Ahmed Page 1 of 6

Ali Ahmed
AP English 12
Ms. Weber
February 12, 2014

Biography and Introduction to Pygmalion

Born on July 26 1856 in Dublin, Ireland, George Bernard Shaw was the third child of
George Carr Shaw and Lucinda Gurly Shaw, having two older sisters, Lucinda Frances Carr and
Elinor Agnes. Despite being an upper-middle-class family, his father was a bum, having mostly
failed as a corn-merchant. Moreover, George Carr was a heavy alcoholic a fact the deeply
affected Bernard for the rest of his life so much so that Bernard became a lifelong teetotaler, a
person who does not drink alcohol (Hill, 19). His mother, on the other hand, was a singer and
dedicated pupil of George John Vandaleur Lee, who was a role-model for Bernard. From a young
age, Gurly instilled in Bernard a love for classical music and even provided him with vocal
lessons. Due to his fathers lack of sobriety, his mother made the money that allowed Bernard to
briefly have some private schooling. From about the age of 11 to 15, Bernard attended several
schools, hating all of them. In 1871, he took his first job and became a clerk for a real-estate
firm. After five years of clerking, Bernard left his job and followed his mother and sisters to
London in 1876. (Hill, 21).
From 1879-1883, Shaw writes five relatively unknown novels, which go mostly
unpublicized and unread, and, in 1882, Shaw hears Henry George speak about the single tax
idea. The speech and idea were a catalyst for Shaw, and soon afterwards, he reads Marx. While
not agreeing with all of Marxs ideas, Shaw becomes a profound advocate for socialism, helping
found the Fabian Socials Society in 1884. Having become immersed in socialist ideas, Shaw

Ahmed Page 2 of 6
writes speeches, pamphlets, and newspaper articles for the Fabian Society. In later plays and
works, Shaw speaks extensively to the socialist ideology.
While writing for the Fabian Society, Shaw worked as a art and music critic for The
World and the The Star newspapers, finally supporting himself. In 1892, Shaw finished his first
play Widowers Houses. Along with his next two plays, The Philanderer and Mrs. Warrens
Profession, this trio was published together in Plays Unpleasant in 1898 (Hill, 14). The first two
plays received little public attention aside from the fact that they contained tabooed topics. Mrs.
Warrens Profession was of some success, but more importantly, it exemplified Shaws thought
process. In this play, Shaw broaches the topic about prostitution. He finds that women would not
need to sell themselves if they had other legitimate opportunities to make a living. Shaw presents
this social dilemma and taboo without any overt sex scenes, no double-entendres, no prurient
suggestion, (Hill, 47). Shaw wants to stir up conversation, but he does not want to detract from
his underlying conclusion (referenced above) with crass and unsocial scenes.
Possibly due to his scandalous beginnings in theatrical arena, Shaw often received harsh
reviews from English critics, and so in order to bolster its reputation first, Shaw premiered
Pygmalion in Germany in 1913 (Spampinato, 238-39). Pygmalion ended up being one of Shaws
greatest successes, enjoying fame even today. Like many of his other plays, Pygmalion contains
a bit of Shaws personal life. Shaw originally wrote the play in order to cast Mrs. Patrick
Campbell with whom he was having an affair (Hill, 121). The play was so popular several
adaptations in multiple artistic fields were made the most famous of which is My Fair Lady.
Lastly in 1938, Shaw received an Oscar for Best Writing or Adapted Screenplay for Pygmalion.

Ahmed Page 3 of 6

Critical Interpretation of Pygmalion

George Bernard Shaw is often considered the next greatest English dramatist after
Shakespeare, as such his plays cover a wide range of motifs and issues. Shaw draws the name
and themes for Pygmalion from the Ovids Metamorphoses. In Ovids version of Pygmalion,
Pygmalion, a lonely hermit and sculptor, with the help of the goddess Venus, transforms a
sculpture of Pygmalions ideal woman into a real life person. Following Ovids structure, Shaw
has a Pygmalion character and a Gatalea (the name of the statue-turned-person). The Pygmalion
character is played by phonetics Professor Henry Higgins, and his creation is Eliza Doolittle.
Higgins, through the power of correcting her speech, transforms Eliza from a Cockney accent
girl who sells flowers in the streets into a lady able to fit in with the king and queen at a duchess
ball. In Pygmalion, Shaw focuses on identity, change and transformation, social class mobility,
and language as the major motifs and themes.
Christopher Busiel, an English teacher at the University of Texas, focuses mostly on the
theme change and transformation. Busiel states that Eliza rebellion against Higgins is real
transformation. It is Elizas new found independence that is essential to her social transformation,
not, instead as public would have, her refined speaking capabilities. According to Busiel, Shaw
believed that change was necessary for society and the individual. As per the Fabian point of
view that Shaw helped create, people accept the current social order due to the fact they grew up
with the societal expectations engrained in every aspect of their lives and mentalities. The people
then never question the social order and instead accept the oppression in the order as natural. For
Shaw, the ability to change the social order was one of the imperative duties of a person. And for
the most part, Shaw engaged in attempts through Pygmalion and other plays and writings to

Ahmed Page 4 of 6
awaken the public to this fact. (Busiel, 253). In my opinion, Shaw believes that rejection of the
social order should come from every level of the social even from the top rungs who benefit
from such a standpoint. Shaw tell us this through Elizas rejection of even the idea of marriage
for money. In Pygmalion, Shaw equates the idea of marrying for money and therefore a higher
social stratus to prostitution. (Busiel, 253). In the end, Busiel surmises Shaw believes that those
accepting and working with the social order are living in a mechanical, robotic way. (Busiel,
254).
Another critic Stanley J. Solomon discusses the ending of Pygmalion. Solomon is an
educator and critic who specializes in film theory. (Spampinato, 254). The controversy of
Pygmalions ending is due the fact that the public wanted a romantic ending where Higgins and
Eliza get married, however, Shaw abhorrently did not want such an ending. Solomon attempts to
explain why Shaw meant when he kept Higgins and Eliza from marrying. Solomon begins by
stating that we must remove the audience and author intentions for the ending, and only examine
the ending in relation to the text itself, (Solomon, 254). Solomon concludes that Shaws ending
is the only one appropriate because of the story. Solomon argues that if Eliza had given herself
up into marriage Higgins would have failed. Higgins takes Eliza out of the street and attempts to
change and transform her view of the world and her position in the social order. If Eliza ended up
marrying Higgins, she would have again submitted to the social order which Higgins was trying
to help her escape. In the romantic audience-approved ending, Eliza would have been changed
physically, but not spiritually, (Solomon, 256). I agree that the more traditional structure
helps support Shaws version of the ending; however I believe that the idea that the reason this
comes about is because Solomon looks at Pygmalion and interprets in a critical, scholarly light.

Ahmed Page 5 of 6
(Solomon, 257). If Pygmalion were treated solely as a play in which to provide entertainment,
which is the most basic purpose of the theater, then the romantic ending seems to deliver the
most joy, providing a happy ending which all people, even Shaw, desire.

Ahmed Page 6 of 6
Works Cited
Busiel, Christopher. Pygmalion. in Spampinato, Lynn M. Pygmalion. Drama for Students.
3rd ed. Detroit: Cengage Gale, 1997. 251-254.
Solomon, Stanley J. The Ending of Pygmalion: A Structural View in Educational Theater
Journal, Vol. 16, no. 1, March, 1964, pp. 59-63. in Spampinato, Lynn M.
Pygmalion. Drama for Students. 3rd ed. Detroit: Cengage Gale, 1997. 254-257.
Hill, Eldon C., George Benard Shaw. Boston, MA: Twayne Publishers, 1978 (print).
Spampinato, Lynn M. Pygmalion. Drama for Students. 3rd ed. Detroit: Cengage Gale, 1997.
238-260.