Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Pygmalion (World Classics, Unabridged)

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Pygmalion (World Classics, Unabridged) by George Bernard Shaw

6 reviews

utopiaandmelancholy's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Having adored My Fair Lady ever since I was a child, watched the 1938 film (non-musical) adaptation of Pygmalion countless times, and having seen both Pygmalion and My Fair Lady on stage, I thought it was probably time to finally read the source material. To be honest, already being very familiar with the themes, characters, and content, the main things I gained were context from the introduction, and finally reading Shaw's much debated epilogue.

I think the most interesting thing for me was how Shaw rendered the accents in the first scene. The way Shaw pokes fun at the upper class characters, particularly Mrs Eynsford-Hill, provides humourous moments. The older I get, the more drawn I am to the reactions and role of Mrs Pearce and Mrs Higgins in the story, when they support Eliza and when they fail to protect her against the systems that have trapped them. Higgins' character is unlikable, and I am impressed by the sympathy so many actors have managed to inspire for him, despite his treatment of Eliza.
Our protagonist's strong will carries the story, and I think it is the fact that she instigates her re-creation rather than being a passive Galatea, that sets the story apart from any other Cinderella story and from the original myth. Her outsider status helps to highlight the ridiculousness of the upper-class always chasing the fashionable way, and their total insulated ignorance of the 'real world'. Her speech bemoaning her lack of place in society now her elocution and upbringing are at odds around two-thirds of the way through is so so powerful, highlighting both the flaws in the characters around her, but also in the society of the time (and now!) at large.

Overall, I thought the play is a great base, but the delivery of Shaw's words in the hands of actors who interpret the material in a number of ways is what has elevated it in my mind.

Content Warnings