Comparison/contrast Pygmalion and A Doll House

Pygmalion and A Doll 's House : A Comparison

Bernad Shaw was the rightful disciple of Henriek Ibsen in perfecting the form of the problem play , in which the characters and situations are so designed as to give scope for a discussion of the problem from various points of view . Shaw 's Pygmalion and Ibsen 's A Doll 's House are perfect illustrations of the kind of drama in which both the excelled the former being a plea for reform in English speech and the latter dealing with the position of woman in society

p Apart from being problem plays , Pygmalion and A Doll 's house deal with the common theme of transformation of individuals . In Pygmalion Shaw explodes the idea that if a person born in a low class gets the opportunity to be trained in the ways of correct speech and manners , he or she can easily come to the social and intellectual level of the higher classes . He proves this by transforming Eliza Doolittle , a poor flower girl from the slums , to a sophisticated woman by changing her speech . Infact by the title `Pygmalion ' Shaw invokes the story of Galatea who came to life from her existence as a statue . Similarly Nora 's transformation from her expected role of a doll ' to that of a woman who is conscious of her position within the family and society is a fact that brings both plays in the same plane . In fact , Nora 's transformed identity gave her the strength to question the notions of patriarchy . Nora and Eliza , both come alive from their inanimate existence to life , the former from the oppressions of her class and the latter from her life under patriarchy

The feminist concerns of both dramatists are evident in the characterizations of Eliza and Nora in their ability to question the injustices against them . Bernad Shaw believed that women were treated rather badly in modern society and often he dealt with themes for women 's rights . Ibsen 's perspectives about women 's position in the family and society are evident from A Doll 's House . Towards the end of the play Nora rightly identifies the position adorned by her in her family . .Our home has been nothing but a playroom . I have been your doll wife , just as at home I was father 's doll child , she says . Though the theme of Pygmalion is different , Shaw has rendered Eliza a personality which allows her to stand on her own opinions and not dependent on any body . She is an earning woman and that had rendered her dignity and self respect

The playwrights conceived their plays as a reaction against the romantic dramas of the time and broke from their tradition in their endings . Ibsen wrote A Doll 's House when the romantic play had gained ground in Europe . However he followed the realistic tradition and eh violated the romantic union of lovers in the end , and shocked the audience with the unresolved climax of the...