Professor Higgins, who finds it “tremendously interesting to take a human being and transform him, by creating a new language, into an absolutely different human being,” took on the challenge of transforming the flower seller Elisa Doolittle in a few months, so cockney, so “deliciously vulgar,” “dung-up stream woodcock,” a natural “insult to [her] mother tongue,” and to pass her off as a duchess at the ambassador’s garden party.
Unlike other readers, I liked the character of Higgins, more adept at Royal Society meetings than the more mundane circumstances of life; his lack of sentimentalism is rather funny, I find, as is his non-conformism, his great passion for phonetics, his contempt for social conventions and distinctions. Doolittle, Elisa’s father, is a fascinating character too, rejecting the dominant morality, preferring passion to respectability, freedom, and fantasy to material wealth, which in his eyes has the effect of taming him, cowering him, to stifle his joy and cheerfulness.
The piece’s tone, full of humor, brilliant, and piquant, allows Shaw to engage in social criticism without heaviness and makes reading very pleasant.

I was surprised.......this is not a love story. I only vaguely remember the musical, and the outcome I envisioned is not what happens in the play.

I remember Eliza Dolittle as a poor flower girl, and the bet between two upper class gentlemen to turn a street "guttersnipe" into a proper lady, but not the horribly chauvinistic treatment she receives or the choices she makes in the end.

Totally enjoyed it!

The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another.
Pygmalion ~~  George Bernard Shaw


#9 of my 2018 Shaw Project

Many people consider  Pygmalion to be Shaw's best play. I'm not among them (nor is  Major Barbara for that matter). With that being said, I adore this script. I do feel it is among  George Bernard Shaw's most accessible works.

The basis for the much beloved, happily-ever-after Lerner & Lowe musical,  George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play  Pygmalion takes a much firmer tack on questions of class distinctions and female independence. Those themes, so dear to Shaw’s progressive heart, end up rather heartwarmingly watered down in  My Fair Lady. But n   Pygmalionn ~~ it is all charmingly amusing and remarkably undated. It is nearly flawless.



Shaw's insistence on language as the vital instrument of power and oppression goes beyond his customary explorations of class, nationalism and feminism.

With story and dialogue by Shaw, there is little to complain about here. n   Pygmalionn is Shaw at his best.



n  2023 Reread Commentsn
n   Pygmalionn a beautifully structured play of infinite subtlety ~~ it is a pleasure from start to finish, having lost none of its charm ...

it is a good book

Even re-reading this, I laughed out loud. I adore all the characters. Higgen's mother is the bomb, Pickering us the perfect gentleman, and despite what the author says, I'm still shipping Higgins and Eliza. The only downside was all the langauge.

George Bernard Shaw has much to say in a comedic fashion about class and gender distinctions in his famous play, Pygmalion. As much as I enjoyed listening to the audio version of Pygmalion I kept hearing the musical My Fair Lady in my head. I know the play/musical so well that I saw and heard Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn talking and singing the whole time. Listening to the original text shows me what an excellent job was done in adapting this text to create My Fair Lady. I have to admit that I prefer watching the play or movie over listening to the original text.

I don't think I need to go into the plot since I assume most people have seen My Fair Lady in one form or another. If not, do yourself a favor and watch it soon.

Книга на все времена!!!

Замечательная лёгкая (но глубокая) и остроумная пьеса! Ни капли фальши, все персонажи живые и настоящие. Особенно мне понравился мистер Дулиттл и его житейская философия. Многие философы ему в подмётки не годятся!!! Также понравились взгляды George Bernard Shaw на брак и, вообще, на взаимоотношения мужчин и женщин. Мне даже его отношение к выпивке понравилось!!!

Одним словом, George Bernard Shaw просто молодец!!! Браво!!!

P.S. Оказалось, мы с ним родились в один и тот же день (26 июля), правда с разницей в 126 (!!!) лет. Это мистика какая-то!!! Может, я в прошлой жизни был George Bernard Shaw (размечтался)??!!

I loved the My Fair Lady musical film. I used to love to sing the songs and it will always have a great place in my memory, but so will this wonderful play that was its inspiration. The original has a very different ending which isn't necessarily more realistic, but it makes you think a lot more about the issues. What the musical is for the heart, this is for the mind. Hats off to Mr. Shaw.

I'm honestly shocked at how much I enjoyed my read! I didn't expect to laugh for pretty much the entirety or reading about a strong female character who stands up for herself. Truly recommend this short play! (4.25)

Ono što je posebno interesantno u ovom dramskom komadu jesta svakako klasičan britanski humor. Kao rezultat toga, likovi i dijalozi postaju jako zanimljivi.
Moram još da pomenem da je paralela između starogrčkog mita o Pigmalionu i Galatei i ove drame očigledna. Po uzoru na mit, "Pigmalion" se koristi kao sinonim za one koji se zaljubljuju u svoja dela.
Henry Higgins, čovek koji je zakleti neženja, koji nikada nije umeo niti želeo da pokaže osećanja,želi da oblikuje ženu(Elajzu) u formu koja njemu odgovara i tek kada promeni govor, manire i poglede na svet ona izaziva njegovo divljenje.
Ovo delo postaje značajna poučna lekcija koja jasno pokazuje koliko promene nekih navika mogu uticati na promenu čovekove sudbine.

What an pleasure to read! No wonder this is and always will be so popular.
The characters are facinating and really bring this story to life. The language style and the way the classes are portrayed have this brilliant comedy element.
This must be an absolute gem to see on stage!

Me encanto me encanto me encanto.
Todo el ensayo/prefacio sobre la lengua inglesa y la fonética de Shaw. La introducción del Profesor Grene. La obra en sí. Es increíble.
Reseña completa próximamente