974 shaw, George Bernard
of Pygmalion, which was premiered in German in
Vienna in 1913. The play is a modern interpretation
of an ancient myth. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Pyg-
malion, an artist, falls in love with Galatea, a statue
of an ideal woman that he created. In Shaw’s rendi-
tion, Higgins, a teacher, “creates” Eliza, his pupil, by
teaching her to speak like a duchess—a transforma-
tion that allows Shaw to attack the superficial class
prejudices of his time. Shaw’s version discards the
romantic element, and transposes the Pygmalion
myth into pre-war England, a period in which rigid
social class structures were being challenged and
gender roles were undergoing profound transfor-
mations. In Pygmalion, received ideas on the roles
of men and women, teacher and student, and upper
and working classes are turned on their heads, and
Shaw’s essential humanity, feminism, and egalitari-
anism shine through. Since its initial English stag-
ing in 1914 and its first English publication in 1916,
the play has been adapted and updated several times,
most prominently in the Broadway musical and later
film, My Fair Lady. In addition, Shaw attached to
the play a “Sequel,” in which he discusses what took
place for the characters after the play proper. The
rags to (relative) riches aspect of Shaw’s witty and
spirited social commentary have helped contribute
to its success.
Katherine Ashley
educatIon in Pygmalion
Pygmalion revolves around an “experiment in teach-
ing” involving Professor Henry Higgins, a “book-
learned gentleman,” and Eliza Doolittle, a “common
ignorant girl.” Although education is a central
theme of Pygmalion, the text deals more with its
effects than with its implementation. Little space is
devoted to describing the actual lessons that Higgins
gives Eliza, but much energy is expended analyzing
the consequences of learning. Higgins and Eliza’s
opposing views on education reflect the differences
in their social standing. For Eliza, education—learn-
ing to speak properly—is a means to an end: She
hopes it will allow her to open a flower shop. For
Higgins, learning is a way of life, and education is
an end in and of itself.
Higgins and his colleague, Colonel Pickering,
are both men of means, educated, intellectual bach-
elors who share a passion for phonetics. In particular,
Higgins, author of “Higgins’ Universal Alphabet” is
“heartily, even violently interested in everything that
can be studied as a scientific subject.” The men take
Eliza on as a challenge, a wager that will prove to
Pickering that Higgins is the “greatest teacher alive.”
They are not motivated by concern for Eliza, and
indeed at times, for all their learning, they treat her
very brusquely. While Pickering is more sensitive
and recognizes that Eliza may have feelings, Higgins
often condescends to her and treats her like a child.
He advises his housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce, to “wallop”
Eliza if she misbehaves, and he generally behaves
like a “bully.” He educates Eliza because, as he states,
“it [is] my job,” not because he is overly concerned
about her welfare.
Higgins and Pickering’s interest in the edu-
cational experiment is disconnected from every-
day, practical concerns—such as opening a flower
shop—and this is something Mrs. Pearce reminds
them of when she asks, “[W ]hat is to become of
her when you’ve finished your teaching?” Ironically,
because of the rigid social norms of the day, “invent-
ing new Elizas” does not necessarily make life easier
for Eliza—speaking like a duchess does not give
her access to the privileges of a duchess. As some-
one who is not a duchess, and not independently
wealthy, she does need to work, and the changes
brought about by the “experiment in teaching” are
largely superficial.
In the end, it is the superficiality of education
that is most criticized in Pygmalion. Higgins con-
siders the basic education that Eliza received unsat-
isfactory because she cannot properly pronounce
her words. He calls her an “incarnate insult to the
English language” and roars in complaint: “this is
what we pay for as elementary education.” In the
end, more “brain work” needs to be done: Higgins
teaches Eliza to write, while, in the sequel, Picker-
ing suggests that Eliza and her intended husband,
Freddy, enroll in evening classes in order to acquire
more in-depth knowledge.
The education of the well-to-do is also con-
demned. Freddy’s family’s lack of “serious second-
ary education” comes under fire in Pygmalion,
insofar as it is dictated by the pretensions and
prejudices of social class. While his pronunciation