Pygmalion: Distinctive Voices

Thesis:

Bernard Shaw gives Eliza a distinctive voice in order to act as a mouthpiece for his own ideas. Within Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, the protagonist, Eliza Doolittle, displays a complete transition of becoming a ‘duchess’ beginning as a common flower-girl. The difference in Social Class Status between Eliza and other character’s in the play conveys her immediately distinct and different, which lead to Manipulation of her identity by Higgins in order to capture a rendered facade and thus, an attempt in changing her completely from her distinctive past.

One’s distinctive voice can be influenced by their social status. The Notetaker states, “You see this creature with her curbstone English.” Cynical tone, assonance and a derogatory noun (creature) emphasise the distinct and obvious differences between social classes within the context of Pygmalion. Eliza’s dialect, cockney accent and vernacular are those of an uneducated person. They also, along with her phonetics and pronunciation, hint quite easily at Eliza’s past and origins. Thus, these techniques allow Bernard Shaw to use Eliza as his mouthpiece in presenting the differences between social classes in 20th Century England. In this way, he creates a distinctive voice in order to allow the clear identification of Eliza’s past and social class status.

Though Eliza’s facade changes throughout the play, her identity is steadfast. Her transformation, rather, is one of increasing mental strength. Eliza states, “No, I don’t want no gold or no diamonds. I’m a good girl, I am.” Bernard Shaw makes use of symbolism, repetition, poor grammar, assonance and alliteration to contrast Eliza from the stereotypical pursuit of wealth, particularly from the Eynsford Hills. Bernard Shaw demonstrates, by using Eliza as his mouthpiece, that her values remain juxtaposed to those of the other characters in the play. More so, as Eliza transforms her values remain the same. Eliza states, “It’s easy to clean up here. Hot and cold...