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According to Greek mythology, Pygmalion was a king and a sculptor and a legendary character of Cyprus. He is known to fall in love with a statue he had given shape, as depicted in Ovid’s poem Metamorphoses.
In the first Act, Shaw introduces some of the characters from the play and their unique traits, Mrs Eynsford-Hill who has been portrayed as a superficial social climber and her daughter Clara. There is also Clara’s brother Freddy, the flower girl Eliza suffering from deep poverty and Henry Higgings a phonetician and Colonel Pickering, with his acute interest in phonetics. Eliza and Colonel Pickering share a mutual admiration for each other.
Act 2 is at Higgin’s home and Pickering is shown to come from India exclusively to meet Higgins and seemingly Higgins tells Pickering that he has the power to mould Eliza and present her as a Duchess simply by training her to speak appropriately. There begins a romantic comedy on love and the social class system. In the subsequent acts, we find that the challenge taken up by Higgins, to transform the Cockney flower girl to a sophisticated socially acceptable individual, gets to be a success.
But sadly at this juncture when the reader rejoices in the transformation of Eliza to a lovely young woman of refinement, sensitivity and superior taste, we find Higgins dismissing her unexpectedly as a singularly successfully completed experiment and nothing more. This acted unfavourably for Eliza, who now couldn’t be identified as a proper upper class with the elite mannerisms and speech that she had recently inculcated, nor could she be at peace as a woman belonging to the lower class, from which she hailed. She is disillusioned and terribly upset at the way things evolved and sets the reader’s mind too in a dilemma for a solution to this unique situation.
1912
According to Greek mythology, Pygmalion was a king and a sculptor and a legendary character of Cyprus. He is known to fall in love with a statue he had given shape, as depicted in Ovid’s poem Metamorphoses.
In the first Act, Shaw introduces some of the characters from the play and their unique traits, Mrs Eynsford-Hill who has been portrayed as a superficial social climber and her daughter Clara. There is also Clara’s brother Freddy, the flower girl Eliza suffering from deep poverty and Henry Higgings a phonetician and Colonel Pickering, with his acute interest in phonetics. Eliza and Colonel Pickering share a mutual admiration for each other.
Act 2 is at Higgin’s home and Pickering is shown to come from India exclusively to meet Higgins and seemingly Higgins tells Pickering that he has the power to mould Eliza and present her as a Duchess simply by training her to speak appropriately. There begins a romantic comedy on love and the social class system. In the subsequent acts, we find that the challenge taken up by Higgins, to transform the Cockney flower girl to a sophisticated socially acceptable individual, gets to be a success.
But sadly at this juncture when the reader rejoices in the transformation of Eliza to a lovely young woman of refinement, sensitivity and superior taste, we find Higgins dismissing her unexpectedly as a singularly successfully completed experiment and nothing more. This acted unfavourably for Eliza, who now couldn’t be identified as a proper upper class with the elite mannerisms and speech that she had recently inculcated, nor could she be at peace as a woman belonging to the lower class, from which she hailed. She is disillusioned and terribly upset at the way things evolved and sets the reader’s mind too in a dilemma for a solution to this unique situation.
1912
George Bernard Shaw, a Nobel Prize winner for literature in 1925, is a notable playwright known for revolutionizing comedic drama and for inspiring generations. He was an Irish legend and has marked a place in history as a social spokesman. Shaw has a lot of reputation as a literary critic and is known to be a prominent British socialist. Pygmalion was undeniably Shaw’s financially most successful work.
Shaw’s quotes are some very oft repeated phrases all around. He is one out of only two people in history who have won both an Academy Award and a Nobel Prize for Literature. He shares this honour with Bob Dylan, one of the greatest songwriters of all time. While Shaw was honoured with the Nobel Prize in 1925, the committee is said to have been impressed with his work that they described as “marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty”. This quality had gained him worldwide fame and an unprecedented fan following.
Shaw has maintained a committed relationship with socialism all through his life and career. His plays, such as Mrs. Warren’s Profession and Pygmalion, deftly address mass social issues such as rights of women, poverty and capitalism. The pearls of wisdom that he dedicated to the world through his wise words are here to stay and inspire generations to come.
His urge to progress with the advancing and rapidly changing times, “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything”; or the silent warning to the most gullible minds with the words, “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance”; and also a strong line in an attempt to refrain the wise people from stooping as low as those who are mud-slinging and trying to tarnish each other’s reputation, “I learned long ago never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.”
We see a new age full of promises and hope with George Bernard Shaw’s famous line, “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
Books That Speak to us Across Time
Books have a magical and timeless appeal. They inform, educate and entertain us. We love and cherish the books we grow up with, and explore the fascinating world they present all through our lives.
Trove seeks to preserve the tradition of reading by publishing books from the past. It is a treasure chest of the most precious works across various genres. Our vision is to keep alive works that have stood the test of time and pass them on to the next generation of readers.
Readers can browse and purchase titles in the Trove collection, gleaned from the huge ocean of treasured writings in the public domain, and republished. What’s more, Trove books can be read on paper or screen as they are available in a variety of formats.
Trove goes to great lengths to recover and refurbish old content, so readers can discover them in all their glory. Some treasures are indeed found not in caves but between the covers of a book.
Books That Speak to us Across Time
Books have a magical and timeless appeal. They inform, educate and entertain us. We love and cherish the books we grow up with, and explore the fascinating world they present all through our lives.
Trove seeks to preserve the tradition of reading by publishing books from the past. It is a treasure chest of the most precious works across various genres. Our vision is to keep alive works that have stood the test of time and pass them on to the next generation of readers.
Readers can browse and purchase titles in the Trove collection, gleaned from the huge ocean of treasured writings in the public domain, and republished. What’s more, Trove books can be read on paper or screen as they are available in a variety of formats.
Trove goes to great lengths to recover and refurbish old content, so readers can discover them in all their glory. Some treasures are indeed found not in caves but between the covers of a book.
1. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
2. Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce
9. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
10. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
11. Moby Dick or The Whale by Melville Herman
12. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
13. Animal Farm by George Orwell
14. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
15. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
16. She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
17. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
18. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
19. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
20. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Visit us: www.trovebooks.in
Phone: +91-72002 58368
1. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
2. Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce
9. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
10. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
11. Moby Dick or The Whale by Melville Herman
12. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
13. Animal Farm by George Orwell
14. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
15. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
16. She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
17. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
18. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
19. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
20. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
1. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
2. Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce
9. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
10. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
11. Moby Dick or The Whale by Melville Herman
12. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
13. Animal Farm by George Orwell
14. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
15. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
16. She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
17. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
18. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
19. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
20. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Visit us: www.trovebooks.in
Phone: +91-72002 58368
Bernard Shaw
Newgen Knowledge Works Offices
Chennai Pondicherry Pune Kottayam Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
Leipzig (Germany) Amsterdam (Netherlands) Stroud (UK) Texas (USA)
Bernard Shaw
Newgen Knowledge Works Offices
Chennai Pondicherry Pune Kottayam Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
Leipzig (Germany) Amsterdam (Netherlands) Stroud (UK) Texas (USA)
This book has been inspired from the original version of Pygmalion first published in 1912, available in the public domain. Due care and diligence have been taken while bringing out this edition; neither the author nor the publishers of the book hold any responsibility for any mistake that may have inadvertently crept in. The publishers shall not be liable for any direct, consequential, or incidental damages arising out of the use of the book.
© Trove Books Edition, 2023
Paperback ISBN: 978-81-19222-82-7
eBook ISBN: 978-81-19303-05-2
WebPDF: 978-81-19303-01-4
Published by
Trove Books
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Chinna Neelankarai
Chennai – 600 041
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Call: 91-72002 58368
