George Bernard Shaw who was born in Dublin in 1856, was a renowned play writer and a talented platform speaker. He is most famously known for his successful play ‘Pygmalion’ which was widely accepted as one of the most noted comedies of the time. It was written two years before the 1st world war, at a time when society was divided and the poor were severely disadvantaged whilst the rich were idle and blindly living their life, unconcerned about the affairs of others. At the time, Britain had thriving economy and it was a successful country because of its industry, trade and empire. The poor lived without basic facilities such as electricity and water. George Bernard Shaw was a firm believer of equal rights for women, he took part in the meeting of the suffragettes and campaigned on their behalf. The suffragettes helped women to gain the vote and Shaw raised public awareness for this issue by revealing his opinions in the press. Shaw was also part of a movement which believed that individuals could attain a higher social status than that they were born into and this could be accomplished by people educating themselves and this transformation would be a true reflection of the person’s social class. This concept is outlined and explored in Pygmalion, in which Eliza Doolittle is passed off as a duchess at the end of the play. This was in contrast to the belief of the Victorians who were of the opinion that classes could not be alternated in a person’s life. Shaw also held the opinion that education was very significant and that educating people would lead to a more sophisticated and fair society. As in ‘Pygmalion’, Eliza transforms from a simple flower girl and at the end of the play, she is able to pass herself as a duchess. ... ... middle of paper ... ...class from being a flower girl to a middle-class woman, despite this she has not succeeded in becoming a lady because this would require marrying a lord or better and she would need to properly act like a lady in how she behaves and in her speech. However, Mr Higgins believes that Eliza has become a lady because of her improvement of speech. Eliza also fooled everyone at the ball into thinking she was a princess and she has adjusted her behaviour, speech and conduct with other people so in modern times, she has become a lady. Works Cited 1. http://www.quotesdaddy.com/quote/514351/george-bernard-shaw/life-isnt-about-finding-yourself-life-is-about-creating date accessed: 28/11/09 2. http://www.lycos.com/info/george-bernard-shaw--fabian-society.html date accessed: 28/11/09 3. http://www.englishclub.com/esl-articles/199909.html date accessed: 28/11/09
In examining how women fit into the "men's world" of the late eighteenth century, I studied Eliza Fenwick's novel Secresy and its treatment of women, particularly in terms of education. What I found to be most striking in the novel is the clash between two very different approaches to the education of women. One of these, the traditional view, is amply expressed by works such as Jean-Jaques Rousseau's Emile, which states that women have a natural tendency toward obedience and therefore education should be geared to enhance these qualities (Rousseau, pp. 370, 382, 366). Dr. John Gregory's A Father's Legacy to His Daughters also belongs to this school of thought, stating that wit is a woman's "most dangerous talent" and is best kept a well-guarded secret so as not to excite the jealousy of others (Gregory, p. 15). This view, which sees women as morally and intellectually inferior, is expressed in the novel in the character of Mr. Valmont, who incarcerates his orphaned niece in a remote part of his castle. He asserts that he has determined her lot in life and that her only duty is to obey him "without reserve or discussion" (Fenwick, p.55). This oppressive view of education served to keep women subservient by keeping them in an ignorant, child-like state. By denying them access to true wisdom and the right to think, women were reduced to the position of "a timid, docile slave, whose thoughts, will, passions, wishes, should have no standard of their own, but rise, or change or die as the will of the master should require" (Fenwick, 156).
Eliza’s blatant disregard for the concern of those around her contributed heavily to her demise. Had she listened to her friends and family when they told her to marry Mr...
At the start of the play she was described as a girl who is very
Men of the time were held to the standard of being active in society. They were expected to be active in politics and social activities outside of the home. Expectations for men were also for them to be respectful and proper, especially when women were present. The character, Jack Worthing, in The Importance of Being Earnest, is the representation of the perfect Victorian gentleman. For example, Jack says to Algernon in Act I, “...My dear fellow, the truth isn’t quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet, refined girl. What extraordinary ideas you have about the way to behave to a woman!” (Wilde 1.2.236). In this simple quote, Jack describes the high standards and expectations that Victorian gentlemen were held to. But not only men were held to high standards, women were expected to hold themselves in the most proper way as well. The point of a Victorian woman’s life was to marry and domestically support her family. Women had little rights and in fact, prior to the Married Women’s Property Acts of 1870, women were forced to give up all property that they held to their husbands upon marriage. (Appell 1). Within the play, Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen 's mother, is provided as a tool to explain the oppression put upon women of the time.
...the poor were supposed to be upgraded by industrial innovations; but, on the other hand, company waste and inadequate working conditions, exploitation, took a severe toll on the very people this revolution was supposed to help. The mass presence of disease was due to the degradation of society. Poor conditions of various institutions, a side effect of the revolution, presented a dangerous risk of exposure for lower, working class families. Tuberculosis and typhus fever were painful, contagious, and long-lasting epidemics that killed people of all classes. Naturally, the lower classes suffered the most. The upper classes reaped the financial benefits from this new urban society, while the working classes were subjected to filthy, disease-ridden atmosphere. The impoverished have always been the disadvantaged, but in 19th century England, they paid with their lives.
In Pygmalion, the two professors decided to help Eliza Doolittle, only because Professor Pickering made a bet with Professor Higgins that he would be able to change Liza into a lady by the time the ambassador’s garden party came around. Pickering
As to the relationship with their teachers, both students become more self-confident and their teachers become dependent on them, be it in a materialistic or personal way. Yet it is Eliza who complains about Higgins ignorance and carelessness whereas Frank reproaches Rita for her superficiality. At the end Eliza has regained her pride and improved her standard of living although Eliza remaining a social misfit.
In the time period of Queen Victoria's reign the population alone of Britain had grown from 10 million at the start of the 1800's to over 26 million by 1870. The British Empire grew and now held over a quarter of the world's population. When the empire was at its climax, it was the largest in history. The industrial revolution in Britain came with fantastic outcomes, such as huge technological revolutions and production of iron, coal, and cotton cloth increased dramatically. This increase in population and industrialization flooded the cities with peasants looking for jobs. Most of these people were living in poverty and hazardous conditions. This was when the first railway took form, allowing people to spread out and not crowd in the cities. Although people spread out, many still lived in slums and working conditions at the time were atrocious. Around 1833 through 1844 the Factory Act was finalized controlling child labor. Now children could not work...
First, Britain had some tremendous natural attributes. It was naturally endowed with many deposits of coal and iron ore, which were used heavily in the early stages of factory production. In addition, Britain was situated at a critical point for international trade. Its position between the United States and the rest of Europe allowed them to have a serious impact in all matters of trade. Likewise, a multitude of navigable waterways, easy access to the sea, and a mild climate all contributed to the onset of industrialism. Britain's topography was conducive to industrialism because its diversity allowed for the production of many agricultural products, preventing any sort of shortage or famine. Evans remarks, “Each single such advantage could be replicated in other European countries and some could be accentuated, but no other nation enjoyed such a rich combination of natural bounties” (111). Furthermore, the nation was free of many trade tariffs that hampered industry in other European nations while featuring a real opportunity for upward movement in society which provided a great incentive for acquiring wealth. Britain also experienced tremendous population growth which provided a potential workforce as well as an increase in the demand for goods.
The audiences during this period were often shocked by the topics included in some of the play, and if not shocked by the topics, question the topics in a political position, questioning their governments or governing figures ideals. Three of what are considered to be some of the most influential playwrights of the period were Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) and George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) who were all notable in the theatrical industry during their time because of their new, shocking and what could be considered revolutionary thoughts and statements made by the characters in their performance
Higgins, a teacher of proprietary manners, lacks those very manners which others pay to learn from him. Ironically, Higgins believes that he is the greatest teacher of manners. He announces that in “three months [he] could pass [Eliza] off as a duchess.” Higgins thinks that he can take any lower class girl and pass her off as a duchess. He truly believes that he is capable of transforming Eliza. Once the teaching begins, Higgins shows no respect for others in his life. When he goes to see his mother, she reminds him that “[he] promised not to come on” her days when she is having guests. He ignores this promise to his mother because he believes that his newest experiment is more important than his mother’s insignificant visitors are. This behavior continues throughout the ...
An important lesson that has been learned throughout life and the beginning of time is to respect the individual’s content and not their image. It is shown throughout George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion, that different people can be brought together in the same circumstance, being a heavy rain shower in London, but distance themselves so effusively because of outer appearances. The situation between the nonintellectual flower-girl and the sophisticated Pickering, Higgins, and the Mother-daughter is drawn out over the judgment of her poor speech and her value as a person as she constantly defends herself against their prejudice. Shaw uses Pygmalion to show how language shallowly reflects the importance of social classes within the Victorian era through the portrayal of characters, their conflicts, and transformation in the first act of the play.
In the first act of Pygmalion, Shaw chooses a setting that really helped shedding light on this theme, for he chose the st. portico square between the church and the theatre, a setting that embraced everybody from different classes and made them all clash under one place for shelter. The gathering of all those different characters, and the way Shaw introduced everybody not by their real names, but by other names, show us that society puts artificial barriers for the differentiation between the rich and the poor. But as the play progresses each character's point of view about the classes is presented in different situations.
Shaw finally found his specialty around 1885 when William Archer suggested that he became a playwright. The play he is most well known for is Pygmalion. It is a classic play that comes from an ancient myth in which a statue is made of an ideal woman, and by prayer to the gods she is brought to life.
A full change for Eliza comes when she begins being able to take care of herself and others. Berst explains “Eliza grows as a woman (not a lady) though progressively rising to the engaging this counter force and coming to grips with alternatives--Freddy and independence” (Berst 133). The differences between Eliza and Cinderella are that we see a happily ever after for Cinderella marring the prince. A similarity is that Eliza has reached her goal and she may not be at the top of society.