Pygmalion by G.B. Shaw: Exploring Class and Social Dynamics in England

This essay analyzes George Bernard Shaw's play, Pygmalion, focusing on the depiction of class distinctions and conflicts in 20th-century England. It examines the portrayal of the upper, middle, and lower classes through characters like Professor Higgins, Freddy, and Eliza Doolittle, highlighting the artificiality and snobbery of the upper class and the societal stigmas faced by the lower class. The essay explores themes of morality, self-determination, and the superficiality of class, with a particular emphasis on Eliza's transformation and her challenge to societal norms. It also discusses the play's setting, the importance of language, and the contrasting behaviors and manners displayed by characters from different social strata. The analysis concludes by emphasizing Eliza's resilience and her ability to overcome social barriers, illustrating the play's critique of class-based prejudice and the importance of individual agency.

Running head: ENGLISH LITERATURE
ENGLISH LITERATURE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

2ENGLISH LITERATURE
George Bernard Shaw has tried to depict the class distinction and the class conflicts of
the 20TH century in the play Pygmalion. He has talked about the three different classes that
dwelled in England in the 20th century. The upper class mainly depicted the people having a
royal or a very good bloodline. The middle class consisting of people with good income and they
are the wealthy ones. The third or the lowermost class consisted of the peasants and the workers.
G.B Shaw as very clearly and sharply depicted each of the respective classes with some of the
other characters. Professor Henry Higgins represents the upper class, Freddy represents the
middle class and the lowermost class is deiced by Eliza the flower girl (Chan, 181). Through
Eliza, Higgins has tried to depict the unkempt condition of the lower class people having bad
rugged clothes. The language or the dialect is spoken by the character Eliza is also typically
spoken by the lower class people. G.B Shaw tries to represent the artificiality or the snobbery of
the upper-class people in a very ironic tone. It is for this reason that the plays of G.B Shaw were
referred to as sugar coated bitter pills (Shaw).
Shaw has always tied to represent the lower class people as shallow and ill-mannered.
However there is a very sharp distinction that has been seen between the overall mannerisms and
the behavior that is displayed by the people of the higher and the lower class. The flower girl,
Eliza belongs from the lower-class yet she shows better manners and proves to be a better person
in comparison to the people belonging from the higher or the upper class like Higgins.
The motif of Shaw was to represent the superficiality or the artificiality of the classes.
Initially he tries to show how the upper-class people looked down upon the people belonging
from the lower or the poor class. The lower class people are not only represented through the
poor and the rugged clothes or lack of money but also through lack of morals (Eden 110). The
character of Mr. Doolittle has been portrayed to show the immoral activities that are usually done

3ENGLISH LITERATURE
by the people. However it must be noted in this context that by reading the play initially one may
think that it is only the lower or the poor classes which are involved in immoral works and can
never rise up to well established or self-dependent position in their lives. Eliza is the character
who has displayed the true results of immense courage and self-determination. Liza in the initial
parts of the play is also shown to speak the cockney dialect which is the undeveloped and poor
language that is spoken by the people belonging from the lower classes.
It is also evident from the very starting of the play that G.B Shaw is trying to portray an
amalgamation or unification of the different characters coming from different parts of society.
This is depicted through the choice of the location that is through St. Portico square between
the church and the theatre, a place that welcomes people from all the different parts or
layers of society. It is a place where people coming from different social backgrounds are able to
meet, interact and also learn from each other. It is the meeting place of Professor Henry Higgins,
Freddy and Eliza for the first time. By bringing all the characters face to face with each other at
the same place, G.B Shaw has tried to show how the upper-class people always condemn the
people belonging from the lower or the poorer sections of the society. Though some of the
characters might show a bad and shallow nature, it must be noted that the poor or lower class of
the society alone does not show those traits.
Eliza proved her worth by showing that if there is a will there has to be away. In other
words she wanted to come out from the poor, uneducated and stigmatized condition. She wanted
to prove to society that all it takes is self-determination, hard work and the willpower to succeed
in life. She was courageous enough to fight with society and seek shelter at Higgins's house in
order to learn the elite dialect and also to become a well established and independent woman.
Thus the upper-class society displays a false or artificial of snobbery and class. Deep down the

4ENGLISH LITERATURE
layer there is immorality, hatred and roughness (Eden 113). On the other hand the lower classes
might apparently be uneducated and poor, but there are exceptions like Eliza who bear a good
and kind heart and strong willpower to fight against all societal norms.
Shaw has also shown that people belonging from the upper educated classes are not
always of good nature. There is also a difference lying between Eliza and Higgins. Eliza has
been portrayed as a very dependent, rebellious and sensitive character. She knew that if she is
learning to look, dress and talk like a lady then she also deserves to be treated like one. She has
revolted against Higgins whenever he shouted on her or ill-treated her. She broke the societal
normative or the stigmatizations of portraying all the lower class people as uneducated or
immoral. She exposed the rude ill-mannered nature of upper-class people like Higgins through
her protests and her decision to leave Higgins's house. In the end, Eliza emerged as a beautiful
lady who initially belonged from a poor and lowermost class.

5ENGLISH LITERATURE
References
Chan, Shelby Kar-yan. "Identity and Mobility: Move Over, Mrs. Markham! and Pygmalion."
Identity and Theatre Translation in Hong Kong. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2015. 181-201.
Eden, Dov. "Charismatic Pygmalion: The Most Effective Leadership Combo." Leadership Now:
Reflections on the Legacy of Boas Shamir. Emerald Publishing Limited, 2018. 109-123.
Shaw, George Bernard. "George Bernard Shaw's Plays (Norton Critical Editions)." (2002).