STAMFORD UNIVERSITY

BANGLADESH

Assignment on:
Dissertation on Pygmalion as a problem play
A problem play is a genre begun in the 19th century but also applied backward to Shakespeare's
tragicomedies. The first to write a problem was Andre Dumas. He was followed by Henrik Ibsen and later
by George Bernard Shaw.

A problem play is a play in which a number of problems are presented and analyzed thoroughly but no
solutions to those problems are provided by the dramatist. Such a play serves as a great irritant to the
thought. It is thought provoking. The readers are provoked to think over the problem presented in the play
and work out their own solutions to those problems. Pygmalion is a problem play in this sense. A number
of problems have been presented and discussed; the discussion is thought provoking; the readers are
expected to think for themselves, and work out their own solutions. The problems we noticed in the
Pygmalion are:

Problems created by education:

The initial most important problem presented in the play is the problem of education. Eliza Doolittles
education in phonetics is a difficult problem for Eliza as she does not know how to pronounce even A, B,
C, D correctly. She speaks only the London dialect known as cockney which is hardly intelligible to
anybody who has never lived in London. It would seem like that Higgins has undertake a Herculean task
in educating Eliza to the desired level. But Higgins successfully overcomes the difficulties so much that
within three months Eliza can easily pass as foreign princess at an ambassadors garden party.

Problem of Social manner:

Good manners were mostly associated with the upper class at this time. Elizas progress in her education
is tested. She is dressed like a lady, behaves like a lady and all are impressed. Eliza of Act III is quite
different from the flower girl of Act I but her education is not yet complete. Her small talk betrays her
social background. She has not yet learnt what a lady should talk in a social gathering. She talks about
matters which easily betray her low origin, though her language is almost flawless. Eliza is often seen to
violate conventions embodied in social manners. For instance, in the quotation Elizas reciting the
weather forecast gives two scientific information to be an answer for Mrs. Higginss conventional
question. Another instance of the violation of social manners is Elizas small talk: she uses very formal
language where the subject is quite low. That is, she expresses gutter ideas in aristocratic diction. The
third instance of Elizas violation of social manners takes place when Freddy asks her if she will walk
across the park, to which she reacts instantly: Walk! Not bloody likely (P.78). The violation here is due
to Elizas use of a taboo word in so decent a situation.

Problem of identity:
Eliza education creates problems for her. She has become a lady and has lost her earlier identity. This
problem, this dilemma, this predicament, was foreseen by Mrs. Pearce in the very act I, and it is also
foreseen by Mrs. Higgins in act III of the play. Mrs. Pearce tells Higgins: ... You cant take a girl up like
that as if you were picking up a pebble on the beach (P.42). She continues: Mr. Higgins, I want to know
on what terms the girl is to be here... And what is to become of her when you have finished your
teaching? You must look ahead a little (P.44). Similarly, Mrs. Higgins wants Higgins to tell her that
what will happen to Eliza after her education since Higgins is teaching Eliza the manners and habits that
disqualify a fine lady from earning her own living without giving her a fine ladys income
After her transformation, Eliza is confronted with the problem of loss of identity, and alienation. Now,
she is no longer fit for gutter jobs. She has been alienated from her earlier social environment and she
must search for belongingness in the new social environment to which she has been raised by her
education. Her development brings her in a position from which she either cannot become a flower girl
or cannot afford a life of refined lady. So, she poignantly puts her own problems in the following words:
what am I fit for? What have you left me fit for? Where am I to go? What am I to do? Whats to become
of me?

Problem created by individualism or self-respect:

Throughout the play, Higgins treatment of Eliza however, is brutal and disdaining. Eliza struggles to
show Higgins that she is a human being, that she has feelings, and that she needs kindness. She tells
Higgins: I want a little kindness... Im not dirt under your feet (P.130). I got my feelings same as
anyone else (P.45).However, when she is accepted into upper class society, she gets a new found power
at her fingertips, and finds that she now has the social standing to go it alone(without Higgins) ; she
discloses her irritation towards his behavior by flinging of his slippers at him.

Again, when Higgins suggests her to marry someone for a new settlement, she denounces such kind of
marriage as she thinks it is an exchange of sexuality for money similar to prostitution. She declares that
she was less degraded as a flower-seller than as a "genteel" lady trying to make an appropriate marriage--
because as a flower-seller, at least, she wasn't selling her body. She says: The difference between a lady
and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated. I shall always be a flower girl to
Professor Higgins, because he always treats me as a flower girl, and always will; but I knew I can be a
lady to you (Pickering), because you always treat me as a lady, and always will (P.122) .This is a
positive turning-point in Elizas attitude which let her take the decision of not staying with Higgins and
Pickering. Though Eliza has romantic feelings for Higgins, she leaves finding his attitude insufferable.

Social Class problem

The play Pygmalion offers a view on class distinction, and the problem of the barriers separating classes
and people. We observe a society divided, separated by language, education, and wealth. Shaw includes
members of all social classes from the lowest (Liza) to the servant class (Mrs. Pearce) to the middle class
(Doolittle after his inheritance) to the genteel poor (the Eynsford Hills) to the upper class (Pickering and
the Higgins). The general sense is that class structures are rigid. Shaw reveals to us the truth about the
artificiality of classes and how anybody can overcome them. He also shows us that society puts up high
standards and that people are distinguished by their way of speaking, and their appearance alone .The
issue of language is tied up in class quite closely; the fact that Higgins is able to identify where people
were born by their accents is telling.

For instance, in the portico of St. Pauls Church, Higgins detects peoples speeches, many accents which
are different from the standard pronunciation comes to the surface. Hence, from the words and accents,
Higgins can identify: Eliza as native of Lisson Grove. Such an accent is likely to attract the attention of
the phonetician and he remarks: A woman who utters such depressing and disgusting sounds has no right
to live. Remember that you are a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech: that
your native language is the language of Shakespeare and Milton and the Bible; and dont sit there
crooning like a bilious pigeon. Here, Higgins compares Elizas sounds with those of Shakespeare and
Milton in order to shock her into awareness of lower-class accent. He also treats her like dirt even after
her transformation to a gentle lady only because he was aware of her class and belongings.

Elizas transformation demonstrates that social distinctions such as accents, age, class barriers can be
overcome by language training. But At the end, the play denies the idea as she understands herself that
better education is connected with social progress. Elizas problems show that language alone provides a
superficial transformation. She lacks education to become fully integrated. By this Shaw illustrates the
impossibility of moving classes in those days. And the way Shaw introduced everybody, not by their real
names, but by other names in the st. portico square gathering, shows us that society puts artificial barriers
for the differentiation between the rich and the poor.

Problem of Higgins:
In Pygmalion, manners are best discussed and focused on at Mrs. Higginss at-home day, which starts
with Mrs. Higgins asking her son, Henry Higgins, out because he spoils her parties with his lack of
manners. This is shown in action when the Hills have come: Higgins does not shake hands with the guests
or entertain them with a small talk. Instead of answering Claras: How do you do? he stares at her: Ive
seen you before somewhere. I havent the ghost of a notion where; but Ive heard your voice. [drearily] It
doesnt matter. You better sit down.

Higgins uses no form of politeness: no please, no would you mind setting down?, nor any other
form. He uses a quasi-imperative word to show his lack of social manners and his inexperience with
societies. Higgins even leaves the guests and goes to the central window, through which, with his back
to the company, he contemplates the river...

Similarly, when Freddy comes in to join the party, Higgins, instead of answering back Freddys
greeting, says, looking at Freddy as if he were a pickpocket, Ill take my oath Ive met you before
somewhere. Where was it? Then he shakes Freddys hand and almost slings him on to the ottoman.
Higgins comes from the window and sits with the society and almost brutally says: And now, what the
devil are we going to talk about until Eliza comes?

As the diction and the topic of the citation indicate, Shaws Prometheus of phonetics is without
manners. Yet, he is neither a snob like Clara, nor a vulgar like Eliza, nor even a gentleman like Pickering.

Creators lack of emotion for creation:

During the lesson which Higgins gives to Eliza, he treats her purely as a project and as the object of an
experiment .it is true that at once stage, while speaking to his mother in act iii he as well as Pickering
becomes eloquent in praising Elisas abilities and talents, but this praise from him is only an intellectual
recognition of the girls natural gifts. At no stage does he give the least sign of any emotional interest in
her. After Elisas success at the embassy reception and after her thus winning the bet for her teacher
Higgins seems to have lost all interest in her. After returning from the embassy reception ,Higgins bluntly
tells Pickering that the strain of teaching and training Eliza during the last six months or so had been too
great for him and that , in fact , he deadly sick of it , had began to feel it. He says that he wanted to
chuck the whole thing two months back because he had been a bore. And then he says, I tell you,
Pickering, never again for me. No more artificial duchess. The whole thing has been simple purgatory. it
evident that Higgins is really fed up with the whole experiment which he had undertaken .In fact, he does
not have a single word of appreciation for Eliza as a human being .He simply takes it for granted that
Eliza would continue to live in his house and to make herself useful to him in future as she been in the
past. He expects her to continue fetching his slippers and finding his spectacles for him .He does not
realize at all that he has endowed Eliza with a life of her, with an individuality of her own, with a mind of
her own. She merely remains the object of a professional experiment for him.

Gender relationship:
In Act Two, Doolittle is expressing his vision that woman is inferior to man and, accordingly, her
feelings and rights are unimportant. Doolittle comes to sell his daughter for the sake of boozing. He
even tries to convince Higgins to buy Eliza from him: I can see youre one of the straight sorts,
Governor. Well, whats a five-pound note to you? And whats Eliza to me?. Eliza is as cheap to Doolittle
as five-pound note is to Higgins. Such a comparison clearly reveals the status of woman under the
patriarchal, hierarchical and capitalist society. Doolittle goes as far as to advise Pickering to marry Eliza:
Take my advice, Governor marry Eliza while she is young and dont know a better. If you dont, youll
sorry for it after. If you do, shell be sorry for it after; but better her than you, because youre a man, and
she is only a woman and dont know to be happy anyhow.

As for the relationship between Higgins and Eliza, it supplies another model of gender relationship in
the play. It is a relationship between exploiter and exploited. Higgins takes Eliza, tames her and teaches
her proper English pronunciation just in order to win his bet for him and show his talent to the world. To
achieve his goal, Higgins acts with the girl as if she were an object or a slave, careless of her emotions
and her future. Eliza wins him his bet, fetches him his slippers. Yet, in reward, he abuses and insults her,
calling her Monkey Brand,infamous creature, heartless guttersnipe, unfortunate animal.

The struggle between male and female is highlighted in the play, with male characters like Doolittle
and Pickering siding with Higgins; and female characters like Mrs. Pearce and Mrs. Higgins siding with
Eliza. Accordingly, while Doolittle advises Higgins to wallop Eliza in teaching her, and while Pickering
supports Higgins financially in order to prove his genius by transforming Eliza into a duchess, the females
in the persons of Mrs. Pearce and Mrs. Higgins reproach Pickering and Higgins for playing with Elizas
life.

To sum up, the social and psychological problems Shaw tackles are gender roles, wealth, poverty,
language, meaning of language, appearances and beauty, reality, transformation, human dignity and
human responsibility. This will be enough to guide to find details representative of these thematic
problem points of the play.