ipl-logo

George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion: The Position Of Women In Society

831 Words4 Pages

“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft The position of women in society has been touched by many authors. This is also the case for George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, a play originally published in 1913. It’s not a coincidence that this work was written in the Edwardian era. In this era, women’s rights were practically nonexistent. Women had no political rights, nor did they have a voice in their personal lives and decisions. In Pygmalion, Shaw has borrowed from Ovid’s Metamorphosis, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Goethe’s Faust to accentuate the position of women in the Edwardian era. The most obvious reference is the link to one of Ovid’s works, Metamorphoses. Not only does the one of the characters …show more content…

In Faust, the protagonist with an identical name to its’ title, is extremely discontent with his life. The devil, Mephisto, decides to take advantage of the situation and tries to make an offer; he will serve Faust on Earth, in return for his soul in the afterlife. Even though Pygmalion isn’t a religious work as a whole, the audience in the 1910s certainly was religious. Eliza’s position, and indirectly the position of women in the Edwardian era, is closely related to Faust’s situation. Shaw describes that Higgins is “tempting the girl”, exactly like Mephisto tempted Faust. Eliza essentially sells her soul to Higgins and society. The antagonist, in this case the latter, could be seen as a metonymy for the devil. As the story progresses, so does Eliza’s character. The realization of her mistreatment gradually comes to her. At some point, she admits, “I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me I'm not fit to sell anything else. I wish you'd left me where you found me.” The fact that her life is someone else’s property and the fact that she practically didn’t have a voice in society, nor in Higgins’ ways of changing her, clearly demonstrates the congruity between Eliza’s position and the reality for women in the Edwardian

Show More
Related
727 Words | 3 Pages

and “How can I now do it?” allows Edward Stacey to put himself in her position. These questions paint Eliza as a pitiful invalid who is at the mercy of the

Read More
420 Words | 2 Pages

She does not find it fair that only men are given the right opportunity to vote. Shaw’s tone is persuasive when she gives the definition of a republic to prove

Read More
1010 Words | 5 Pages

On page 67 he asks, “Blessed be God’s name? But why would I bless Him?” This quote is coming from the same person, who when asked why he prays, he replied with why do we breathe. Eliza was once a strong follower in Judaism, and although he questioned God, and the religion itself, his faith in God never truly went away. Once he was put in the traumatic situation of the Holocaust, his relationship with God was challenged, and

Read More
607 Words | 3 Pages

They show the harsh and cruel reality of the surrounding environment that women live in without framing that reality in beautiful frame. This is obvious in William Dean Howells’s “Editha” and Henry James’s “Daisy Miller”. Both Editha and Daisy share the same characteristic of the New Woman. These two women redefine the feminine ideology of women who suffer from following the social norms of their culture. They believe that women should have freedom as well as men, and they are responsible for making decisions in their lives without under

Read More
728 Words | 3 Pages

INTRO - "An Act of Vengeance" by Isabel Allende is a latin-american piece of literature. - According to feminists critics, literature adapted to this patriarchal society we have, and the feminist author, Isabel Allende, has exposed how men and women are in the society through her characters Dulce Rosa Orellano and Tadeo Cespedes. - The feminism theory is the outgrowth of the general movement to empower women worldwide. It recognizes and critiques male supremacy combined with the efforts to change this patriarchic view.

Read More
1101 Words | 5 Pages

In her essay Adeline Mowbray: Diverting the Libertine Gaze Roxanne Eberle also confirms that the novel is inspired on Wollstonecraft and Godwin’s relationship, but she goes a little further and suggests that more than a replica of the two “Jacobin” philosophers ‘lives the novel is a counteraction to Godwin’s Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. As an early admirer of Mary Wollstonecraft Opie could not accept the abhorrent position in which the Memoirs had placed her, so she wrote a novel that “examines the confusion which ensues when a women’s philosophical beliefs conflict with society’s notion about female sexuality”(1994: 123), and how that transgressive women is converted into a sexual object by a conservative society. For Patricia Mathew, more than a critique to Godwin’s concepts, the novel exhibits the impracticalities of those theories when applied to women in the late eighteenth century. Her analysis unfolds around the idea that Adeline Mowbray “takes its central theme from Wollstonecraft’s experiment in marriage with Godwin”(2007: 390) and arguments that Opie sets the basis for her fiction by using Wollstonecraft’s

Read More
785 Words | 4 Pages

Events of American Conservatism in the 1980s Conservatism was on the rise during this influential decade. There were many people, including president of the time Ronald Reagan who believed that conservatism was the most direct and ideal way to govern the American people. Even though before the 1980’s many people quietly supported conservative ideals, it was an uncommon approach to government. Fading away slowly and coming back again, conservatism popularity completely hit the fan with the inauguration of Reagan, and later George H. W Bush.

Read More
1075 Words | 5 Pages

It may skew her thinking and at times be subjective. The intended audience is someone who is studying literature and interested in how women are portrayed in novels in the 19th century. The organization of the article allows anyone to be capable of reading it.

Read More
695 Words | 3 Pages

Academic readings, ‘A Pragmatic Optimism about Enhancement Technologies’ written by Nicholas Agar and ‘Newgenics’ by Edwin Black, together bring attention to the concerning issues around cloning and human enhancement. Investigative journalist Edwin Black’s reading focuses on the research surrounding ‘newgenics’ and how it will contribute to today’s society, while highlighting his negative uncertainty on how it will manifest. Black has a much more ethical and optimistic approach to this argument, he was showed to include detailed facts of already occurring case studies related to discrimination. Blacks execution is more simplified and strait forward. His work is also not carried out as severe or intense as Agars.

Read More
795 Words | 4 Pages

She wanted real love and actively pursued that desire, proving her autonomy to all. However, this “real love” was tainted in a way she was unable to see, it was in fact seduction, not love. The seduction twists Eliza’s drive for independence and uses it against her. She attempts to decide her own fate, and society punishes her for it. The seduction ruins her name and her life, leaving her alone and with child, then eventually dead.

Read More
1910 Words | 8 Pages

Throughout history, men have always dominated. They never let a woman rise to power or have the same rights. This sexism has been ingrained in society for thousands of years, so much so that it has defined some of the most famous works of literature, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This play was written during the Elizabethan Era, an era in which a woman had all the power imaginable (Queen Elizabeth), and yet, women were still severely discriminated against. Women had no say whatsoever in their society; they were not allowed to vote and they had very few legal rights (Papp, Joseph, Kirkland).

Read More
1494 Words | 6 Pages

Women in England during the 1800s faced restrictions to participate in movements and were limited in their political speaking and voting capabilities. Although many women accepted their fate, some fought for a different social role. (“The Women 's Rights Movement”) Women such Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Austen, and Mary Shelley inspired a new way of radical thinking towards human rights, specifically the rights of women (Surgis). Thanks to these inspiring individuals, there was a change in women’s attitude regarding their options to become part of the work force, gain an education, and have equal rights in marriage (Surgis).

Read More
1737 Words | 7 Pages

Although being written centuries apart, the limited expectations of women presented in ‘Othello’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ differ little from each other. The female characters are confined by society’s expectations of male dominance, female purity and virginity, and the many passive roles of women. Despite the differing legalities surrounding the position of women between the centuries in which the plays were written, both plays explore the impact of how societal conventions confine women and the ways they must comply to be safe in a patriarchal society. The behaviours and treatments of Desdemona, Blanche and Stella illustrate the attitudes enforced on and the behaviours of women throughout both periods in time and it is these attitudes and behaviours that impact the plays to the greatest extent. When characters in either plays defy their norms, or demonstrate a lack of compliance they induce negative consequences, such as the murder of Desdemona and the institutionalisation of Blanche.

Read More
526 Words | 3 Pages

In what ways are women abused and discriminated against inside literature and throughout history? In many patriarchal societies, men have held authority over women due to gender. This power imbalance between men and women sometimes led to unjust treatment of women; men exert their authority over many women in the play, The Crucible. In The Crucible¸ male characters intimidate women to achieve specific outcomes and mark their superiority. Elizabeth Proctor, the protagonist’s wife, shows the standard for Salem women as she is submissive and does not defy her husband or the traditional role as a housekeeper.

Read More
830 Words | 4 Pages

Many limitations were placed on her by society because of her status. She finally decided that she was done conforming to these restrictions and sought out to find a lover, disguising herself as a prostitute. In doing so, she manifested the start of a new fling with Beauplaisir and discovered her new found liking for seductive power. Christine Blouch states that each of Haywood’s sluts “is the embodiment of her anger and the incarnation of her sense of control and power over the male” (535). Haywood incorporates this idea of making the heroine disguise herself as a prostitute to ensure that she is able to experience the control high classed women of the eighteenth century have always been deprived of.

Read More

More about George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion: The Position Of Women In Society

Related Topics

Open Document