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“Pygmalion” 
One of Shaw’s best comedies is “Pygmalion”, written in 1912 and first produced in England 
in 1914. It was adapted into the musical “My Fair Lady” in 1956. The title “Pygmalion” comes 
from a Greek myth. Pygmalion, a sculptor, carved a statue out of ivory. It was the statue of a 
beautiful young woman whom he called Galatea. He fell in love with his own handiwork, so the 
goddess of love Aphrodite breathed life into the statue and transformed it into a really alive woman. 
The fable was chosen to allow him to discuss the theme he had set himself.
The principal characters of the play are Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins. Eliza, a girl of 
eighteen, comes from the lowest social level and speaks with a strong Cockney (East End of 
London) accent, which is considered to be the most uncultured English. Eliza’s father is a dustman. 
Eliza does not want to stay with her father and stepmother. She makes her own living by selling 
flowers in the streets of London. 
Henry Higgins, another main character of the play, is a professor of phonetics. He studies the 
physiological aspects of a person’s speech, the sounds of the language. One day he sees Eliza in the 
street and bets with his friend Colonel Pickering that he will change this girl. He will not only teach 
her to speak her native language correctly, but will teach her manners too. Higgins works hard and 
before six months are over, she is well prepared to be introduced into society. Higgins wins his bet. 
When the game is over the girl doesn’t know where to go. She doesn’t want to return to her 
previous life, but at the same time she is not admitted to the high society as she is poor. 
Higgins and Eliza remain friends, but the play is without ending. The dramatist thought it best 
not to go on with the story. Higgins loves Eliza only as his pupil. But he loves his profession as an 
artist. He has created a new Eliza. She is the work of a Pygmalion. 
“Pygmalion” shows the author’s concern for the perfection of the English Language. Shaw was 
passionately interested in the English language and the varieties of ways in which people spoke and 
misspoke it. Shaw wished to simplify and reform English. He has pointed out that the rules of 
spelling in English are inconsistent and confusing. The text of “Pygmalion” reflects some of his 
efforts at simplifying the usage of letters and sounds in the English Language. The play also 
allowed Shaw to present ideas on other topics. For example, he touched the problems of social 
equality, male and female roles, and the relationship between the people.

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