occasion. There is verbal
Alfred Doolittle, a callous, unprincipled scoundrel who has irony in her exchange with Higgins when he calls her "so
come to touch Higgins for money in exchange for Eliza. deliciously low—so horribly dirty." Knowing no better, Eliza
Higgins is struck by Doolittle's natural gift of rhetoric and wails in reply, "I ain't dirty: I washed my face and hands afore I
shocked by the man's lack of morals. But Doolittle unabashedly come, I did." However, there is nothing to laugh at when Eliza
explains that he is too poor to afford them, and he assures reveals her reason for wanting lessons. She is nothing but a
Higgins that the money will be well spent: "There won't be a Cockney flower girl yet she dares to tell two gentlemen—one
penny of it left by Monday ... Just one good spree for myself of whom has shown her little respect—that she dreams of
and the missus." As he leaves five pounds richer, he being a lady in a flower shop some day. It is a bold, courageous
encounters a young "Japanese lady" in a blue kimono. Begging leap that could have cruelly ended in crushed hopes. The
her pardon, he is astonished to discover that it's Eliza. She has willingness to take a risk is one of Eliza's strengths. Other
cleaned up quite nicely. With a last word of advice to Higgins to strengths were glimpsed earlier in Act 1, such as her inherent
take a strap to her if he wants her mind improved, Doolittle self-respect ("My character is the same to me as any lady's")
departs. and a strong sense of propriety ("I'm a good girl, I am").
Eliza is darkly pleased to see him go and has no desire to see Higgins takes on the challenge of turning Eliza into a lady
him again. Moments later, her new clothes arrive, and with a without thought to what it will mean to Eliza. The prospect
howl of delight she rushes from the room to try them on. fascinates him, and he considers it one of life's "inspired follies"
Higgins and Pickering can see they have "taken on a stiff job." that should not be missed. Pickering is similarly interested,
though from the beginning he views Eliza as a person and
treats her kindly. Throughout the play, he will act as a foil for
Analysis Higgins—his respectful demeanor and consideration for Eliza
counterbalancing Higgins's rudeness and insensitivity.
Act 2 sets up the experiment that will raise Eliza from low- to
upper-class status. It also reveals the personal reasons Eliza, Higgins's housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce, does her part in
Higgins, and Pickering have for taking on the daring task. Two protecting Eliza from Higgins—at first, pressing him to be
additional characters are introduced—Mrs. Pearce and Alfred reasonable and to send Eliza back to her parents. Discovering
Doolittle—who will play minor, though influential, roles in Eliza's that Eliza is on her own, Mrs. Pearce then asks Higgins to
story. consider what's to become of her when he completes his
teaching. She knows Higgins is not cruel in his thoughtlessness
As described, Higgins's laboratory was intended to be a and is equally reckless about outcomes for himself. "When you
drawing room—a room in a large private house in which guests get what you call interested in people's accents," she says,
can be received and entertained. The fact that Higgins has "you never think or care what may happen to them or you." She
turned it into a laboratory symbolizes his disregard for assumes a motherly sternness as she takes Eliza in hand, gets
convention as well as conventional behavior or expectations. In her scrubbed and cleaned, and presents her to Higgins and
general, the room reflects the character of an intellectual, Pickering. This relationship will continue to strengthen as the
social nonconformist who has the enthusiasm for his field of play progresses.
study and the required skill to gamble on transforming a flower
girl into a lady. There are spots of comfort, like the easy chair The introduction of Eliza's father, Alfred Doolittle, provides
near the fire and the dessert dish heaped with fruits and insight into Eliza's rough upbringing and her father's

perspective on being one of the "undeserving poor." Doolittle further surprises her with news that he has asked a common
has no interest in Eliza's welfare beyond the money he can flower girl whom he has taught to speak properly to come see
wheedle out of Higgins. "What's a five pound note to you?" he her. However, as he explains, while her pronunciation is quite
asks Higgins. "And what's Eliza to me?" While Eliza wants to good she still needs to learn what to talk about. He hopes his
better herself, Doolittle has no desire to better himself. He mother can help. The extent of the problem soon becomes
explains, "Undeserving poverty is my line. Taking one station in humorously clear.
society with another ... it's the only one that has any ginger in it,
to my taste." There is little love lost between daughter and Mrs. Higgins's other guests arrive, and among them is Mrs.
father, and Eliza states after Doolittle leaves, "I don't want Eynsford Hill, the genteel lady from Act 1 who purchased the
never to see him again, I don't. He's a disgrace to me." flowers spoiled by her son, Freddy. He, too, is present, as are
her daughter, Clara, and Pickering—the last to arrive before
As in the previous act, Shaw carefully describes clothing and Eliza makes her entrance. Elegantly dressed, the former flower
appearances. Doolittle's dustman (garbage man) garb and girl creates an impression of exceptional beauty and
"professional flavor of dust" leave no doubt as to his social sophistication while she perfectly articulates her greetings. As
status. Eliza's appearance after her bath represents the first Mrs. Higgins later comments, Eliza is "a triumph of [her son's]
step in her transformation. The dirty flower girl is gone, art and of her dressmaker's." Nevertheless, in a scene that is
replaced with "a dainty and exquisitely clean young Japanese both hilarious and nerve-racking, Eliza soon slips into an
lady in a simple blue cotton kimono" that even her father does unsuitable family tale of a "pinched" straw hat, a suspected
not recognize—until, of course, she speaks. murder, and some hard gin drinking. With a bit of quick
thinking, Higgins passes it all off as "the new small talk," and
Two optional scenes are included in the 1941 version of Act 2. Eliza tells the tale so charmingly that the Eynsford Hills
The first is the bath scene, which is only alluded to in the suspect nothing. Freddy, in fact, is captivated by her loveliness
original text. Here, Eliza expresses genuine dread of taking a and odd ways. As she leaves, he takes her to the door and
bath, certain that it will be the death of her. The idea of the inquires if she intends to walk home. Her reply, "Not bloody
bath also offends her sense of decency, as she will have to likely. I am going in a taxi," is shocking but fails to destroy the
remove her clothes. When Mrs. Pearce tells her that she will be overall delightful impression she has made.
expected to remove her clothes nightly and wear a proper
nightdress, Eliza's fear that she will "lie awake shivering half the Once alone with Higgins and Pickering, Mrs. Higgins passes
night" provides a glimpse into the deprivation that she has judgment on the whole affair, telling them that Eliza is not
dealt with. "But you don't know what the cold is to me," she presentable and gives herself away "in every sentence she
says, "how I dread it." utters." Learning more about the experiment, she chides both
men for treating Eliza like a live doll—a thing to be dressed and
The second optional scene, placed at the end of Act 2, taught to speak but with no feelings or future. The results of
presents Eliza's first speech lesson. Though it ends in tears of teaching Eliza to look and sound like a fine lady will likely leave
frustration, Eliza shows that she has a quick ear and the talent her caught between two worlds—one in which she still needs
to learn. to earn a living, the other in which her new status disqualifies
her from doing so. Both men miss the point completely, vaguely
assuring Mrs. Higgins that "we'll do what's right." Then they
Act 3 leave with plans to take Eliza to a Shakespeare exhibition.
Alone with her frustration over the obtuseness of the two, Mrs.
Higgins cries out, "Oh, men! men!! men!!!"
Summary
In later editions of the play, an important "optional scene"
follows, influenced by the screenplay Shaw wrote for the film
The story moves to the drawing room at the home of Higgins's
adaptation of Pygmalion. The setting is a party one summer
mother. Elegantly furnished, it reflects a woman of wealth and
evening at an embassy in London, where Higgins puts Eliza's
refinement. It is Mrs. Higgins's day for receiving visitors, and
education to the final test. The greatest obstacle to her
she is not pleased when her son bursts in without warning. He
success is Nepommuck, a Hungarian interpreter and Higgins's
lacks social graces and tends to insult her guests. Higgins

former student who may expose her as an aristocratic However, both women are wearing a mask and putting on a
impostor. Nepommuck does accuse her of being a fraud, but show. Clara is aware of her family's decline in wealth and
for speaking English too perfectly. He determines she is a exhibits "the bravado of genteel poverty." Eliza knows where
Hungarian princess. The experiment proves a success, and she comes from and does her best to imitate a lady.
Higgins wins the wager with Pickering.
In this act, new relationships form, which will have far-reaching
effects as the play continues. The first is one of sympathy
Analysis between Mrs. Higgins and Eliza. Despite her modern leanings,
Mrs. Higgins is a product of the Victorian Era, which confines
The key developments in Act 3 are the introduction of Mrs. women to strictly defined roles in society. She conforms to her
Higgins, Eliza's first appearance in London society, and the role and sees the dangers for Eliza. Though some women are
outcome of that incident. demanding increased political and legal rights and greater
economic opportunities, Mrs. Higgins recognizes that those
Just as Higgins's laboratory expresses his character, Mrs. opportunities may not be available to Eliza—her son and
Higgins's drawing room reflects an educated, free-thinking Pickering are jeopardizing the girl's future. Her sympathy for
woman of wealth, sophistication, refined taste, and modern Eliza is established when Higgins carelessly replies, "There's
leanings. Her home is situated in Chelsea, an artist's quarter in no good bothering now. The thing's done."
London. The Morris wallpaper, curtains, and similar decor show
her interest in a popular decorative and fine arts movement of A second relationship forms between Freddy and Eliza. He is
the time: the Arts and Crafts Movement. The movement smitten with her beauty and unconventional ways. Later, his
developed from a concern over the effects of industrialization adoration will be a source of comfort for Eliza and of irritation
and set standards for home decor that aligned with emerging for Higgins.
ideals of beauty. Designer and artist William Morris was a
The optional scene at the end of Act 3 in the 1941 version of
leading figure in this movement. Mrs. Higgins further proclaims
Pygmalion provides a deeper insight into Higgins's character.
her modernity with open spaces and uncluttered surfaces,
Curious and clever Nepommuck divines—incorrectly—that Eliza
rejecting the fussy Victorian style that left nothing unadorned.
is a Hungarian princess, proving Higgins's premise that
Her taste in artwork is refined, and her portrait is in the
acquiring proper speech will breach social barriers. However,
romantic style of the Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel
Higgins is disappointed that it was so easy to fool his former
Rossetti, whose work led to a widespread recognition of the
student and the elites at the party. Instead of reveling in the
need for beauty in everyday life.
victory, he says to Eliza and Pickering, "Let us get out of this. I
Mrs. Higgins's home is the perfect setting for Eliza. In her have had enough of chattering to these fools."
clothing and mannerisms, the Flower Girl has made great
strides. Even her speech is perfectly articulated. However, her
choice of topic hardly matches either her exquisite appearance Act 4
or language, especially her use of bloody, a word considered
obscene in Shaw's time. It should have given her away, yet it
does not. In this way, Shaw demonstrates the foolishness of Summary
making judgments based on appearances.
It's midnight, and Eliza, Higgins, and Pickering are returning to
In the encounter with the Eynsford Hills, Clara is a foil for Eliza.
Wimpole Street after the exhausting but highly successful final
As a lady of the upper class, Clara has the education and
test of Eliza's skills. Higgins scornfully remarks, "Oh Lord! What
refinement that Eliza desires. She has always been clean and
an evening! What a crew! What a silly tomfoolery!" Then,
well dressed and is at home in society. Eliza, in contrast, is
complaining that he cannot find his slippers, he takes no notice
rising from the ignorance and squalor of poverty. She knows
when Eliza finds and places them before him and continues to
what it is to be dirty, cold, and ill dressed. Clara represents
sound off about the party, saying, "Thank God it's over!"
everything to which Eliza aspires and, in the meeting, is the
Oblivious to Eliza's growing resentment, he labels the whole
benchmark against which her progress will be measured.
experiment as a "bore" and "simple purgatory," and then states

that he "can go to bed at last without dreading tomorrow." Eliza feelings?" Higgins replies, "Oh no, I don't think so. Not any
holds her temper until Higgins and Pickering leave the room, feelings that we need bother about." Clearly, nothing has
and then bursts into tears of rage. changed for Higgins. Eliza now feels the sting of his words
deeply when he acts as if the experiment has been a bore and
Moments later, Higgins returns, once more searching for his the outcome somewhat meaningless. When Pickering
slippers, and she throws them at him with all her strength. She compliments him, saying, "There's always something
has won his bet for him, and now he has no more use for her. professional about doing a thing superlatively well," Higgins
"What's to become of me?" she demands. Higgins attempts to answers, "Yes: that's what drives me mad: the silly people don't
persuade her that she is simply tired and suffering a case of know their own silly business." In other words, they were easy
nerves; a good night's sleep will make things right. After all, she to fool and no thanks to Eliza.
is now free and can do what she likes. Gradually, he
understands that she has no idea what she is fit for or what will The crisis comes when Eliza gives vent to her anger and
become of her. Clumsily, he suggests that she could find a rich frustration, finally standing up to Higgins in the face of his
man to marry who will take care of her—a solution Eliza rejects: insensitivity. Fear floods her at the thought that, having no
"We were above that at the corner of Tottenham Court ... I sold further use for her, he will abandon her, throwing her into the
flowers. I didn't sell myself." street—just as her father and stepmother had done. She has
had a taste of life as a lady and acquired all the necessary
Refusing to take the problem seriously, Higgins starts off for attributes. Her dreams have grown beyond merely working in a
bed. He stops when Eliza quietly asks, "Do my clothes belong flower shop. As Mrs. Higgins had predicted in Act 3, she now
to me or to Colonel Pickering?" She wants to know what she has "the manners and habits that disqualify a fine lady from
can take with her and doesn't "want to be accused of stealing." earning her own living" and has no means of supporting herself.
He is shocked, then further angered when she hands him the
jewels he rented for her along with a ring that he bought her, Higgins dismisses her fear, suggests that now she could marry
telling him she doesn't want it anymore. Dashing the ring into well, and advises her to take a good look in a mirror—"you
the fireplace, he stalks out and slams the door. won't feel so cheap," meaning, worthless. Throughout the
experiment, Higgins has viewed Eliza as his creation, and the
In another important "optional scene" Eliza changes clothes changes he has imposed are superficial: language, clothing,
and leaves the house. Outside, she comes upon Freddy gazing and manners. Therefore, in his perception Eliza is what he can
up at her window. Love-struck, he spends most of his nights see and hear, and he assumes this is all that matters to her as
there on the street. Hungry for comfort, Eliza falls into his arms well. In Act 3, he speaks to his mother about the human soul,
and responds to his passionate kisses—until first one, then saying that proper speech can fill up "the deepest gulf that
another constable tells them to move along. They end up in a separates class from class and soul from soul." Even so,
taxi with a plan to drive around all night. In the morning, Eliza Higgins has not yet seen that Eliza possesses this feature.
will visit Mrs. Higgins and ask her advice on what she should
do. In the 1913 version of the play, Higgins takes the ring Eliza
returns to him along with her rented jewelry and throws the
ring violently into the fireplace. The scene ends with Eliza "on
Analysis her knees on the hearthrug," searching through the ashes for
the ring—an image suggestive of the fairy tale character
In this act, the evening's success is the culmination of all Eliza Cinderella. In the 1941 version, this scene leads into the
and Higgins have worked to achieve. Yet, the turning point in optional scene with Freddy. Eliza retrieves the ring and puts it
the play occurs after the victory. Eliza's contribution to the on the dessert stand where she knows Higgins will find it,
evening's triumph—her months of tireless study and fine being so fond of sweets. She then goes upstairs, changes her
performance—go unacknowledged by Higgins and barely clothes, and leaves. Outside, when Freddy sees her he
touched upon by Pickering. The professor still sees Eliza as properly addresses her as "Miss Doolittle." Judging herself by
little more than a means to an end, a way of proving his theory Higgins's behavior, Eliza rebukes him, saying, "Don't you call me
about language and his genius as a teacher. In Act 1, Pickering Miss Doolittle, do you hear? Liza's good enough for me." She
asks, "Does it occur to you, Higgins, that the girl has some "knows" she is only a low-class flower girl masquerading as a

lady. Nevertheless, Freddy's affection is comforting and the any differently than anyone else, that he treats everybody
tonic she needs. rudely. Then he softens a bit and tells her that he will miss her
if she leaves. Knowing Higgins will never change and refusing
to be trapped by sentimentality, Eliza suggests that she may
Act 5 marry Freddy and support them both by teaching phonetics,
possibly as an assistant to Nepommuck. Outraged, Higgins
grabs her and threatens to wring her neck if she does. Yet he
Summary suddenly sees something in Eliza that he has overlooked until

now: No longer a sniveling flower girl, Eliza is a woman, "a
tower of strength: a consort battleship." He likes her like this.
The next day, Mrs. Higgins is in her drawing room when the
Even so, as the play closes, Eliza seems set on a path away
parlor-maid announces that Higgins and Pickering are
from Higgins. In contrast, the professor remains cheerfully
downstairs phoning the police about Eliza's disappearance.
confident that she will return to Wimpole Street and continue
Mrs. Higgins sends the parlor-maid upstairs, where Eliza has
to be part of his life.
taken shelter, to ask that she stay there until she is sent for.
Mrs. Higgins then chastises her son and Pickering for their
thoughtless treatment of the girl, but the arrival of Doolittle
cuts the scolding short. He enters dressed in the height of
Analysis
fashion for a bridegroom and in a highly agitated state. Without
A play's resolution, or denouement, usually ties up all the loose
greetings, he accosts Higgins with the heated accusation, "See
plot threads and answers any lingering questions. However,
here! Do you see this? You done this." Doolittle then explains
Shaw breaks with tradition and leaves the question of Eliza's
that Higgins's offhand remark in a letter to a rich gentleman
future unanswered. Higgins and Eliza talk about the
has delivered him into the hands of "middle class morality." The
possibilities—marriage to Freddy, reconciliation and return to
gentleman died and left the dustman a generous yearly
Higgins, a return to her father—but nothing is conclusive. Eliza
pension. Now his happy days are over as one of the
declares her independence from Higgins, says good-bye for
undeserving poor, and everyone wants to "touch" him for
the last time, and sweeps out of the room. Even so, there is no
money, just as he used to do. In addition, his live-in missus now
guarantee that she intends never to see him again, and Higgins
wants to get married.
himself is confident that she will return. The resolution, then, is
Seeing a solution to Eliza's financial future in her father's left up to the audience and depends on their interpretation of
newfound wealth, Mrs. Higgins reveals that the girl is upstairs. events, what they learned about the characters, and their own
Explaining how she came to be there, Mrs. Higgins again romantic tendencies.
reproaches her son and Pickering for their callous conduct the
The final act also raises a fresh question: Is Eliza better off
night before. Then sending for Eliza, she asks Doolittle to wait
now that she is a lady? Shaw uses Doolittle's reappearance as
on the balcony until Eliza is ready for the shock of his news.
a wealthy gentleman to clarify the question, but not the
Eliza enters, looking coolly self-possessed, and politely greets answer. In contrast to Eliza, Doolittle's rise in social status is
the two men. She then thanks Pickering for always treating her not wished for. He was happy as a member of "the undeserving
well and showing her respect. "The difference between a lady poor" and, still a dustman at heart, mourns the loss of freedom
and a flower girl," she explains, "is not how she behaves, but to live as he likes. Unhappy in his newfound wealth, he feels like
how she's treated ... I can be a lady to you, because you always a victim of middle-class morality, forced to act respectably and
treat me as a lady, and always will." Higgins's arrogant, ill- responsibly. At the same time, he lacks the courage to reject
mannered reaction to this prompts Doolittle to make his the generous inheritance, feeling caught between "the Skilly of
presence known to Eliza. After an awkward moment, he and the workhouse and the Char Bydis of the middle class." He is
Eliza are guardedly reunited, and she agrees to come along to referencing a story from Homer's The Odyssey in which a
see him married. narrow sea passage is guarded on one side by Scylla, a sea
monster, and on the other by Charybdis, a deadly whirlpool.
For a few moments before leaving, Eliza and Higgins are left
alone. Higgins tries to convince her that he did not treat her Unlike her father, Eliza wants to be a lady, and views returning

Pygmalion Study Guide Quotes 20
to the ways of a flower girl as a "relapse into the gutter." She

right to live. Remember that you
has lost the knack for her old ways and has grown beyond her
dream of selling flowers in a shop. Her only path is forward, but are a human being with a soul and
she faces new limitations based on her elite status. So, despite
the divine gift of articulate speech:
new advantages, is the lady better off than the flower girl?
that your native language is the
Shaw also uses Act 5 to explore the essential qualities of a
lady and of change. Underscoring the power of language, Eliza language of Shakespeare and
attributes her true transformation to Pickering always calling
Milton and The Bible; and don't sit
her "Miss Doolittle" and treating her like a lady. His respect
creates a frame of reference—a possibility that she can fulfill. there crooning like a bilious
While acquiring good manners and fine speech, she also
assimilates this new perception of herself. Higgins cannot see
pigeon."
Eliza as anything but a flower girl until she establishes herself
as his equal: self-assured and independent. At this point, the — Higgins, Act 1
transformation is real and complete. Eliza, in her soul, truly
"owns" her status as a lady, and not even Higgins, her creator, Upset that Higgins—a professor of phonetics—has been
can take that away. copying down her speech, the flower girl persists in protesting
her innocence and her right to share the street with him.
Impatient with her whining and appalled by her awful English,
g Quotes Higgins scolds her for sounding like a sick pigeon. He reveals
his deep respect for the English language and his passion to
hear it spoken correctly. In this passage, Shaw speaks through
"He's no right to take away my the character of Higgins and lays out his personal complaint
about the English people and their native language: They "have
character. My character is the no respect for their language, and will not teach their children
same to me as any lady's." to speak it." It would be an exaggeration, however, to assume
that Shaw believed that a woman, or anyone else who spoke
poor English, "has no right to live." This attitude is purely in the
— Eliza, Act 1
mind of Higgins.
Eliza is an unnamed flower girl among a group of pedestrians

taking shelter from the rain. She objects to a well-dressed note
"You see this creature with her
taker (Higgins) writing down her words as she sells flowers, as
if she's doing something improper. Though a dirty, shabbily kerbstone English: the English that
dressed member of the working-class poor, she nevertheless
exhibits spirited pride in speaking up to the gentleman and
will keep her in the gutter to the
defending her reputation. Victorian society takes respectability end of her days. Well, sir, in three
very seriously, and Eliza is not going to let someone rob her of
the thing she values as much as any lady.
months I could pass that girl off as
a duchess at an ambassador's
"A woman who utters such garden party. I could even get her
depressing and disgusting sounds a place as lady's maid or shop
has no right to be anywhere—no assistant, which requires better

English."

— Higgins, Act 1 The ultimate test will be the ambassador's party, where Eliza
will mingle with members of the highest-ranking social class.
With her speech and manners on full display, she will either
Referring to the flower girl, Higgins is speaking to Pickering, a
pass the test or be revealed as a fraud.
gentleman who shares his interest in language. Higgins's
offhand remarks sow the seeds of future events and will bring
the flower girl (Eliza) to his laboratory at 27A Wimpole Street.
"What is life but a series of
inspired follies? The difficulty is to
"I want to be a lady in a flower
find them to do. Never lose a
shop stead of selling at the corner
chance: it doesn't come every day.
of Tottenham Court Road. But
I shall make a duchess of this
they won't take me unless I can
draggletailed guttersnipe."
talk more genteel. He said he
could teach me." — Higgins, Act 2
— Eliza, Act 2 Mrs. Pearce entreats Pickering to discourage Higgins from

acting foolishly with regard to teaching Eliza. She is too late.
Boldly, Higgins embraces the challenge as one of life's
The flower girl Eliza has come to Higgins's laboratory on
chances that should not be missed. At the same time, he
Wimpole Street. Pickering is also present as an invited guest.
shows his self-absorbed insensitivity by referring to Eliza—in
To counterbalance Higgins's rude treatment of the girl,
her presence—as a "draggletailed guttersnipe." The term
Pickering kindly asks her what she wants. In light of the
paints the image of a woman who wears a skirt dirtied by being
situation, her response demonstrates courage, because she—a
dragged through damp muck while she hunts the gutters for
nobody in society—is laying out her dream before these
usable things.
gentlemen. There is every chance one or both could crush it.
"I'm interested. What about the "Well, the matter is, sir, that you
ambassador's garden party? I'll can't take a girl up like that as if
say you're the greatest teacher you were picking up a pebble on
alive if you can make that good. I'll the beach."
bet you all the expenses of the — Mrs. Pearce, Act 2

experiment you can't do it. And I'll
With a burst of orders for Mrs. Pearce to bathe Eliza, burn her
pay for the lessons."
rags, and wrap her in brown paper until new clothes arrive,
Higgins launches the transformation of Eliza. Mrs. Pearce
— Pickering, Act 2
chides him for not considering the girl or her feelings as he
plans, for handling her like an object without a life—like a
Higgins is considering the idea of teaching Eliza to speak pebble on the beach. Throughout the play, Mrs. Pearce is the
properly. Intrigued by the challenge it will pose, Pickering takes voice of caution, frequently asking Higgins what is to become
the idea a step further and sets up terms for the experiment. of Eliza once he's finished his teaching. She knows that where

language is concerned, Higgins is prone to charging ahead

"All I ask is my rights as a father;
with a plan without thought to the aftereffects.
and you're the last man alive to
expect me to let her go for
"Excuse the straight question,
nothing; for I can see you're one of
Higgins. Are you a man of good
the straight sort, Governor. Well,
character where women are
what's a five pound note to you?
concerned?"
And what's Eliza to me?"
— Pickering, Act 2
— Doolittle, Act 2
While Mrs. Pearce takes Eliza away for a bath, Pickering and
Higgins discuss the experiment they are about to begin. In this Eliza's father, Alfred Doolittle, learns that Eliza is moving into
question, Pickering confirms his nature as a gentleman and his Higgins's home. Her reasons for doing so do not concern him
genuine concern for Eliza's well-being. Throughout the play, he much, but he sees an opportunity to "touch" the professor for
is a foil or contrast for Higgins, especially in the kindness and money. From his point of view, his "rights" as a father amount
respect with which he treats Eliza. While tactless, insensitive to nothing more than the money he can get for Eliza. Through
Higgins sees her as a creature to be molded, Pickering treats Doolittle's morally corrupt attitude, Shaw shines a light on the
her like a lady before she takes the first step in that direction. dark side of the Victorian Era, where society turned a blind eye
on prostitution and child trafficking.
"I've taught scores of American

"Walk! Not bloody likely. I am going
millionairesses how to speak
in a taxi."
English: the best looking women in
the world. I'm seasoned. They — Eliza, Act 3
might as well be blocks of wood. I

Eliza's first foray into upper-class society at the home of Mrs.
might as well be a block of wood." Higgins ends with this line. Freddy Eynsford Hill, who is smitten
by the lovely Miss Doolittle, escorts her to the door and
— Higgins, Act 2 inquires if she will be walking home. Among theater audiences
in 1914, the use of the word bloody in the response caused
quite a stir. It was a word forbidden by the censors, and there
Pickering has bluntly asked Higgins if his intentions toward
had been a great deal of speculation as to whether the word
Eliza are honorable. While reassuring the colonel that Eliza will
would be uttered during the opening performance. However, to
be quite safe in his care, Higgins also reveals his indifference
Shaw's dismay, the audience reacted with uproarious laughter
to pupils as people and underscores a general disregard for
instead of the shock he had desired.
women. Eliza is nothing more than a block of wood to be
carved, like the American millionairesses. In this, Higgins
parallels the mythic sculptor Pygmalion, whose utter disdain for
females of his day leads him to carve the perfect woman from "You certainly are a pretty pair of
ivory.
babies, playing with your live doll."

— Mrs. Higgins, Act 3

flower girl is not how she behaves,
Mrs. Higgins meets Eliza and witnesses a stage midway in her

but how she's treated. I shall
transformation. Eliza dresses exquisitely, and her articulation is always be a flower girl to
nearly perfect. However, her lack of social graces gives away
her low-class origins. Undaunted, Higgins and Pickering
Professor Higgins, because he
excitedly discuss her progress, yet speak of Eliza only as an always treats me as a flower girl,
object in the experiment. Mrs. Higgins sees how the girl as a
person is being overlooked, and chides the two men for their and always will; but I know I can be
childish insensitivity. a lady to you, because you always
treat me as a lady, and always will."
"We were above that at the corner
— Eliza, Act 5
of Tottenham Court Road ... I sold
flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now Eliza is explaining to Pickering why her real education began
with him and not with Higgins. A lady does not equal
you've made a lady of me I'm not
excellence in dressing and speaking properly. These are
fit to sell anything else. I wish superficial skills, easily learned. A lady equals the consideration
that is shown to her by others. By showing her that she was
you'd left me where you found
worthy of respect, Pickering sparked the spiritual
me." transformation that genuinely turned the flower girl into a lady.
This is something that Higgins will never understand.
— Eliza, Act 4
Eliza's transformation is complete. She triumphantly passes

"The great secret, Eliza, is not
the final test and is judged to be a duchess. However, with the having bad manners or good
success of the experiment, she faces an uncertain future.
Indifferent to her feelings or what she might wish for herself,
manners or any other particular
Higgins suggests that his mother could find her a suitable chap sort of manners, but having the
to marry. Victorian society assumed that every woman desired
to find financial security in matrimony and left upper-class same manner for all human souls:
women few other options. Eliza, however, has an independent in short, behaving as if you were in
nature and has not bettered herself in order to attract a well-
off husband. Heaven, where there are no third-
class carriages, and one soul is as
"You see, really and truly, apart good as another."
from the things anyone can pick — Higgins, Act 5
up (the dressing and the proper
way of speaking, and so on), the In this line, Higgins reveals both his weakness and his strength.
He is explaining to Eliza that he treats her no differently than
difference between a lady and a he treats everyone else. While it may be insensitive or boorish,
it is just his way. Lacking in self-awareness, he is oblivious to

Pygmalion Study Guide Symbols 24
the fact that he does not treat everyone equally. For example, her a new wardrobe. By Act 4, Eliza the lady presents a stark
his conduct toward his mother and Pickering is invariably contrast to Eliza the flower girl. On the night of her triumph,
courteous, whereas his conduct toward Eliza is often callous she is clothed in an "opera cloak, brilliant evening dress, and
and rude. On the other hand, Higgins expresses a highly moral diamonds, with fan, flowers, and all accessories." Her clothing
and worthwhile ideal: that people, no matter their gender or reflects her thorough and willing transformation, inside and out.
class, are fundamentally equal and should be treated as such.
Eliza's dustman father, Doolittle, illustrates that a change of
clothing may alter other people's perceptions, but those looks
can be deceiving. When he makes an entrance in Act 2, he is
l Symbols "clad in the costume of his profession" and "has a professional

flavor of dust about him." He is happy and proud to be one of
"the undeserving poor." By Act 5, his unlooked-for rise in
wealth is apparent when he arrives at the home of Mrs. Higgins
Flower Shop wearing a "fashionable frock-coat, with white waistcoat and
grey trousers ... dazzling silk hat, and patent leather shoes." He
appears every inch a gentleman and is announced as such by
The flower shop represents the dream that drives Eliza to the parlor-maid. However, his new look is misleading. While his
Higgins's laboratory in Act 2: "I want to be a lady in a flower social standing has risen, his only gentlemanly attributes are
shop stead of selling at the corner of Tottenham Court Road," those that have been forced upon him as "middle class morality
she tells Higgins and Pickering. "But they won't take me unless claims its victim."
I can talk more genteel." It is the dream for which she is willing
to transform herself. Later, when she has achieved her goal
and has the speech and manners of a lady, she anxiously asks
Higgins, "What am I fit for? What have you left me fit for?" Her
Mirror
situation is as Mrs. Higgins predicted in Act 3: Eliza has been
given "the manners and habits that disqualify a fine lady from
earning her own living." Though Higgins suggests that the old In Act 2, Eliza is given a bath for the first time in memory.
idea of a florist's shop might be the answer, Eliza may have Shocked that the procedure requires removing all her clothes,
outgrown that particular dream and will have to rethink her she is even more shocked to find a mirror in the bathroom. She
future. doesn't know "which way to look" and finally hangs a towel
over it. However, this represents the moment when Eliza
unguardedly "sees" herself as she is—dirty, disheveled, and far
from ladylike in her personal habits. The bath proves to be a
Clothing treat, and the positive effects are immediately evident. Cloaked
in a blue cotton kimono, she emerges looking like "a dainty and
exquisitely clean young Japanese lady." Her own father, who
Throughout the play, clothing reflects the social status of has come to see what Higgins is up to, fails to recognize her at
characters. For example, Higgins's slippers represent his class first, and then comments, "Well, I never thought she'd clean up
as well as his disregard for Eliza. As a symbol, clothing as good looking as that, Governor. She's a credit to me, ain't
represents Eliza's metamorphosis from flower girl to lady, and she?" Eliza's glimpse in the mirror reveals to her the need for a
Doolittle's rise from dustman to gentleman. When Eliza is change, and the results of the bath prove that change is
introduced in Act 1, she is "not at all an attractive person." Her possible. Thus, the mirror symbolizes self-awareness and
sailor hat of black straw is coated in London soot. She wears a identity.
long, worn black coat and a brown skirt with a coarse apron.
She has worn-down boots, and in general she is quite dirty. In
Act 2, as a step toward her transformation, Higgins's
housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce, burns Eliza's old clothes and orders

Pygmalion Study Guide Themes 25
world!" But language has irreversibly placed her in society's

m Themes higher echelon, and she must—and will—find a new way to
strike out on her own.
Language as a Class Barrier

Transformation
Shaw laments the fact that the English do not sufficiently value
the power of their language. Through the character of Higgins
Shaw explores the theme of transformation by showing how a
in Act 1, he reminds the audience that articulate speech is a
poor flower girl becomes a lovely, self-reliant lady, both
divine gift, and the eloquent words of Shakespeare and Milton
superficially and at heart. Her metamorphosis begins with an
and the Bible form the basis of their native tongue. The
idea planted by Higgins when he tells Pickering in Act I that he
defining nature of language is illustrated when Higgins
could teach "this creature" to speak like a duchess. It takes a
accurately pinpoints the geographic origins of various people
further step when she is given a bath in Act 2, cleaning her up
among those sheltering from the rain. He then declares that
so well that even her father does not recognize her. By the
the flower girl Eliza's kerbstone English will "keep her in the
time she visits Higgins's mother in Act 3, the transformation is
gutter." Yet by teaching her better English, he could pass her
well on its way. As Mrs. Higgins tells her son, "She's a triumph
off as a duchess. This boast serves as the catalyst for all that
of your art and of her dressmaker's."
follows in the play as Shaw attempts to show that social
placement is not innate and, hand in hand with language, may Nevertheless, the changes so far are only external. Like "visible
be acquired. Speech"—the notation system Higgins uses for visualizing the
production of speech—they are merely the sight and sound of
There is danger in the experiment to teach Eliza to speak well.
Eliza. Higgins himself sees her in superficial terms as a pupil: "a
As pointed out by Mrs. Higgins in Act 3, Eliza will be stranded
block of wood," something to be shaped, an experiment. He
between two worlds when she has "the manners and habits
works to "create" Eliza, like the Greek sculptor Pygmalion
that disqualify a fine lady from earning her own living without
created his sculpture, and several times Higgins refers to her
giving her a fine lady's income." Shaw emphasizes the rigid
as a "creature"—an allusion to Mary Shelley's (1797–1851) 1818
hierarchy of English society through a variety of characters
novel Frankenstein and "the creature" created by Dr.
from different socioeconomic levels. Eliza, with her Cockney
Frankenstein.
dialect, is associated with the lowest social rank. In contrast,
Higgins and Pickering represent the elite. Between the two The professor does not realize that a deeper, more important
levels are Mrs. Pearce, a member of the servant class; transformation is taking place—something he cannot take
Doolittle, representing the middle class (following his credit for. It is the awakening of Eliza's soul. From the
inheritance); and the Eynsford Hills, standing in for the genteel beginning, the qualities required lie within her, like uncultivated
poor—those whose higher living standards have been reduced seeds. For example, in Act 1, while she appears rough, ill-
by hard times. mannered, and saucy, she displays a crude sense of dignity
when she thinks Higgins is a policeman who may accuse her of
The power of language to break through social barriers is fully
soliciting for prostitution. Defensively, she asserts, "He's no
realized in Eliza's triumphant performance at the ambassador's
right to take away my character. My character is the same to
party. She is perceived to be a duchess. Yet victory has its
me as any lady's." A quality of courage comes to light when
price. In Act 5, she tells Higgins that she is like a child who has
Eliza seeks out Higgins and lays before him her fragile dream
come to a foreign country who "picks up the language in a few
to become a lady. She then pursues that goal with diligence.
weeks, and forgets its own." She can speak nothing but his
However, it is after the ambassador's party that Eliza becomes
language now, which cuts her off from her former life. Feeling
a lady in more than speech and manners. In response to
abandoned by Higgins and faced with an uncertain future, she
Higgins's insensitive treatment, she takes a stand for her own
says, "Oh! if I only COULD go back to my flower basket! I
self-worth and dignity and then leaves him. She understands
should be independent of both you and father and all the

Pygmalion Study Guide Themes 26
that this aspect of her metamorphosis was sparked by behavior of Eliza's father, Doolittle, as he is introduced in Act 2.
Pickering. In Act 5, she asks the colonel, "But do you know His crude speech and manners, dustman's clothing, poor
what began my real education? ... Your calling me Miss financial state, and questionable morality are all indicators of
Doolittle that day when I first came to Wimpole Street. That his station in life as a happy member of the "undeserving poor."
was the beginning of self-respect for me." She further explains, He has no use for middle-class morals, spends his life
"The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she "touching" others for money, and at this point he has never
behaves, but how she is treated." pretended to be other than what he seems.
All three facets of Eliza's transformation—sight, sound, and However, appearances can be deceiving and mask the true
soul—come together when, at last, she breaks free of Higgins, essence of a person. In Act 1, Eliza is a dirty, disheveled flower
her creator. Like Pygmalion's ivory sculpture, she is brought to girl who butchers the English language while wheedling a few
passionate life. No longer a "squashed cabbage" or even a coins from pedestrians in exchange for flowers. Nothing about
duchess, she becomes an independent woman. It is important her appearance suggests the intelligence she possesses, her
to note that Shaw is pointedly contrasting Eliza to Pygmalion's desire to be a lady, or her potential. Only her protestations of
idealized statue. In Ovid's version of the story, Pygmalion and "I'm a good girl, I am" and distress at the idea of losing her
Galatea, the statue now brought to life, marry and live happily character hint at hidden qualities that later emerge. In the
ever after. But Galatea is nothing more than a blushing bride reverse, her father, once he comes into money, is taken for a
with little agency. Shaw rejects this version to show the gentleman by his fine clothes and his adopted middle-class
foolishness of a man who would fashion a human being in this ways.
simplistic way.
At the same time, appearances can be a vehicle for changing
identity. This idea is demonstrated in Eliza's transformation as
well as her dilemma once she becomes a lady. Under the
Appearance and Identity guidance of Higgins and Pickering, she evolves in speech and
dress, etiquette, and expectations. However, she discovers
that she no longer fits into her former situation. That self is lost
to her. Her identity—who she is and where she fits in the
In Act 1 of Pygmalion, Henry Higgins is thought to be a
world—must adjust.
policemen, though one bystander points out, "It's all right: he's
a gentleman: look at his boots." Throughout the play, The fundamental nature of identity is expressed well by
appearances identify the social status of characters. How they Higgins, who recognizes, perhaps too late, that what lies
speak, how they dress, their money (or lack of it), and their beneath the beautiful language and clothes—the essence of
manners and morality all serve as indicators. Yet the signs are Eliza—is what matters to him. In Act 5, when he tells her he has
superficial, often contradicting reality, as in the case of Henry become accustomed to her voice and appearance, she retorts,
Higgins who has all the trappings of a gentleman and few of "You have both of them on your gramophone and in your book
the expected social graces. And as Eliza demonstrates most of photographs. When you feel lonely without me, you can turn
clearly, it is the reality beneath appearances that matters. the machine on. It's got no feelings to hurt." Higgins replies, "I
While exploring the relationship between appearances and a can't turn your soul on."
person's identity, Shaw suggests that the outward show can
be a reflection, a mask, or a means of changing identity.
Pickering offers an example of the mirror-like nature of Femininity

appearances. He appears as a well-dressed gentleman of
military bearing. In keeping with this upper-class facade, he is
kind and well-mannered to everyone, without consideration of
social standing. For example, in Act 1, his speech and conduct Victorian values strictly defined the status and functions for
do not change whether he is speaking to Clara and her mother, women and established firm boundaries for femininity among
the flower girl, or Higgins. Another example of this theme is the social classes. In Pygmalion, Shaw illustrates these class
boundaries and roles through various characters. At the

Pygmalion Study Guide Motifs 27
bottom tier of the hierarchy is the flower girl, Eliza, a member learned. By exercising this choice, she can breach established
of the working-class poor. Mrs. Pearce, Higgins's housekeeper, boundaries and define for herself a new femininity.
represents the servant class. Doolittle's wife-to-be—once the
dustman comes into money—represents the middle class that
has achieved a higher standard of living through work. Mrs. and
Miss Eynsford-Hills, members of the genteel poor, do not work. b Motifs
Occupying the top tier is Mrs. Higgins, an upper-class lady of
some wealth who has raised a family and keeps a home. Shaw
aims to show in Pygmalion that such boundaries, with their
fixed roles and definitions of femininity, are artificial and can be
Pygmalion and Galatea
breached.
The basis for Shaw's Pygmalion is a Greek myth retold by
Victorian society envisioned the ideal woman as inhabiting a Roman poet Ovid (43 BCE–17 CE) in his masterwork
separate sphere from a man: the home, an oasis to which the Metamorphoses. Young Pygmalion sees women as so morally
man escaped from the moral taint of the business world. As flawed that he rejects all thoughts of marriage and resolves to
wife and mother of his children, she was calm, cheerful, live alone. Nevertheless, he uses his great skill as a sculptor to
efficient, and morally superior (the "angel of the house"), and carve out of ivory a woman so perfect that he falls in love with
certainly did not aspire to life outside the home. Marriage and her. In fact, she is so beautifully fashioned that she nearly
motherhood were her means of securing financial security. seems to live and breathe, and as time passes, Pygmalion's
adoration grows.
Shaw envisions a new ideal in Pygmalion: a free-spirited,
educated, self-reliant, and career-minded woman. Higgins's One day, at the festival of Venus—the goddess of love, beauty,
mother provides the model upon which the final and sexuality—Pygmalion offers a prayer that he might be
creation—Eliza—is based. Mrs. Higgins is intelligent, cultured, given a wife like his ivory virgin. The goddess hears and
educated, and independent. Higgins himself says, "My idea of a understands what the young man dares not ask: that his
lovable woman is something as like you as possible" (Act 3). creation may become his wife. Venus grants the sculptor's
She sympathizes with Eliza as the subject of her son's heart's desire. Upon returning home, he kisses the statue and
experiment and eventually becomes her champion. However, it finds that he is touching not cold ivory but warm, yielding flesh.
is too late for her to more fully break the social mold. She runs Venus has given life to the sculpture, and her name is Galatea.
her household as expected and upholds the customs of the
Like Pygmalion, Higgins becomes Eliza's creator, using the
day. The next step must be taken by a younger woman.
power of language to create a lady from a "draggletailed
In Eliza, Shaw creates a fresh ideal—a woman with all the guttersnipe." Like the "scores of American millionairesses"
attributes of Higgins's mother but with the time, spirit, and whom he has taught to speak, Eliza is nothing more than a
ambition to go her own way. Like the mythic artist Pygmalion "block of wood" from which he will carve a duchess. In the final
who sculpts the ideal woman, Higgins and Pickering fashion stage of her transformation, a surge of passion brings Eliza to
Eliza into the perfect lady—refined, self-reliant, and with all the life, and she becomes aware that she is an independent being,
potential this implies. Nevertheless, the question remains: Can separate from her creator, and able to stand on her own. At
she break through the reigning Victorian definition of femininity the very last, Higgins is left behind in his mother's drawing
set for middle- and upper-class women? Or has she room as Eliza "sweeps out"—no longer an immobile creature
exchanged one set of limitations—those of a working-class but an individual able to make her own way.
flower girl—for another? She still must have a means of
Shaw's ending is markedly different from Ovid's. In Shaw's
financial survival.
Pygmalion, Higgins (who, unlike his ancient counterpart does
It seems that society has left her three options—to marry not get to keep his Galatea) is exposed as foolishly misguided.
Higgins, Pickering, or Freddy. Yet in Act 5, Eliza herself In this way, Shaw seems to reject the Ovidian version. It's
conceives of a fourth. She, indeed, may marry Freddy, but now worth noting that Ovid also reveals an ironic attitude toward
she has a career choice—the capability to teach what she has many of his characters (Ovid makes the deluded and bitter

Pygmalion Study Guide Suggested Reading 28
Orpheus, after he loses Eurydice, the fictional narrator of

Pygmalion's story), but Ovid doesn't make his disapproval
explicit as Shaw does. For Ovid, Pygmalion might be silly and
rigid, but he gets exactly what he wants.
e Suggested Reading
Berst, Charles A. Pygmalion: Shaw's Spin on Myth and
Cinderella. New York: Twayne, 1995. Print.
Bloom, Harold. George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. New York:

Chelsea, 1988. Print.
"Pygmalion, His Majesty's Theatre, 1914, Review." The

Telegraph. 14 Apr. 2014. Web.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/1
0757120/Pygmalion-His-Majestys-Theatre-1914-review.html.
Shaw, Bernard, H.G. Wells, and J. Percy Smith. Bernard Shaw

and H.G. Wells. Toronto: U of Toronto, 1995. Print.
Shaw, George Bernard, and Sandie Byrne. George Bernard

Shaw's Plays. New York: Norton, 2002. Print.
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Pygmalion

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she comes to life.

a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 3

British Socialism and Modern The Problem Play and

through existing institutions and Parliament. Believing that all

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Shaw's interest in socialism had a profound effect on his

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the girl. As the conflict between Eliza and Higgins erupts, it is

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Other Major Character

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Full Character List The sarcastic

The constable is an older policeman

Eliza Doolittle, also the flower girl in

Colonel Pickering, also the

The host receives Eliza at the

The hostess receives guests at the

Freddy Eynsford Hill is a young

The parlor-​maid is a servant in the

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Complacently, Higgins chuckles, certain that "she'll buy em all

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9. Eliza's final test is a complete triumph.

1. On a rainy night in London, a poor girl sells flowers.

2. Phonetics expert Higgins busily records the girl's words.

3. Higgins chances on Indian dialect expert, Pickering.

8. Higgins's mother scolds him for treating Eliza like a doll.

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Rainy evening, 11:15 p.m.

Higgins boasts to Pickering that he can teach a flower

The next day, 11:00 a.m.

The flower girl, Eliza, takes Higgins up on his boast and

Later that morning

Eliza's father, Doolittle, visits Higgins and accepts a five-

Afternoon, months later

Eliza visits Higgins's mother and tests—with mixed

Later that day

Mrs. Higgins cautions her son and Pickering to take care

Midnight, months later

Eliza's final foray into upper-class society leads Higgins

Later, same night

Feeling unappreciated and disrespected, Eliza tells

7:00 a.m. the next day

Eliza returns by taxi to Higgins's home to pick up her

Later that morning

Higgins finds Eliza staying at his mother's. He asks her to

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duchess of the flower girl by teaching her to speak properly.

Act 1 Henry Higgins, author of Higgins's Universal Alphabet. Higgins

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Copyright © 2021 Course Hero, Inc. Downloaded on 07-19-2021 by 100000817764887

Copyright © 2021 Course Hero, Inc. Downloaded on 07-19-2021 by 100000817764887

Copyright © 2021 Course Hero, Inc. Downloaded on 07-19-2021 by 100000817764887

Copyright © 2021 Course Hero, Inc. Downloaded on 07-19-2021 by 100000817764887

Copyright © 2021 Course Hero, Inc. Downloaded on 07-19-2021 by 100000817764887

Summary suddenly sees something in Eliza that he has overlooked until

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to the ways of a flower girl as a "relapse into the gutter." She

The parlor-maid is a servant in the