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pygmailon essay

An exploration of various issues of love and class system during the earlier part of the twentieth century in England forms the scenario of George Bernard Shaw 's Pygmalion . The transformation of a girl who belongs to the lower class of the society to an elegant duchess forms the essence of the play . In the process the most unfortunate thing happens , that is , the girl falls in love with the professor who was instrumental in it . The whole play can be considered as Shaw 's denouncement of marriage as a relation purely based

on money , something that comes very near to prostitution . This attitude is most evident in Liza 's father as we see him not at all woeful when he happens to hear that his daughter will continue his profession . But eventually Liza shows the guts to denounce it telling that her profession as a flower-seller is far better as it was a more decent one

Another theme that finds sound expression in the play is the full explication of the class system then prevalent in England . Here we have characters from the lowest strata of the society like Liza and Mrs Pearce , from the middle class like Doolittle , and from the higher class like Pickering and Higgins . Rigid were the distinctions set by the common man within these classes and we can see that even the language with which they communicated and the etiquette was considered to be tarnished towards the lower end of the hierarchy

Another aspect of the play that is to be noted is the relation between the male characters and female characters and theless , that between man and woman in general . It can be seen the women are always sympathetic to women but hostile with her opposite sex . The relation between Higgins and his mother and that between the professor and Mrs Pearce provides ample evidence to the antagonism that exists between the opposite sexes whereas the sympathy shown by Mrs . Higgins to Liza and their relation that is based on care and love is testimonial to the love in the play between people of the same sex...

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