Pygmalion
1913(summary)
The play takes place in London. On a summer evening, the rain pours like a bucket. Passers-by run to Covent Garden Market and to the portico of St. Pavel, where several people have already taken refuge, including an elderly lady with her daughter, they are in evening dresses, waiting for Freddie, the lady's son, to find a taxi and come for them. Everyone, except for one person with a notebook, peers impatiently into the torrents of rain. Freddie appears in the distance, having not found a taxi, and runs to the portico, but on the way he runs into a street flower girl, hurrying to take cover from the rain, and knocks a basket of violets out of her hands. She bursts into swearing. A man with a notebook hurriedly writes something down. The girl laments that her violets have disappeared, and begs the colonel standing right there to buy a bouquet. The one to get rid of, gives her a change, but does not take flowers. One of the passers-by draws the attention of a flower girl, a sloppily dressed and unwashed girl, that a man with a notebook is clearly scribbling a denunciation of her. The girl starts whimpering. He, however, assures that he is not from the police, and surprises everyone present by accurately determining the origin of each of them by their pronunciation.
Freddie's mother sends her son back to look for a taxi. Soon, however, the rain stops, and she and her daughter go to the bus stop. The Colonel takes an interest in the abilities of the man with the notebook. He introduces himself as Henry Higgins, creator of the Higgins Universal Alphabet. The colonel turns out to be the author of the book Conversational Sanskrit. His last name is Pickering. He lived in India for a long time and came to London specifically to meet Professor Higgins. The professor also always wanted to meet the colonel. They are about to go to dinner at the Colonel's hotel, when the flower girl again begins to ask to buy flowers from her. Higgins tosses a handful of coins into her basket and leaves with the Colonel. The flower girl sees that she now owns, by her standards, a huge amount. When Freddie arrives with the taxi he finally hailed, she gets into the car and, slamming the door shut, leaves. The next morning, Higgins at home demonstrates his phonographic equipment to Colonel Pickering. Suddenly, Higgins' housekeeper, Mrs. Pierce, reports that a certain very simple girl wants to talk to the professor. Enter yesterday's flower girl. She introduces herself as Eliza Doolittle and says that she wants to take phonetics lessons from the professor, because with her pronunciation she cannot get a job. The day before, she had heard that Higgins was giving such lessons. Eliza is sure that he will gladly agree to work off the money that yesterday, without looking, he threw into her basket. Of course, it is ridiculous for him to talk about such amounts, but Pickering offers Higgins a bet. He incites him to prove that in a matter of months he can, as he assured the day before, turn a street flower girl into a duchess. Higgins finds the offer tempting, especially since Pickering is willing, if Higgins wins, to pay the entire cost of Eliza's education. Mrs. Pierce takes Eliza to the bathroom to wash.
After a while, Eliza's father comes to Higgins. He is a scavenger, a simple man, but impresses the professor with his natural eloquence. Higgins asks Dolittle for permission to keep his daughter and gives him five pounds for it. When Eliza arrives, already washed and wearing a Japanese robe, the father does not even recognize his daughter at first. A couple of months later, Higgins brings Eliza to his mother's house, just in time for her appointment. He wants to know if it is already possible to introduce a girl into secular society. Mrs. Higgins is visiting Mrs. Einsford Hill with her daughter and son. These are the same people with whom Higgins stood under the portico of the cathedral on the day he first saw Eliza. However, they do not recognize the girl. Eliza first behaves and talks like a high-society lady, and then moves on to a story about her life and uses such street expressions that all those present are only amazed. Higgins pretends this is the new social jargon, thus smoothing things over. Eliza leaves the gathering, leaving Freddie ecstatic.
After this meeting, he begins to send Eliza ten-page letters. After the guests leave, Higgins and Pickering vying, enthusiastically tell Mrs. Higgins about how they work with Eliza, how they teach her, take her to the opera, to exhibitions, and dress her. Mrs. Higgins finds that they treat the girl like a living doll. She agrees with Mrs. Pierce, who believes that they "don't think of anything".
A few months later, both experimenters take Eliza to a high-society reception, where she has a dizzying success, everyone takes her for a duchess. Higgins wins the bet.
Arriving home, he enjoys the fact that the experiment, from which he has already managed to get tired, is finally over. He behaves and talks in his usual rough manner, not paying the slightest attention to Eliza. The girl looks very tired and sad, but at the same time she is dazzlingly beautiful. It is noticeable that irritation accumulates in her.
She ends up throwing his shoes at Higgins. She wants to die. She does not know what will happen to her next, how she will live. After all, she became a completely different person. Higgins assures that everything will work out. She, however, manages to hurt him, unbalance him and thereby at least a little revenge for herself.
Eliza runs away from home at night. The next morning, Higgins and Pickering lose their heads when they see that Eliza is gone. They even try to track her down with the help of the police. Higgins feels without Eliza as without arms. He does not know where his things are, nor what he has scheduled for the day. Mrs. Higgins arrives. Then they report about the arrival of Eliza's father. Doolittle has changed a lot. Now he looks like a wealthy bourgeois. He lashes out indignantly at Higgins for the fact that through his fault he had to change his way of life and now become much less free than he was before. It turns out a few months ago Higgins wrote to a millionaire in America, who founded branches of the Moral Reform League all over the world, that Dolittle, a simple scavenger, is now the most original moralist in all of England. He died, and before his death, he bequeathed to Dolittle a share in his trust for three thousand annual income, on the condition that Doolittle would give up to six lectures a year in his Moral Reform League. He laments that today, for example, he even has to officially marry the one with whom he has lived for several years without registering a relationship. And all this because he is now forced to look like a respectable bourgeois. Mrs. Higgins is overjoyed that a father can finally take care of his changed daughter the way she deserves. Higgins, however, does not want to hear about "returning" Dolittle Eliza.
Mrs. Higgins says she knows where Eliza is. The girl agrees to return if Higgins asks her forgiveness. Higgins is in no way agreeing to go for it. Eliza enters. She expresses gratitude to Pickering for his treatment of her as a noble lady. It was he who helped Eliza change, despite the fact that she had to live in the house of a rude, slovenly and ill-mannered Higgins. Higgins is smitten. Eliza adds that if he continues to "push" her, she will go to Professor Nepin, a colleague of Higgins, and become his assistant and inform him of all the discoveries made by Higgins. After a burst of indignation, the professor finds that now her behavior is even better and more dignified than when she looked after his things and brought him slippers. Now, he is sure, they will be able to live together no longer just as two men and one stupid girl, but as "three friendly old bachelors."
Eliza goes to her father's wedding. Apparently, she will still live in Higgins' house, because she managed to become attached to him, as he did to her, and everything will go on as before.
Analysis of the work "Pygmalion" by B. Shaw
The work "Pygmalion" was written by Bernard Shaw in the genre of dramaturgy - this is a play created in 1912-1913. In this play, Shaw took the myth of Pygmalion as a basis and transferred it to the realities of the city of London. The plot of the work is quite ironic due to the parodic stylization, comicality and tragedy of the existence of society, directed against a spiritually rich person, and the main elements of the play are numerous paradoxes and discussions. Thus, the theme of the work emphasizes the spiritual awakening of people, which is possible with the help of the art of the word and creativity. This work is like a psychological love drama, which entailed the hatred of its participants for each other. However, the play itself is humanistic, the work shows how carefully and carefully one should treat all living things, especially humans, the author tells us about fear and the prevention of cold experiments on people. This is precisely the main idea of the work, laid down by the author.
The reader has the opportunity to feel the extraordinary charm of Eliza Doolittle already in the first act, when she still communicates in ridiculous jargon. The play "Pygmalion" tells us about how people's lives can change thanks to the education received. The main characters in the play are: a lower-class flower girl named Eliza Doolittle; her father, who works as a scavenger; Colonel Pickering; scientist Henry Higgins; as well as Mrs. Hill with children (daughter and son named Freddie). So, the theme of the play is multifaceted. We emphasize that B. Shaw was able to highlight the problem of inequality of people in society with particular clarity in his work. At the end of the work, Eliza, already educated, is left with nothing, as she was before, only with a tragic awareness of her financial situation and a subtle sense of boundless injustice towards people from the lower class. As a result, the girl returns to Higgins' dwelling, but she is already appreciated and accepted there as an equal, "one of her own", as a full-fledged person.
The play also has instructive and educational value regarding education. After all, proper education and upbringing plays an important role in the life of any harmonious and self-sufficient person.
"Pygmalion" tells the reader about how people's lives change thanks to education. Characters: Eliza Doolittle, poor flower girl; her father, a scavenger; Colonel Pickering; young man - scientist Henry Higgins; Mrs Hill with her daughter and son Freddie. The events take place in London.
… On a summer evening it rains like a bucket. People run to the portico of the church, hoping to take shelter there from the rain. Among them - an elderly lady, Mrs. Hill and her daughter. The lady's son, Freddie, runs to look for a taxi, but on the way he stumbles upon a young girl, street flower girl Eliza Doolittle. He knocks the basket of violets out of her hands. The girl scolds loudly. Someone writes her words in a notebook. Someone says that this man is a police informer. The man with the notebook is later revealed to be Henry Hingins, author of The Higgins Universal Alphabet. Hearing this, one of those standing at the church, Colonel Pickering, is interested in the personality of Hingins. For a very long time he wanted to meet Hingins, since he himself is fond of linguistics. At the same time, the flower girl continues to lament over the flowers that have fallen to the ground. Higgins tosses a handful of coins into her basket and leaves with the Colonel. The girl is sincerely glad - by her standards, she now has a huge fortune.
The next morning, Higgins demonstrates his phonographic equipment to Colonel Pickering at his home. The housekeeper reports that a "very simple girl" wants to talk to the professor. Eliza Doolittle appears. She wants to take phonetics lessons from the professor, as her pronunciation does not allow her to get a job. Higgins wants to refuse, but the Colonel offers a bet. If Higgins can “turn a street flower girl into a duchess” in a few months, then Pickernig will pay for her education in full. This offer seems very tempting to Higgins, and he agrees.
Two months pass. Higgins brings Eliza Doolittle to his mother's house. He wants to find out if it is already possible to introduce a girl into secular society. The Hill family is visiting Higgins' mother, but no one recognizes the flower girl who has come. The girl at first speaks like a high-society lady, but then she switches to street jargon. The guests are surprised, but Higgins manages to smooth things over: he says that this is the new secular jargon. Eliza causes complete delight of the audience.
A few months later, both experimenters take the girl to a high-society reception. Eliza has a dizzying success there. Thus, Higgins wins the bet. Now he does not even pay attention to Eliza, which causes her irritation. Only pronunciation separates a street flower girl from a duchess, but Eliza isn't going to be a duchess. It is Higgins, in his scientific enthusiasm, who shouts that in six months he will turn Eliza into a duchess. The experiment does not go unpunished: Galatea rises against her creator with all the strength of an offended and indignant soul. She throws her shoes at him. The girl seems that her life has no meaning. She runs away from the Higgins house at night.
The next morning, Higgins discovers that Eliza is not there, trying to find her with the help of the police. Without Eliza, Higgins is “as if without hands”: he cannot find where his things are, what day to assign things to. Higgins' mother knows to find her. The girl agrees to return if Higgins asks her forgiveness.
Shaw managed in his play to highlight the issue of social inequality of people. The educated Eliza remains as poor as she was when she was a flower trader. Only the tragic awareness of their poverty and boundless inequality between people has been added. But in the end, Eliza Doolittle returns to the Higgins house, and now she is by no means considered a stupid girl, but is valued and respected as a person.
History of creation: The work was created in 1912. (1913) XX century. - the era of modernism. During this period, Great Britain lost its position as the most powerful power in the world. But society became more just, and despite two world wars and the Great Depression, the average standard of living rose dramatically. There was the First World War, which deprived England of almost a million inhabitants and left huge debts. The economic crisis worsened the position of England. In the XX century. The social, economic and political situation of the country has deteriorated.
Genus: Drama
Genre: Comedy
Genre features: educational comedy, romantic comedy, social comedy, mythological comedy ("neomythologism")
Story sources: Literary (the myth of Pygmaleon; T. Smolett's "The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle"), Autobiographical (the author's attitude to political ideas and social inequalities). Domestic (London setting in the 20th century)
Main theme: the topic of social inequality
Subject: the theme of love, the theme of friendship, the problems of classical English, the theme of meanness
Plot:
Exposition (Rainy day. A lady and her daughter are sitting under a canopy. Freddy, her son, is looking for a taxi. Finding nothing, he returns and comes across a flower girl who drops flowers and shouts at him. A man with a notebook writes something, a flower girl he thinks something, he writes a denunciation on her and cries).
The tie (Meeting of Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering. The flower girl pesters them, asking them to buy flowers from her. The arrival of the flower girl Eliza Doolittle at the professor's house, her request to improve her pronunciation)
Development of the action (Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering's bet. Eliza Doolittle's father visits)
Climax (Reversal of Eliza Doolittle's life. Eliza's becoming a society lady. Attending social events. Eliza's quarrel with the professor. Eliza's escape. Higgins and Pickering's sadness).
Denouement (Change in the life and father of Eliza Doolittle. Eliza's wedding to Freddie. The girl's reconciliation with Higgins and Pickering.)
Compositional structure analysis:
a) Conflict:
· Basic(between the heroes of the "present" century and the "past" century)
· Side(between Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins; between Mrs. Higgins and Henry Higgins; between Alfred Doolittle and Eliza Doolittle; between Eliza Doolittle and Freddie)
b) Image system: Contrasting heroes: Heroes of the "present" and "past" centuries.
c) Images:
Eliza Doolittle: Flower girl, daughter of Alfred Doolittle. Attractive, but not having a secular upbringing (or rather, having a street upbringing), about eighteen - twenty years old. She is wearing a black straw hat, badly damaged in its lifetime by London dust and soot and hardly familiar with a brush. Her hair is of some mouse color, not found in nature. A reddish black coat, narrow at the waist, barely reaching the knees; underneath, a brown skirt and a canvas apron are visible. The shoes seem to have known better days as well. No doubt, she is clean in her own way, but next to the ladies she definitely looks like a mess. Her features are not bad, but the condition of her skin leaves much to be desired; in addition, it is noticeable that she needs the services of a dentist. The image of Eliza Doolittle was created for the actress Patrick Campbell and completed during the rehearsal in London's His Majesty's Theater (1914).
The heroine literally "bursts" into the play: vulgar, grimy, with wild, inarticulate speech, sometimes not devoid of originality (for example, the famous "Uu-aaaa-y!" or "Whoever stole the hat, he killed the aunt"). Henry Higgins decides - on a bet with Colonel Pickering - to make a "real lady" out of her. During the experiment, Eliza Doolittle undergoes a series of transformations.
The first is when she is “washed to such beauty” that her own father is not able to recognize. The second is when she, charming, with refined speech and manners, wins Hittins a bet. And the third - when she discovers her new, not yet settled, fragile, but living "I". Finding the right speech, she, like the heroines of her beloved Ibsen Show, first of all finds herself - not just “good manners”, but a different way of “being”. And, what is very important, "to be" independently, regardless of the will of your teacher - the sculptor Higtins. This is the heroine of a typical Chauvian paradox. She, as the heroine of the ancient story about Pygmalion and Galatea, should have fallen in love with Hittins and strive for marriage with him. But Shaw could not create such a heroine. His Eliza Doolittle, of course, is attached to Higgins, but the nature of this feeling is not entirely obvious to her, in any case, the erotic connotation does not prevail. For the heroine, her own person is much more important and interesting. Drama by Eliza Doolittle. in the fact that in some sense she is not “before-embodied” by her “creator”, who awakened in her natural talent - not only musicality, acting skills, wonderful ear, but also a bright, powerful personality. It was Higgins who awakened, and did not raise, his Galatea, and this is due to the fact that Eliza Doolittle. - the daughter of her father, a brilliant orator and philosopher, a gentleman scavenger Alfred Doolittle.
Of course, Eliza Doolittle can no longer return to her former self. And he doesn't want to. Her confusion is understandable: she already wants to live independently, but does not yet know how. Passionate, subtle nature, unlike Higgins, open to other people, able to distinguish and appreciate their mental properties, Eliza Doolittle humanly wins the "dispute" with her Pygmalion. The heroine of the show is called upon to break the stereotype of conforming to the traditional image of a "well-made play": instead of dreaming of orange blossom and Mendelssohn's march, she is making plans for an independent life.
Henry Higgins: Professor of phonetics. A man of about fifty, with gray hair and morels on his face, of small stature. Higgins was constantly dissatisfied with something, angry and seemed, at first glance, ill-mannered. At first, he treated Eliza worse than the maid. But there was always Colonel Pickering, who tried to calm Higgins. Professor Higgins and his old friend Pickering made a bet on the possibility of mastering a man who spoke dialects and swear words with wonderful English pronunciation with the help of a three-month course in phonetics. Higgins accepted the challenge and did his best not to embarrass himself in front of his friend. For him, it was a matter of honor, so he demanded that Eliza be ready to study phonetics almost around the clock. His tireless energy weakened the little flower girl and attracted at the same time. For Professor Higgins, Eliza was only a student, but at the same time she remained a woman to whom he, of course, became attached. At first, Eliza dreamed of going to work in a more prestigious store, but after receiving the prince, she was confused. Higgins was only interested in the bet, and he leaves Eliza to her fate. Such was the nature of this old bachelor. Bernard Shaw leaves the final open. Everything can change, but not in his play, but in the minds of the audience. Professor Higgins was not sorry for the girl, but for the effort expended on her. He offers to pick up a husband for her, if only she had somewhere to communicate in the future. He does not want to see the student's love for her teacher. Frightened of losing his freedom, Higgins does not stop the magical lady. It does not occur to him that the people of the lower stratum also have a soul.
Receptions:
10. Conclusion about the semantic concept: condemnation of betrayal and meanness, glorification of love, friendship, condemnation of the inequality of people, glorification of the new ideal of a lady.
"Pygmalion" is a mockery of the fans of "blue blood" - the author himself spoke about his play. It was important to Shaw to show that all the qualities of Eliza that she reveals as a lady can already be found in a flower girl as natural abilities, or that the qualities of a flower girl can then be rediscovered in a lady.
The character of a person is determined not directly by the environment, but through interpersonal, emotionally colored relationships and connections through which he passes in the conditions of his environment. Man is a sensitive, receptive being, and not a passive object that can be given any shape, like a piece of wax. to the center of the dramatic action.
“Leaving aside linguistics, it should first of all be noted that Pygmalion was a cheerful, brilliant comedy, the last act of which contained an element of true drama: the little flower girl did a good job of her role as a noble lady and is no longer needed - she just needs to return to the street or go out marry one of the three heroes." The viewer understands that Eliza became a lady not because she was taught to dress and talk like a lady, but because she entered into human relations with the ladies and gentlemen in their midst. While the whole play suggests in countless details that the difference between a lady and a flower girl lies in their behavior, the text states something quite the opposite: “A lady differs from a flower girl not in how she carries herself, but in how she is treated.” . These words belong to Eliza. In her opinion, the credit for turning her into a lady belongs to Pickering, not Higgins. Higgins only trained her, taught her the correct speech, etc. These are abilities that can be easily acquired without outside help. Pickering's courteous address brought about that inner change which distinguishes a flower girl from a lady. The instructiveness of the play lies in the synthesis - the determining factor for the essence of a person is his social attitude towards other people. Public attitude includes two sides: behavior and appeal. Eliza from a flower girl becomes a lady due to the fact that, at the same time as her behavior, the treatment she felt in the world around her also changed.
The interpretation of the Pygmalion ending is obvious. It is not of an anthropological nature, like the preceding theses, but of an ethical and aesthetic order: what is desirable is not the transformation of the slum-dwellers into ladies and gentlemen, like the transformation of Doolittle, but their transformation into a new type of ladies and gentlemen, whose self-esteem is based on their own labor. Eliza, in the pursuit of work and independence, is the embodiment of the new ideal of a lady, which, in essence, has nothing to do with the old ideal of a lady of aristocratic society. She did not become a countess, as Higgins had repeatedly said, but she became a woman whose strength and energy are admired. It is significant that even Higgins cannot deny her attraction - disappointment and hostility soon turn into the opposite. He even seems to have forgotten about the original desire for a different result and the desire to make a countess out of Eliza.
"All Shaw's plays meet the most important requirement presented by Brecht to the modern theater, namely, that the theater should strive to "depict the nature of man as amenable to change and dependent on class."
How Shaw was interested in the relationship of character and social position is especially proved by the fact that he even made a radical restructuring of character the main theme of the play Pygmalion. After the exceptional success of the play and the musical My Fair Lady based on it, the story of Eliza, who turned from a street girl into a society lady thanks to the professor of phonetics Higgins, is perhaps more known today than the Greek myth.
Pygmalion was a fairy-tale king of Cyprus who fell in love with a statue of a girl he himself created, whom he later married after reviving her.
Aphrodite at his urgent request. It is clear that Shaw's intention was to name the play after a mythical king. Name
Pygmalion should be reminded that Eliza Doolittle was created by Alfred
Higgins in the same way as Galatea by Pygmalion. Man is created by man - such is the lesson of this, by Shaw's own admission, "intensely and deliberately didactic" play. This is the lesson for which
Brecht, demanding that "the construction of one figure is carried out depending on the construction of another figure, because in life we mutually form each other."
There is an opinion among literary critics that Shaw's plays, more than the plays of other playwrights, promote certain political ideas.
The doctrine of the variability of human nature and dependence on class is nothing but the doctrine of the social determinism of the individual. The play "Pygmalion" is a good guide that deals with the problem of determinism. Even the author himself considered it "an outstanding didactic play."
The main problem, which Shaw skillfully solves in Pygmalion, was the question
"Is man a changeable being?"
This position in the play is concretized by the fact that the girl from the East End
London with all the character traits of a street child, turns into a woman with the character traits of a lady of high society
To show how radically a person can be changed, Shaw chose to go from one extreme to another. If such a radical change in a person is possible in a relatively short time, then the viewer must tell himself that then any other change in a human being is also possible.
The second important question of the play is how speech affects human life.
What gives a person the correct pronunciation? Is it enough to learn how to speak correctly to change social position?
Here is what Professor Higgins thinks about this:
“But if you only knew how interesting it is to take a person and, having taught him to speak differently from what he has said so far, to make him a completely different, new being. After all, this means destroying the abyss that separates class from class and soul from soul.
As the play shows and repeatedly emphasizes, the dialect of the East of London is incompatible with the being of a lady, just as the language of a lady cannot be with the being of a simple flower girl from the east.
London. When Eliza forgot the language of her old world, the way back was closed for her. Thus, the break with the past was final. Eliza herself, in the course of the play, is clearly aware of this. Here's what she says
Pickering:
“Last night, as I was wandering the streets, a girl spoke to me; I wanted to answer her in the old way, but nothing came of it.
Bernard Shaw paid much attention to the problems of language. The play had a serious task: Shaw wanted to draw the attention of the English public to the issues of phonetics.
He advocated the creation of a new alphabet, which would be more consistent with the sounds of the English language than the current one, and which would make it easier for children and foreigners to learn this language.
Shaw returned to this problem repeatedly throughout his life, and according to his will, a large sum was left by him for research aimed at creating a new English alphabet. These studies are still ongoing, and just a few years ago the play
"Androcles and the Lion", printed in the characters of the new alphabet, which was chosen by a special committee from all the options proposed for the prize.
Shaw, perhaps, was the first to realize the omnipotence of language in society, its exclusive social role, which psychoanalysis indirectly spoke about in the same years. It was Shaw who said this in the poster-edifying, but no less ironic and fascinating Pygmalion. Professor Higgins, albeit in his narrow special field, nevertheless outstripped structuralism and post-structuralism, which in the second half of the century will make the ideas of “discourse” and “totalitarian language practices” their central theme.
In Pygmalion, Shaw connected two topics that were equally exciting for him: the problem of social inequality and the problem of classical English.
He believed that the social essence of a person is expressed in various parts of the language: in phonetics, grammar, and vocabulary. As long as Eliza emits vowel sounds like "ah - ay - ay - ow - ow", she has, as Higgins correctly notes, no chance of getting out of the street situation.
Therefore, all his efforts are concentrated on changing the sounds of her speech. That the grammar and vocabulary of human language are in this respect no less important is shown by the first major failure of both phoneticians in their efforts at reformation. Although vowels and consonants
Eliza is excellent, the attempt to introduce her into society as a lady fails.
Eliza's words: “But where is her straw hat, new, which I should have got? Stolen! So I say whoever stole the hat, he killed the aunt ”- even with excellent pronunciation and intonation, they are not English for ladies and gentlemen. Higgins acknowledges that along with the new phonetics, Eliza must also learn new grammar and new vocabulary. And with them a new culture.
But language is not the only expression of a human being.
Going out to see Mrs. Higgins has the only mistake - Eliza does not know what they are talking about in society in this language.
“Pickering also acknowledged that it was not enough for Eliza to have ladylike pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. She must still develop in herself the characteristic interests of a lady. As long as her heart and mind are filled with the problems of her old world - the straw hat murders and the favorable effect of gin on her father's mood - she cannot become a lady, even if her language is indistinguishable from the language of a lady.
One of the theses of the play says that the human character is determined by the totality of personality relations, language relations are only a part of it. In the play, this thesis is concretized by the fact that Eliza, along with language lessons, also learns the rules of behavior. Consequently, Higgins explains to her not only how to speak the language of a lady, but also, for example, how to use a handkerchief.
The totality of behavior, that is, the form and content of speech, the way of judgment and thoughts, habitual actions and typical reactions of people are adapted to the conditions of their environment. The subjective being and the objective world correspond to each other and mutually permeate each other.
The author required a large expenditure of dramatic means to convince every viewer of this. The show found this remedy in the systematic application of a kind of alienation effect, forcing its characters to act in an alien environment from time to time, then to return them step by step to their own environment, skillfully creating at first a false representation of their true nature. Then this impression gradually and methodically changes.
The "exposition" of Eliza's character in a foreign environment has the effect that she seems incomprehensible, repulsive, ambiguous and strange to the ladies and gentlemen in the auditorium. This impression is reinforced by the reactions of the ladies and gentlemen on stage. So Shaw makes Mrs.
Eynsford Hill is visibly agitated when she watches a flower girl she doesn't know call her son Freddie "dear friend" by chance on the street.
“The ending of the first act is the beginning of the “re-education process” of the prejudiced viewer. It seems to indicate only mitigating circumstances that must be taken into account when condemning the accused Eliza.
The proof of Eliza's innocence is only given in the next act through her transformation into a lady. Those who really believed that Eliza was obsessive because of her innate baseness or venality, and who could not correctly interpret the description of the environment at the end of the first act, will be opened by the self-confident and proud performance of the transformed Eliza.
The extent to which Shaw takes into account prejudice in re-educating its readers and viewers can be proven by numerous examples.
The widely held opinion of many wealthy gentlemen, as you know, is that the inhabitants of the East End are to blame for their poverty, because they do not know how to "save". Although they, like Eliza in Covent Garden, are very greedy for money, but only in order to spend it again wastefully on absolutely unnecessary things at the first opportunity. They have no idea at all to use the money prudently, for example, for vocational education. The show seeks to reinforce this prejudice, as well as others, first. Eliza, having barely got any money, already allows herself to go home by taxi. But immediately begins an explanation of Eliza's real attitude to money. The next day, she hurries to spend them on her own education.
“If a human being is conditioned by the environment and if the objective being and the objective conditions mutually correspond to each other, then the transformation of the being is possible only when the environment is changed or changed. This thesis in the play "Pygmalion" is concretized by the fact that in order to create the possibility of Eliza's transformation, she is completely isolated from the old world and transferred to the new one. As the first measure of his plan of re-education
Higgins orders a bath in which Eliza is freed from her East End heritage. The old dress, the closest part of the old environment to the body, is not even set aside, but burned. Not the slightest particle of the old world should connect Eliza with him, if you seriously think about her transformation. To show this, Shaw set in motion another particularly instructive incident. At the end of the play, when Eliza, in all likelihood, has finally turned into a lady, her father suddenly appears. Unexpectedly, a test occurs that gives an answer to the question of whether Higgins is right in considering it possible for Eliza to return to her former life:
(Doolittle appears at the middle window. Casting a reproachful and dignified look at Higgins, he silently approaches his daughter, who sits with her back to the windows and therefore does not see him.)
Pickering. He's incorrigible, Eliza. But you don't roll, do you?
Eliza. No. Not anymore. I learned my lesson well. Now I can no longer make the same sounds as before, even if I wanted to.
(Dolittle puts his hand on her shoulder from behind. She drops her embroidery, looks around, and at the sight of her father's splendor, all her restraint immediately evaporates.) Woo-aaaaaaa!
Higgins (triumphantly). Aha! Exactly! U-u-aaaa-u! U-u-aaaa-u!
Victory! Victory!".
The slightest contact with just a part of her old world turns the reserved and seemingly ready for sophisticated behavior of the lady for a moment back into a street child who not only reacts as before, but, to her own surprise, can again say, the sounds of the street seemed already forgotten.
Due to the careful emphasis on environmental influences, the viewer could easily get the false impression that the characters in the world of Shaw's characters are entirely subject to environmental constraints. To forestall this undesirable misconception, Shaw, with equal care and thoroughness, introduced into his play the counterthesis of the existence of natural abilities and their significance for the character of this or that individual. This position is concretized immediately in all four main characters of the play:
Elise, Higgins, Dolittle and Pickering.
"Pygmalion" is a mockery of the fans of "blue blood" ... each of my plays was a stone that I threw into the windows of Victorian prosperity, ”the author himself spoke of his play.
It was important to Shaw to show that all the qualities of Eliza that she reveals as a lady can already be found in a flower girl as natural abilities, or that the qualities of a flower girl can then be rediscovered in a lady. The concept of Shaw was already contained in the description of Eliza's appearance. At the end of a detailed description of her appearance, it says:
“Without a doubt, she is clean in her own way, but next to the ladies she definitely seems like a mess. Her features are not bad, but the condition of her skin leaves much to be desired; in addition, it is noticeable that she needs the services of a dentist.
The transformation of Dolittle into a gentleman, just as his daughter into a lady, must seem to be a relatively external process. Here, as it were, only his natural abilities are modified due to his new social position. As a shareholder in the Friend of the Stomach Cheese Trust and a prominent spokesman for the Wannafeller World Moral Reform League, he actually remained in his real profession, which, according to Eliza, even before his social transformation was to extort money from other people. using his eloquence.
But the most convincing thesis about the presence of natural abilities and their importance for the creation of characters is demonstrated by the example of a couple
Higgins-Pickering. They are both socially gentlemen, but with the difference that Pickering is also a gentleman by temperament, while Higgins is predisposed to rudeness. The difference and commonality of both characters is systematically demonstrated in their behavior towards
Elise. Higgins treats her rudely, impolitely, unceremoniously from the very beginning. In her presence, he speaks of her "stupid girl", "stuffed animal",
"so irresistibly vulgar, so blatantly dirty", "nasty, spoiled girl" and the like. He asks his housekeeper to wrap Eliza in newspaper and throw it in the dustbin. The only norm of conversation with her is an imperative form, and the preferred way to influence Eliza is a threat.
Pickering, a born gentleman, on the contrary, in dealing with Eliza from the very beginning shows tact and exceptional courtesy. He does not allow himself to be provoked into an unpleasant or rude statement either by the obsessive behavior of the flower girl or by Higgins' bad example. Since no circumstances explain these differences in behavior, the viewer must assume that perhaps there is still some kind of innate tendency to rude or delicate behavior. To prevent the false conclusion that Higgins' rude behavior towards Eliza is due solely to the social differences between him and her, Shaw makes Higgins behave noticeably harsh and impolite among his peers as well. Higgins makes little effort to hide from Mrs., Miss, and Freddie Hill how little he considers them and how little they mean to him. Of course
The show allows Higgins' rudeness to appear in society in a significantly modified form. For all his innate propensity for cavalier truth-telling, Higgins does not allow such rudeness there as we see in his treatment of Eliza. When his companion Mrs. Einsford
Hill, in his narrow-mindedness, believes that it would be better "if people could be frank and say what they think," Higgins protests with the exclamation "God forbid!" and the objection that "it would be indecent".
The character of a person is determined not directly by the environment, but through interpersonal, emotionally colored relationships and connections through which he passes in the conditions of his environment. Man is a sensitive, receptive being, and not a passive object that can be given any shape, like a piece of wax. The importance that Shaw attaches to this very issue is confirmed by its placement at the center of the dramatic action.
In the beginning, Elise is for Higgins a piece of dirt that can be wrapped in newspaper and thrown into the dustbin, in any case, "a dirty, grimy little rat" who is forced to wash up like a dirty animal, despite her protests. Washed and dressed, Eliza becomes not a person, but an interesting experimental object on which a scientific experiment can be performed. In three months Higgins made a countess of Eliza, he won his bet, as Pickering puts it, it cost him a lot of effort. That Eliza herself was participating in this experiment and, as a human being, was highly bound, before his consciousness - as, indeed, also before his consciousness.
Pickering - does not reach up to the onset of an open conflict, which forms the dramatic climax of the play. Much to my surprise,
Higgins must conclude that between him and Pickering, on the one hand, and Eliza, on the other, a human relationship has arisen that has nothing more to do with the relationship of scientists to their objects and which can no longer be ignored, but can only be resolved with pain. in the shower.
The viewer understands that Eliza became a lady not because she was taught to dress and talk like a lady, but because she entered into human relations with the ladies and gentlemen in their midst.
While the whole play suggests in countless details that the difference between a lady and a flower girl lies in their behaviour, the text asserts the exact opposite:
"A lady differs from a flower girl not in how she carries herself, but in how she is treated." These words belong to Eliza. In her opinion, the credit for turning her into a lady belongs to Pickering, not Higgins. Higgins only trained her, taught her the correct speech, etc. These are abilities that can be easily acquired without outside help. Pickering's courteous address brought about that inner change which distinguishes a flower girl from a lady.
Obviously, Eliza's assertion that only the manner in which a person is treated determines his essence is not the basis of the play's problematic. If the treatment of a person were the decisive factor, then Higgins would have to make all the ladies he meets flower girls, and Pickering all the flower girls he meets. The fact that both of them are not endowed with such magical powers is quite obvious. Higgins does not show Pickering's sense of tact, either towards his mother or towards Mrs. and Miss Einsford Hill, without thereby causing a slight change in their characters.
Pickering, in Acts I and II, treats the flower girl Eliza with a not-too-refined courtesy. On the other hand, the play clearly shows that behavior alone does not determine the essence either. If only conduct were the deciding factor, then Higgins would have ceased to be a gentleman long ago. But no one seriously disputes his honorary title of gentleman. Higgins doesn't stop being a gentleman just because he treats Eliza tactlessly, just as Eliza can't turn into a lady just because she behaves like a lady. Eliza's thesis that only the treatment of a person is the decisive factor, and the antithesis that a person's behavior is decisive for the essence of the person, are clearly refuted by the play.
The instructiveness of the play lies in the synthesis - the determining factor for the essence of a person is his social attitude towards other people. But the social relation is something more than the one-sided behavior of man and the one-sided treatment of him. Public attitude includes two sides: behavior and appeal. Eliza from a flower girl becomes a lady due to the fact that, at the same time as her behavior, the treatment she felt in the world around her also changed.
What is meant by social relation is clearly revealed only at the end of the play and at its climax. Eliza realizes to herself that in spite of the successful completion of her studies in the language, in spite of the radical change of environment, in spite of the constant and exclusive presence among the recognized gentlemen and ladies, in spite of the exemplary treatment of her by a gentleman, and in spite of her own mastery of all forms of behavior , she has not yet turned into a real lady, but has become only a maid, a secretary or an interlocutor of two gentlemen. She makes an attempt to escape this fate by running away. When Higgins asks her to come back, a discussion ensues that reveals the meaning of social relations in principle.
Eliza believes that she is faced with a choice between returning to the street or submitting to Higgins. This is symbolic for her: then she will have to give him shoes all her life. Just what Mrs. Higgins warned against happened, drawing the attention of her son and Pickering to the fact that a girl who speaks the language and manners of a lady is not yet truly a lady if she does not have the appropriate income. Mrs. Higgins saw from the very beginning that the main problem of turning a flower girl into a society lady could be solved only after her "re-education" was completed.
The essential property of a "noble lady" is her independence, which can only be guaranteed by an income independent of any personal labor.
The interpretation of the Pygmalion ending is obvious. It is not of an anthropological nature, like the previous theses, but of an ethical and aesthetic order: what is desirable is not the transformation of the slum-dwellers into ladies and gentlemen, like the transformation of Dolittle, but their transformation into a new type of ladies and gentlemen, whose self-esteem is based on their own labor. Eliza, in the pursuit of work and independence, is the embodiment of the new ideal of a lady, which, in essence, has nothing to do with the old ideal of a lady of aristocratic society. She did not become a countess, as Higgins had repeatedly said, but she became a woman whose strength and energy are admired. It is significant that even Higgins cannot deny her attraction - disappointment and hostility soon turn into the opposite. He even seems to have forgotten about the original desire for a different result and the desire to make a countess out of Eliza.
“I want to boast that the play Pygmalion enjoyed the greatest success in Europe, North America and here. Its instructiveness is so strong and deliberate that I enthusiastically throw it in the face of those self-satisfied wise men who, like parrots, say that art should not be didactic. This confirms my opinion that art cannot be anything else,” Shaw wrote. The author had to fight for the correct interpretation of all his plays, especially comedies, and to oppose deliberately misinterpreting them. In the case of Pygmalion, the struggle centered around the question of whether Eliza would marry Higgins or
Freddie. If Eliza is married off to Higgins, then a conditional comedic ending and an acceptable end are created: Eliza's re-education ends in this case with her bourgeoisization. Anyone who passes Eliza off as a poor Freddie must simultaneously recognize Shaw's ethical and aesthetic theses.
Of course, critics and the theater world were unanimous in favor of a bourgeois solution.
List of used literature:
B. Shaw Complete collection of plays in 6 volumes. M. "Art" 1980. T. 4
F. Denninghaus. "The theatrical vocation of Bernard Shaw". M. "Progress"
M. Raku. "Bernard Shaw as the 'Perfect Wagnerian'". New Literary Review. Electronic version
E. Hugh "Bernard Shaw" ZhZL. M. "Young Guard" 1966
I. Maisky “B. The Show and Other Memories. M. "Art" 1967
-----------------------
1978, p. 128
there
216
ibid S. 270
M. Raku. "Bernard Shaw as the 'Perfect Wagnerian'". New Literary Review. Electronic version
B. Shaw Complete collection of plays in 6 volumes. M. "Art" 1980. V. 4 S.255
F. Denninghaus. "The theatrical vocation of Bernard Shaw". M. "Progress"
1978.
Ibid
there
B. Shaw Complete collection of plays in 6 volumes. M. "Art" 1980. T. 4 p.
282
I. Maisky “B. The Show and Other Memories. M. "Art" 1967. S. 28
B. Shaw Complete collection of plays in 6 volumes. M. "Art" 1980. T. 4 p.
212
E. Hugh "Bernard Shaw" ZhZL. M. "Young Guard" 1966. S. 136
47. Analysis of the play by b. Shaw "Pygmaleon"
History of creation: The work was created in 1912. (1913) XX century. - the era of modernism. During this period, Great Britain lost its position as the most powerful power in the world. But society became more just, and despite two world wars and the Great Depression, the average standard of living rose dramatically. There was the First World War, which deprived England of almost a million inhabitants and left huge debts. The economic crisis worsened the position of England. In the XX century. The social, economic and political situation of the country has deteriorated.
Genus: Drama
Genre: Comedy
Genre features: educational comedy, romantic comedy, social comedy, mythological comedy ("neomythologism")
Story sources: Literary (the myth of Pygmaleon; T. Smolett's "The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle"), Autobiographical (the author's attitude to political ideas and social inequalities). Domestic (London setting in the 20th century)
Main theme: the topic of social inequality
Subject: the theme of love, the theme of friendship, the problems of classical English, the theme of meanness
Plot:
Exposition (Rainy day. A lady and her daughter are sitting under a canopy. Freddy, her son, is looking for a taxi. Finding nothing, he returns and comes across a flower girl who drops flowers and shouts at him. A man with a notebook writes something, the flower girl thinks he writes something against her and cries).
The plot (Meeting of Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering. The flower girl pesters them with a request to buy flowers from her. The arrival of the flower girl Eliza Doolittle at the professor's house, her request to improve her pronunciation)
Development of the action (Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering's bet. Eliza Doolittle's father visits)
Culmination (Reversal of Eliza Doolittle's life. Eliza's becoming a society lady. Attending social events. Eliza's quarrel with the professor. Eliza's escape. Higgins and Pickering's sadness).
Resolution (Change in the life and father of Eliza Doolittle. Eliza's wedding to Freddie. The girl's reconciliation with Higgins and Pickering.)
Compositional structure analysis:
Conflict:
Basic(between the heroes of the "present" century and the "past" century)
Side(between Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins; between Mrs. Higgins and Henry Higgins; between Alfred Doolittle and Eliza Doolittle; between Eliza Doolittle and Freddie)
Image system: Contrasting heroes: Heroes of the "present" and "past" centuries.
Images:
Eliza Doolittle: Flower girl, daughter of Alfred Doolittle. Attractive, but not having a secular upbringing (or rather, having a street upbringing), about eighteen - twenty years old. She is wearing a black straw hat, badly damaged in its lifetime by London dust and soot and hardly familiar with a brush. Her hair is of some mouse color, not found in nature. A reddish black coat, narrow at the waist, barely reaching the knees; underneath, a brown skirt and a canvas apron are visible. The shoes seem to have known better days as well. No doubt, she is clean in her own way, but next to the ladies she definitely looks like a mess. Her features are not bad, but the condition of her skin leaves much to be desired; in addition, it is noticeable that she needs the services of a dentist. The image of Eliza Doolittle was created for the actress Patrick Campbell and completed during the rehearsal in London's His Majesty's Theater (1914).
The heroine literally "bursts" into the play: vulgar, grimy, with wild, inarticulate speech, sometimes not devoid of originality (for example, the famous "Uu-aaaa-y!" or "Whoever stole the hat, he killed the aunt"). Henry Higgins decides - on a bet with Colonel Pickering - to make a "real lady" out of her. During the experiment, Eliza Doolittle undergoes a series of transformations.
The first is when she is “washed to such beauty” that her own father is not able to recognize. The second is when she, charming, with refined speech and manners, wins Hittins a bet. And the third - when she discovers her new, not yet settled, fragile, but living "I". Finding the right speech, she, like the heroines of her beloved Ibsen Show, first of all finds herself - not just “good manners”, but a different way of “being”. And, what is very important, "to be" independently, regardless of the will of your teacher - the sculptor Higtins. This is the heroine of a typical Chauvian paradox. She, as the heroine of the ancient story about Pygmalion and Galatea, should have fallen in love with Hittins and strive for marriage with him. But Shaw could not create such a heroine. His Eliza Doolittle, of course, is attached to Higgins, but the nature of this feeling is not entirely obvious to her, in any case, the erotic connotation does not prevail. For the heroine, her own person is much more important and interesting. Drama by Eliza Doolittle. in the fact that in some sense she is not “before-embodied” by her “creator”, who awakened in her natural talent - not only musicality, acting skills, wonderful ear, but also a bright, powerful personality. It was Higgins who awakened, and did not raise, his Galatea, and this is due to the fact that Eliza Doolittle. - the daughter of her father, a brilliant orator and philosopher, a gentleman scavenger Alfred Doolittle.
Of course, Eliza Doolittle can no longer return to her former self. And he doesn't want to. Her confusion is understandable: she already wants to live independently, but does not yet know how. Passionate, subtle nature, unlike Higgins, open to other people, able to distinguish and appreciate their mental properties, Eliza Doolittle humanly wins the "dispute" with her Pygmalion. The heroine of the show is called upon to break the stereotype of conforming to the traditional image of a "well-made play": instead of dreaming of orange blossom and Mendelssohn's marsh, she is making plans for an independent life.
Henry Higgins: Professor of phonetics. A man of about fifty, with gray hair and morels on his face, of small stature. Higgins was constantly dissatisfied with something, angry and seemed, at first glance, ill-mannered. At first, he treated Eliza worse than the maid. But there was always Colonel Pickering nearby, who tried to calm Higgins. Professor Higgins and his old friend Pickering made a bet, the subject of which was the possibility of mastering a person who spoke dialects and swear words with wonderful English pronunciation with the help of a three-month course in phonetics. Higgins accepted the challenge and did his best not to embarrass himself in front of his friend. For him, it was a matter of honor, so he demanded that Eliza be ready to study phonetics almost around the clock. His tireless energy weakened the little flower girl and attracted at the same time. For Professor Higgins, Eliza was only a student, but at the same time she remained a woman to whom he, of course, became attached. At first, Eliza dreamed of going to work in a more prestigious store, but after receiving the prince, she was confused. Higgins was only interested in the bet, and he leaves Eliza to her fate. Such was the nature of this old bachelor. Bernard Shaw leaves the final open. Everything can change, but not in his play, but in the minds of the audience. Professor Higgins was sorry not for the girl, but for the effort expended on her. He offers to pick up a husband for her, if only she had somewhere to communicate in the future. He does not want to see the student's love for her teacher. Frightened of losing his freedom, Higgins does not stop the magical lady. It does not occur to him that the people of the lower stratum also have a soul.
Receptions:
Conclusion about the semantic concept: condemnation of betrayal and meanness, glorification of love, friendship, condemnation of the inequality of people, glorification of the new ideal of a lady.
"Pygmalion" is a mockery of the fans of "blue blood" - the author himself spoke about his play. It was important to Shaw to show that all the qualities of Eliza that she reveals as a lady can already be found in a flower girl as natural abilities, or that the qualities of a flower girl can then be rediscovered in a lady.
The character of a person is determined not directly by the environment, but through interpersonal, emotionally colored relationships and connections through which he passes in the conditions of his environment. Man is a sensitive, receptive being, and not a passive object that can be given any shape, like a piece of wax. to the center of the dramatic action.
“Leaving aside linguistics, it should first of all be noted that Pygmalion was a cheerful, brilliant comedy, the last act of which contained an element of true drama: the little flower girl did a good job of her role as a noble lady and is no longer needed - she just needs to return to the street or go out marry one of the three heroes." The viewer understands that Eliza became a lady not because she was taught to dress and talk like a lady, but because she entered into human relations with the ladies and gentlemen in their midst. While the whole play suggests in countless details that the difference between a lady and a flower girl lies in their behavior, the text states something quite the opposite: “A lady differs from a flower girl not in how she carries herself, but in how she is treated.” . These words belong to Eliza. In her opinion, the credit for turning her into a lady belongs to Pickering, not Higgins. Higgins only trained her, taught her the correct speech, etc. These are abilities that can be easily acquired without outside help. Pickering's courteous address brought about that inner change which distinguishes a flower girl from a lady. The instructiveness of the play lies in the synthesis - the determining factor for the essence of a person is his social attitude towards other people. Public attitude includes two sides: behavior and appeal. Eliza from a flower girl becomes a lady due to the fact that, at the same time as her behavior, the treatment she felt in the world around her also changed.
The interpretation of the Pygmalion ending is obvious. It is not of an anthropological nature, like the preceding theses, but of an ethical and aesthetic order: what is desirable is not the transformation of the slum-dwellers into ladies and gentlemen, like the transformation of Doolittle, but their transformation into a new type of ladies and gentlemen, whose self-esteem is based on their own labor. Eliza, in the pursuit of work and independence, is the embodiment of the new ideal of a lady, which, in essence, has nothing to do with the old ideal of a lady of aristocratic society. She did not become a countess, as Higgins had repeatedly said, but she became a woman whose strength and energy are admired. It is significant that even Higgins cannot deny her attraction - disappointment and hostility soon turn into the opposite. He even seems to have forgotten about the original desire for a different result and the desire to make a countess out of Eliza.
The popular English playwright, second only to Shakespeare, Bernard Shaw left the deepest imprint on world culture.
His work was marked by two prestigious awards: the Nobel Prize was awarded to the great novelist for his contribution to literature, and the Oscar for the screenplay based on the play of the same name by Bernard Shaw "Pygmalion". Summary of the play in this article.
Pygmalion and Galatea
Literary scholars and critics have made various suggestions as to what motivated Shaw to write this play. Some refer to the famous myth of Ancient Greece and offer to recall the legendary sculptor who created the statue of a beautiful girl. Others believe that Shaw recalled Gilbert's play Pygmalion and Galatea. Still others have gone so far as to accuse Shaw of almost plagiarism, pointing to Smollet's novel as a borrowing source.
In fact, the history of writing Pygmalion began with the great playwright's passion for actress Stella Campbell, which he wrote about in his diary. He often had novels in the form of correspondence with actresses, among whom were Florence Farr and Ellen Terry, but Stella took an exceptional place in the life and work of Shaw.
The correspondence continued for several years. But Shaw did not want to change anything in his life. Stella, on the other hand, was faithful to her unlucky husband, who lived on her income. Bernard recognized her as a brilliant actress and tried to help her financially. But she refused financial assistance. Having once seen the performance of Forbes-Robertson and Mrs. Campbell in Hamlet, he decided to create a play for her.
In one of his letters to Ellen Terry, he shared the idea that he would like to write a play where Robertson would be a gentleman and Stella a girl in an apron. While the London diva was thinking about whether to play a dirty flower girl, the premiere of the play took place in Vienna, then it was a resounding success in Berlin. On the English stage, the play "Pygmalion" was staged only in April 1914, with Mrs. Campbell playing the main role.
Characters
Eliza, a London flower girl, transformed into a society lady by the eccentric professor of phonetics Higgins, has become one of the world's favorite theater stage heroines. This role has become a favorite female role and glorified many theater actresses, bypassing all world stages - from the famous London diva to the Russian D. Zerkalova. Which is not surprising.
As will be seen from the summary below, Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw is a cheerful, brilliant comedy, the last act of which contains an element of drama: the flower girl coped well with the role of a society lady and is no longer needed. The main characters of the play are Eliza and Professor Higgins with Colonel Pickering, who made a bet:
- Eliza, the flower girl, is a girl of eighteen or twenty, and cannot be called attractive. She is wearing a hat, badly damaged by dust and soot, which was hardly familiar with the brush. Hair of an unnatural color that needs soap and water. The faded black coat barely covers her knees. Eliza's shoes have known better days. Everything shows that the girl is clean, but next to others she looks like a mess.
- Phonetics Professor Higgins is a man in his forties, strong and healthy. He wears a black frock coat, a starched collar, and a silk tie. He belongs to the people of science, who are interested in everything that can become the subject of research. Everything that attracts his attention, he treats with genuine passion. If something turns out not according to him, the good-natured grouchiness of the professor is replaced by outbursts of anger. But everyone forgives him, because he is very sincere.
- Colonel Pickering is an exemplary gentleman. It was his courtesy that played an important role in the transformation of Eliza.
Other participants in the play
In the amazing transformation of Eliza, not only the main characters played an important role. Pygmalion No. 1 can be called the girl's father. In social terms, the scavenger is, one might say, at the bottom. But Alfred is a bright and unusual personality. The flower girl owes many positive character traits to her father. His impressive behavior is obvious: the ability to explain himself to any person, originality of thinking, self-esteem.
An interesting personality Alfred adapts to any situation and remains himself. In other words, circumstances may change, but a person will not change: a person will remain a person. However, Shaw would not have been Shaw if he had not put self-respect into the soul of a street girl, and would not have made interesting a man who valued his father's feeling at five pounds. Why are the characters of Henry, the housekeeper, Pickering, Eliza, and the girl's father so powerful, and the drawing-room people so weak? How skillfully the great playwright succeeded in this can be seen from the summary of Pygmalion. Bernard Shaw also made interesting personalities from minor characters:
- Eliza's father Alfred Doolittle is an elderly but strong man. He's wearing scavenger clothes. An energetic person who knows no fear and conscience.
- Professor Higgins' housekeeper is Mrs Pierce.
- Professor Higgins' mother is Mrs. Higgins.
- Mrs Hill's daughter is Clara.
- Mrs Hill's son is Freddie.
- Mrs. Higgins' guest is Eynsford Hill.
In five acts of the play "Pygmalion" Shaw, as a wise and insightful artist, discovered in a street girl those features that made possible her transformation, unexpected but plausible. He says that it is worth changing the conditions of existence, creating a favorable environment, and you will see how a miracle will happen: natural abilities will open up, self-esteem will increase.
Eliza will pass a severe test of social manners and social ritual. Passes for a duchess at a reception at any embassy. Such is the development of the artistic thought of Bernard Shaw. In the summary of Pygmalion, you can get to know Eliza and follow her amazing transformation from a dirty girl into a duchess.
Summer rain
A violent pouring rain gathered several people under the portico of the church. Two ladies, chilled in their evening gowns, were waiting for the taxi that Freddie had gone to fetch. A passer-by, having heard their conversation, said that it was impossible to find a taxi, as people were leaving the theater at that time and, moreover, it was pouring impenetrable rain.
Freddie, the son of an old lady, came and said he couldn't find a taxi. The mother sent him back. Freddy, accompanied by his sister's indignant exclamations and thunder, went back to look, and ran into a flower girl who was hurrying to cover. The street vendor did not reach into her pocket for a word: picking up flowers, she lamented in the dialect of a commoner and angrily answered the questions of the ladies.
Then she caught sight of an elderly gentleman hurrying to take cover from the rain. The flower girl switched to him, persuading him to buy a bouquet. A passer-by noticed the girl that a guy standing nearby, probably a policeman, was writing down everything in a notebook. Those present immediately drew attention to the man standing with a notebook. He explained that he was not a policeman and, nevertheless, told who was born where, down to the street.
The gentleman, who is also a colonel, showed interest in this man. So the acquaintance of the creator of the Higgins alphabet and the author of the book "Conversational Sanskrit" Pickering took place. They were going to meet each other for a long time, so they decided to continue their acquaintance over dinner. Higgins tossed a handful of coins into the flower girl's basket on the way. The girl, who got hold of a huge amount, gets into the taxi that Freddie caught and leaves.
Professor and Colonel's Bet
The next morning, Higgins received Colonel Pickering at his house and demonstrated the phonographic apparatus. Mrs. Pierce, the housekeeper, reported that a certain girl had come to him and wanted to talk to him. When she was called in, the professor recognized her as yesterday's flower girl. Eliza explained that she wanted to take phonetics lessons from Higgins, as she couldn't get a good job with her terrible pronunciation.
The money is small, but the colonel encourages Higgins to prove that he can, as he assured, turn a street vendor into a duchess. They make a bet, and the colonel undertakes to pay all the expenses for training. The housekeeper takes the flower girl to the bathroom to launder.
After some time, the girl's father showed up at Higgins' house. The drink-loving type demands five pounds from the professor and promises not to interfere. Higgins is surprised by the eloquence and persuasiveness of the scavenger, for which he received his compensation. Eliza Doolittle enters the room in an elegant kimono and no one recognizes her.
Entering a secular society
After a few months of training, Higgins decided to check how his student coped with the task assigned to her. As an exam, he takes the girl to his mother's house, who gives the reception. Mrs. Hill is also there with her daughter and son Freddie. They don't recognize the girl as the flower girl they met a few months ago.
Eliza behaves impeccably, but when it comes to her life, she breaks down into common language. Higgins saves the day by explaining to those present that this is the new secular jargon. When the guests have left, the colonel and the professor tell Mrs. Higgins how they teach the girl, take her to the theater and opera. In addition, she has an excellent ear for music.
In response to their enthusiastic stories, the professor's mother remarks that the girl should not be treated like a living doll. They, somewhat disappointed, leave Mrs. Higgins' house and continue their studies, taking into account all the mistakes that the elderly lady pointed out to them. Freddie did not remain indifferent to the charming guest, and bombards Eliza with romantic messages.
Eliza's success
Higgins, having devoted a few more months to his student, arranges a decisive exam for her - he takes her to an appointment at the embassy. Eliza is a resounding success. Upon returning home, the colonel congratulates the professor on his success. No one pays attention to Elise anymore.
An annoyed girl expresses to her teacher that she cannot lead her former life. He asks what will happen to her now, where will she go and what should she do now? The professor is unable to understand her soul. The girl throws slippers at the professor in anger, and leaves the Higgins house at night.
twist of fate
The Colonel and the Professor arrive at Mrs. Higgins' house and complain about Eliza's disappearance. The professor admits to his interlocutors that without her, he, as if without hands, does not know what is planned for the day, where his things lie.
The girl's father comes to the house - he looks different - a quite wealthy bourgeois shows Higgins that through his fault he had to change his lifestyle. A few months ago the professor wrote to the founder of the Moral Reform League that Alfred Doolittle was perhaps the most original moralist in England. The millionaire left in his will to the scavenger an annual allowance, on the condition that he lecture at the League several times a year.
Mrs. Higgins is relieved that there is now someone to take care of the girl. Eliza arrives and explains alone with the professor. Higgins believes that he is not guilty of anything and demands the girl to return. To which she replies that she will immediately go to his colleague, get a job as an assistant to him and reveal the Higgins method known to her now.
The professor pointedly in front of everyone instructs the girl to make purchases on the way home. To which Eliza replies with contempt: "Buy it yourself." And he goes to the wedding of his father, who, given his current situation, is forced to officially marry a woman with whom he has lived for twenty years.
Metamorphoses of "Pygmalion"
The analysis of this comedy shows a brilliant and impressive plot, turning into a realistic drama in the finale. Fascinated by a linguistic experiment, Higgins discovers that he has created more than just a beautiful girl capable of delivering sophisticated speeches. To his amazement, he realizes that before him is a human being with a soul and a heart.
George Bernard Shaw pursued this goal: to show the representatives of the blue blood that they differ from the lower class only in clothes, pronunciation, education and manners. In the rest, decency and spiritual sensitivity, nobility and self-esteem are inherent in ordinary people. The playwright wanted to show that the difference between them could and should be overcome. And he succeeded.
The open end of the play, as left by the author, caused a lot of criticism and indignation from the public. The excellent playwright, in turn, did not want to repeat anyone. George Bernard Shaw showed originality and ingenuity, embodying an artistic concept. In the subtitle, he indicated that this was a fantasy novel, and by this he accurately defined the genre features of the play.
As the author himself later wrote, he called the play a novel because it is a story about a poor girl who, like Cinderella, met a handsome prince and was turned into a beautiful lady by him. And for the outraged public, lost in conjecture - for whom Eliza will marry, he wrote comments in which he did not state, but assumed the future of the girl. Shaw supplemented the play with new scenes for the film script, which premiered in 1938 and was a resounding success.