Pygmalion Study Packet

The Pygmalion Myth

Pygmalion saw so much to blame in women that he came at last to abhor the sex, and resolved to live
unmarried. He was a sculptor, and had made with wonderful skill a statue of ivory, so beautiful that no living
woman came anywhere near it. It was indeed the perfect semblance of a maiden that seemed to be alive, and
only prevented from moving by modesty.
His art was so perfect that it concealed itself and its product looked like the workmanship of nature. Pygmalion
admired his own work, and at last fell in love with the counterfeit creation. Oftentimes he laid his hand upon it
as if to assure himself whether it were living or not, and could not even then believe that it was only ivory. He
caressed it, and gave it presents such as young girls love, - bright shells and polished stones, little birds and
flowers of various hues, beads and amber. He put raiment on its limbs, and jewels on its fingers, and a necklace
about its neck. To the ears he hung earrings, and strings of pearls upon the breast. Her dress became her, and she
looked not less charming than when unattired. He laid her on a couch spread with cloths of Tyrian dye, and
called her his wife, and put her head upon a pillow of the softest feathers, as if she could enjoy their softness.
The festival of Venus (Aphrodite) was at hand - a festival celebrated with great pomp at Cyprus. Victims were
offered, the altars smoked, and the odour of incense filled the air. When Pygmalion had performed his part in
the solemnities, he stood before the altar and timidly said, "Ye gods, who can do all things, give me, I pray you,
for my wife" - he dared not say "my ivory virgin," but said instead - "one like my ivory virgin."
Venus (Aphrodite), who was present at the festival, heard him and knew the thought he would have uttered; and
as an omen of her favour, caused the flame on the altar to shoot up thrice in a fiery point into the air. When he
returned home, he went to see his statue, and leaning over the couch, gave a kiss to the mouth. It seemed to be
warm. He pressed its lips again, he laid his hand upon the limbs; the ivory felt soft to his touch and yielded to
his fingers like the wax of Hymettus.
While he stands astonished and glad, though doubting, and fears he may be mistaken, again and again with a
lover's ardor he touches the object of his hopes. It was indeed alive! The veins when pressed yielded to the
finger and again resumed their roundness. Then at last the votary of Venus found words to thank the goddess,
and pressed his lips upon lips as real as his own. The virgin felt the kisses and blushed, and opening her timid
eyes to the light, fixed them at the same moment on her lover. Venus blessed the nuptials she had formed, and
from this union Paphos was born, from whom the city, sacred to Venus, received its name.
The Pygmalion Archetype is essentially a transformation story. It includes the following elements:
1. The Creator: sees fault in all women and tries to make a perfect woman.
2. The Creation: the person being transformed or created.
3. The relationship between the Creator and his Creation: in the myth, they are married and live
happily ever after.
4. Transformation: the creation comes to life or changes in some way.
5. External Force: in the myth, this is Aphrodite who makes the statue come to life. The external force
would be any force other than the creator that causes the creation to transform.
Bernard Shaw titled his play Pygmalion as a reference to not only the Pygmalion myth, but also the Pygmalion
Archetype. As you proceed through the play, consider whether Pygmalion follows the Pygmalion Archetype.
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The Victorian Era: Background Information

The Victorian Era: The Victorian Era spanned from 1837 to 1901, the years that Queen Victoria was the British monarch.
This time period was one of incredible change in Great Britain. Vast cultural, social, and technological changes occurred,
and in general, the Industrial Revolution caused radical changes in the overall look of society.
Social Class: In 1718, John Strype, a native of London, distinguished five classes of urban citizens:
1. The Nobility and Gentry
2. Dispossessed Gentlefolk
3. The Merchants and First Rate Tradesmen
4. The Lawyers and Physicians
5. The Inferior Tradesmen
6. The Apprentices, Hackney-Coachmen, Carmen, Chairmen, Watermen, Porters, and Servants
7. Underclass Itinerant Workers and Unemployed
The Middle Class: As a result of more widespread education, the middle class emerged during this time period, and it
consisted of people in positions such as clerks, managers, white collar office workers, ministers, craftsmen, small
businessmen, farmers, and editors. Generally, the middle class wanted to copy the life, manners, and society of the gentry
of their parents generation. By providing a better income and inexpensive versions of cutlery, dishes, clothing, and other
items, the industrialization of the country gave the middle class the opportunity to attain their desired position in society.
They embraced what Louis Mumford deemed the good life.
Struggling to positively distinguish itself from the lower working classes and feeling itself to be hereditarily inferior to the
aristocratic upper classes, the middle class began to form its own structure, and that foundation rested mainly upon the
women of the group. Based on high moral standards, strict rules of conduct in marriage and courtship, and a public
lifestyle that would reflect pious dignity, women of the middle class were carefully conditioned and expected to live up to
a specific code of behavior, the ultimate goal of which was marriage. It became the duty of every woman of the middle
class to marry and produce children, preferably boys, to inherit the newfound status and wealth of the class.
The Upper Class: The new canon of taste for the middle and upper classes became that of conspicuous waste. This
taste favored novelty and idiosyncrasy instead of simplicity and serviceability. The basic idea was to show wasted
effort, which attested to expensiveness.
Those people who moved out into the suburbs supposedly escaped from the problems of social unrest, poor health, and
vice associated with life in and near the urban business districts. A private home in a safe suburban residential area would
serve as protection for the wife and children from the dangers of the city. The private residence was a family haven and a
place of refined culture. Each home showed the familys taste, interests, and position in society.
Pygmalion: Written by George Bernard Shaw (1865 1950): Shaw wrote Pygmalion in three months in the spring of
1912. It was first published in German translation in 1913, and first presented, not in English, but in German, in 1913 in
Vienna. It was not published in English for another year and then in an American magazine. Its first English performance
was in London in 1914.
The standard edition of Pygmalion was not published until 1941, when revised sequences, taken from the screenplay, were
added. As a result, there are several different versions available, with important differences in the ending. Shaw added
the Epilogue in an attempt to quell the tendency of directors and actors to create a romantic interest between Higgins and
Eliza in productions of the play. In addition, the musical My Fair Lady, which is based on Shaws play, is substantially
different from Shaws play, but people often confuse the details of the two.

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Pygmalion Act I Study Guide

1. What is revealed about Freddys character and his relationship with his mother and sister in the argument
about the cab?

2. What is the mothers true motivation for giving the flower girl sixpence?

3. Why is the flower girl so upset that the gentleman is recording her speech?

4. What does the flower girl mean when she cries, My character is the same to me as any ladys.?

5. What idea is the note-taker trying to emphasize with his speech which begins, A woman who utters such
depressing and disgusting sounds?

6. What did Higgins mean when he told Pickering that this is an age of upstarts.?

7. Why would better English be required of a ladys maid or a shop assistant than of a lady?

8. Why does the flower girl tell the taxi driver to take her to Bucknam Pellis?

9. Why does the taxi driver tell her to keep her money?

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10. What is the symbolic significance of having the play open with all types of people huddled from the rain
under the portico of St. Pauls church?

11. Why does Higgins throw the girl a handful of coins as he leaves?

12. Which characters fit into the Pygmalion archetype? Predict patterns of events and how the play might end?

Pygmalion Act II Study Guide

1. How does Mrs. Pearce feel about the people the professor invites in to talk into his machines?

2. Why is Higgins not interested in recording the girls voice?

3. Why does Eliza want to take lessons?

4. Why is Pickering successful at getting Eliza to sit down when Higgins is not?

5. What impresses Higgins about Elizas offer of a shilling for her lessons?

6. Explain Higgins exclamation that life is only a series of inspired follies.

7. What is ironic about Higgins instructions to Mrs. Pearce about how to deal with Eliza?
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8. In what ways does Pickering treat Eliza better than Higgins? (give at least 2 examples)

9. How does Mrs. Pearce prove that she looks farther into the future than either of the gentlemen?

10. Based on what theyve seen of her so far, how will Eliza need to change in order to be considered a lady?

11. What is Elizas reaction to the bedroom? bathroom?

12. How does Higgins see himself?

13. Why does Alfred Doolittle come to see Professor Higgins?

14. In what way does Higgins react differently from what Doolittle expects?

15. What type of father/daughter relationship has Eliza obviously experienced?

16. Explain Doolittles theory about the undeserving poor.

17. What seem to be the basic differences between Pickering and Higgins? Find at least 2 passages to prove
your point.

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18. How is Eliza devalued and made to conform in the unfamiliar surroundings of Professor Higgins home?

Pygmalion Act III Study Guide

1. Describe the relationship between Higgins and his mother.

2. Why does Higgins bring Eliza to his mothers at-home?

3. What are the differences between Mrs. Higgins and Mrs. Eynsford-Hill?

4. How has Eliza changed since Act 1? Note evidence that shows she has not totally mastered the social
graces.

5. How do Mrs. Higgins guests react to Eliza?

6. What social class is Shaw criticizing in this act? Note lines that are examples of character flaws of this class.

7. How does Mrs. Higgins feel about the experiment? What problems does she see arising?

8. What is Nepommucks purpose in the play?

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9. How is Elizas behavior at the ball different from her behavior at home?

10. What is the reaction of the others when Higgins tells them the truth about Eliza?

Pygmalion Act IV Study Guide

1. How has the experiment progressed?

2. How do Higgins and Pickering feel about the adventure ending?

3. How does Eliza react?

4. Why is Higgins so surprised at Elizas fury?

5. What is Eliza really upset about? When has this problem been mentioned before and by whom?

6. What is Higgins solution to her dilemma?

7. What is Eliza speaking of when she says, We were above that at the corner of Tottenham Court Road?

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8. How does Eliza really feel about the professor? Find the lines that hint at her feelings. Give at least 2
examples.

9. What conflicts are now left to be resolved in Act 5?

Pygmalion Act V Study Guide

1. Why does Eliza go to Mrs. Higgins?

2. How does Higgins react to Elizas disappearance?

3. Describe the tremendous change in Alfred Doolittles status. Who is truly responsible for it?

4. What comment is Shaw making about society through this metamorphosis of Doolittle?

5. From whom does Eliza say she learned good manners?

6. What is Higgins opinion of manners?

7. How has Elizas character developed in Acts 4 and 5? How has she become more of an individual?

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8. How does Higgins seem to feel about Eliza? What offers does he make to her, and how does she react?

9. What problems are left unresolved at the end of this act? Why does Shaw leave it this way?

10. Shaw called his play a Romance in Five Acts. Is it a romance? Why or why not?

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