Pygmalion

1
Pygmalion

• Notes and Reminders

2
Greek Myth

• Pygmalion gifted sculptor who was despondent
  about women
  
• Pygmalion felt woman were immoral and frivolous
• Pygmalion created a flawless statue of ivory in
  the form of a beautiful woman
  
• later scholars named the woman Galatea sleeping
  love Pygmalion became obsessed with Galatea and
  prayed to Aphrodite to give him a wife like his
  statue, she did.

3
Interpretation

• In Pygmalion, the woman serves to complete the
  mans own lack of fullness by reflecting back at
  him the fantasies he most enjoys
  
• In the play, Shaw sought to challenge class
  system and stereotypes, audiences own views, and
  to use comedy for serious issues

4
Major Characters You should create note cards to
study

• Major
• Higgins
• Pickering
• Eliza

• Minor
• Mrs. Higgins
• Mrs. Pearce
• Mr. Doolittle

5
Summary of Central Plot

• Bet between Higgins and Pickering about Eliza.
  Can a teacher of phonetics teach a flower girl to
  pass for a duchess in just six months?
  
• Themes include Class system, Social Prejudice,
  Judging by appearances, Morality and behavior,
  Money and class, Rich and Poor, and Speech and
  Dialect

6
To know Shaw

• a misfit very smart (reading Shakespeare at 10)
  but hated formal schooling awkward and eccentric
  
• A socialist fought for the rights of the poor
  all his life
  
• A suffragist a staunch and vocal advocate of
  womens suffrage, equal rights, equal pay, and
  access to equal education
  
• A pacifist often considered a traitor because
  he was so against the war in a very patriotic time