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Sample written task 2 – Question 2
Outline
Prescribed question: If the text had been written in a different time or place, for a
different audience how and why might it be different?
Title of the text for analysis: Pygmalion
Part of the course to which the task refers: Part 3 - Literature: text and context
My critical response will:
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Explore the importance of setting in Pygmalion. Explain why modern day
London is still a relevant backdrop for this play.
•
Comment on the position of women in 1912 and the importance of marriage
both then and now.
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Comment on the Shaw's characters and the story's plot. How would they be
different today?
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Conclude by stating that Shaw's intentions of criticizing gender and class
differences are still relevant today.
Written task
The myth of Pygmalion has been told for centuries. The notion of a sculptor falling in
love with his sculpture and wanting it to come to life is timeless, as we see in the
Italian children’s story, Pinocchio, William Shakespeare’s The Winter Tale or
Hollywood productions, such as Pretty Woman or. In 1912, George Bernard Shaw,
wrote his version of the Greek myth, which became the 1964 musical My Fair Lady.
Shaw’s play focused on greater social issues of his time, such as the rise of
women’s rights and the growing differences between social classes. The internal
context of his play, which is set in London in 1912, staring a chauvinist, wealthy
bachelor and poor but ambitious flower girl, is meant to comment on the time and
place in which Shaw lived and criticize the very audience that came to see his play. If
Shaw were alive and writing play scripts today, many of the same issues would be
relevant. This essay will examine how the setting, characters and plot of George
Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion would be similar and different, if it were written today.
Understanding the setting of the play, Pygmalion, is important to understanding its
themes. The first scene takes place in Covent Garden, where the ruling elite visit the
opera house and the poor sell their vegetables at the market. Here is where Eliza
Doolittle meets Professor Henry Higgins, and he suggests that he could turn her
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from a ‘squashed cabbaged leaf’ into a ‘princess’ by teaching her how to speak
English properly. Today there are neighborhoods in London, such as Canary
Riverside, where the affluent dine out and migrant workers busk for change. One
could imagine how an immigrant from a former British colony such as Nigeria or
Jamaica, with a strong accent might be forced to sell fake designer bags on the
black market. In fact, in today’s world, where many companies have a hiring policy of
positive discrimination, you could imagine how a beautiful, African girl could picked
off the streets and hired as a sales assistant in a designer fashion store, if she
promised to do something about her accent. After all, people still have prejudices
against certain accents today, just as they had in 1912.
If we are to set the story in modern day London, we must also understand the
importance of Pygmalion’s plot and characters. In the play, Henry Higgins is a proud
bachelor, who claims no need for female support in his life. He trains Eliza to speak
the Queen’s English for his own selfish reason: he wants to win his bet with Colonel
Pickering. For Eliza, however, there is more at stake than Higgins’ bet. She wants to
advance her position in society and own her own flower shop. After she wins
Higgins’ bet, she realizes that he does not respect her for who she is: ambitious,
clever and strong. Because he is too proud to express his gratitude and feelings for
her, she leaves him for Freddy, a rather shallow but love-stricken gentleman. For a
woman in 1912 there were not many choices or career paths. If a gentleman asked
you to marry him, as Shaw explains in the epilogue, you did not have much choice.
Eliza marries Freddy so that she can enjoy economic security, drive in taxis and eat
chocolates, but this comes at a cost: She must give up her dream of owning a flower
shop. Shaw’s message is rather critical of marriage and class, as institutions that
prevent people from fulfilling their potential.
Although the position of women has changed enormously in the past 100 years,
many women today still marry for financial reasons. Chances are slim that our
modern day Eliza Doolittle from Africa would settle for a poor migrant worker after
becoming accustomed to the luxuries of the fashion world. In fact if we are to
continue in Shaw’s spirit and write another rags-to-riches story, our modern day Eliza
would have to pay for her financial success. Like Eliza, she would feel very
disillusioned when discovering that she was only part of another man’s bet or a
company’s ‘equal opportunity’ policy. She would quickly discover the stress of
meeting sales targets, the weariness of working overtime and the ingratitude of
working for a large corporation. Unfortunately, the chances of a young African
woman owning her own shop in London are still quite slim to this day.
All in all, George Bernard Shaw hit on some timeless themes in his rendition of the
Pygmalion story, which could easily be translated into modern day London, where
people still discriminate on the basis of gender, accent and race. In the play, Eliza
says ‘the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but
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how she is treated.’ As far as treating people with respect, Shaw’s message is still
relevant today.
Works cited
Ferreira-Marques, Clara. "Rich and Poor: London's Tale of Two Cities | Reuters."
Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com.
Reuters, 12 Apr. 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/04/12/us-britain-election-povertyidUSTRE63B57620100412>.
Shaw, Bernard. Pygmalion. [U.S.]: Feather Trail, 2009. Print.
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© Brad Philpot, InThinking
www.englishalanglit-inthinking.co.uk
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