Critics Of The Classes Of Society In Pygmalion: Critical Essay

George Bernard Shaw, who named after a Greek mythological figure. he wrote the play Pygmalion,It was first presented on stage to the public in 1913. The play focused on many issues that were ignored.and He succeeded in processing many of them,which some of them were typical and useful.when the play published In 1913,this period of history was marked by a social hierarchy – but that period began to decline with increasing social mobility. Personalities from the upper class are keen to maintain class differences and this means more than a distinction between the rich and the poor.And the most important way these differences are applied to the social class is through ethics and unwritten codes of conduct. Shaw’s play shows how this social hierarchy works, but it also reveals some of its problems. One of the major themes of Pygmalion is a social class.

The play shows the different classes of society, and behavioral differences between these groups. The lower class (or the poor) is represented by the main character; The story begins as a poor girl selling flowers on the streets and nobles. Eliza, as the transformation shows, can learn class morality consists of separation through performance, and learn to act in certain ways. Moreover, as Clara Ainsford Hill comments, there is nothing inherently better about performing one or the other: ‘It’s all a matter of habit. There’s nothing wrong with that.’ Good and bad morals are just a cultural issue. (This is also reflected in the fact that different cultures have different perceptions of polite behavior.) Ironically, in many moments in the play, the lower class characters are better behaved than their supposedly high-class counterparts.

In Chapter 5, Pickering commented that Eliza played a better noble lady than the real noble ladies she met. Higgins, while somewhat upper class, is very shameless. Ms. Pierce should remind him to take his actions in front of Eliza, and at the end of the play, behaves better than him. Thus, there is no natural or inherent relationship between the social class and ‘correct’ morality. Despite the rigidity of the social class in the world of play, Eliza and her father show the possibility of social mobility. Eliza not only became a noble lady, but her father also inherited a large sum of money from American Ezra and Anaveller. As a counter model to the Victorian theory of England, Wannafeller stands in the American ideal of social mobility – where one can rise to the social ladder through hard work. By giving money to Mr. Doolittle, Doolittle is allowed to become a middle class. However, Mr. Doolittle himself defies the assumption that such a step towards social peace is necessarily good. He constantly criticizes the ‘ethics of the middle class’ and regrets all the anxiety and problems his new wealth brings with it.

In conclusion, shaw is described as critical of the classes of society, especially the lower and upper classes. He used Eliza’s character to refer to the middle class as aspiring to be of the upper class and you are good. On the other hand, used Higgins’ character to reflect the upper class with indifference, and he also had no fear and no heart. Eliza is changing her ways and projects in the professional world which is supposed to serve as a high class. Higgins had erred in Eliza’s right, she careless and shows Higgins how it could be brutal. Therefore, Shaw shows the critique of social status as a unified theme in the play Pygmalion.