G. B. Shaw
• 1856-1950
• Was born in Dublin, Ireland
• His mother, who was a professional singer, left home and followed her lover (her voice teacher) to
London
• George joined her and didn’t return to Ireland for many years
• He started his literary career with writing novels, but wasn’t successful
• Then began to write plays and at the beginning of 20th century was a well-established author
• Was successful also in USA and Germany
• Was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925
• His involvement in politics:
o Was a keen socialist, but didn’t agree with Marx’s theory of the class struggle and revolution
o Established Fabian Society which wanted to defeat capitalism by means of parliamentary way, not by a violent revolution
Pygmalion – My Fair Lady
• Originally a play called Pygmalion, was adapted into a musical My Fair Lady
Main characters:
Eliza Doolittle – a poor girl who sells flowers in the streets of London, was thrown out by her parents as soon as she was old enough to make money
Henry Higgins – an expert in the phonetics, doesn’t like the language and morals of the lower classes, but is able to recognize their natural intelligence (that’s why he likes Eliza’s father), is cold and reserved, treats Eliza as a pupil or a subject of an experiment)
Colonel Pickering – a gentleman who has served in India, also expert in linguistics, is always kind to Eliza, treats her as a lady from the beginning (as opposed to the professor)
Alfred Doolittle – Eliza’s father, unemployed alcoholic, who amused the professor very much. The professor recommends him as a brilliant speaker to give a speech on morals. The American millionaire who organized the lecture later dies and leaves all his money to him. That’s how he becomes a member of the middle class
Mrs. Pearce - Professor’s housekeeper, an extremely class-aware lady, doesn’t agree with the experiment
Story T :
• The two old gentlemen meet in the rain one night at Covent Garden.
• The professor says, that with his knowledge of phonetics, he would be able to change a cockney speaking flower-girl, Eliza, into a lady.
• The next morning, the girl appears at his laboratory in Wimpole Street to ask for speech lesions so that she could speak properly enough to work in a flower shop.
• Higgins makes merciless fun of her but finally, he bets Pickering, that he will be able to change her into a lady well spoken as a duchess in six months’ time.
• The challenge is taken, and Higgins starts by having his housekeeper bathe Eliza and give her new clothes.
• Then Eliza’s father comes to demand the return of his daughter, thought his real intention is to hit Higgins up for some money.
• At first, she hates him for being so strict and stiff but gradually she begins to admire him
• The professor, amused by Doolittle’s unusual rhetoric, gives him five pounds.
• During the following months, Higgins trains Eliza to speak properly.
• After six months, Eliza goes to an ambassador’s party
• This e vent is a huge success as everyone considers her a duchess
• The bet is definitely won, but Higgins and Pickering are now bored with the project, which causes Eliza to be hurt
• She leaves Higgins’s house at night and stays with Freddy, a young man fallen in love with her
• In the film version, Higgins realized he misses her a lot and hopes she returns one day, which she eventually does.
• However, in the original version, Shaw never makes it clear whether she will return or not.
The major themes:
1. Social hierarchy
• Shaw includes members of all social classes from the lowest to the upper class
• He shows that in British society, language is closely connected with class, from a person’s accent, we can tell where the person comes from and what his/her background is.
2. Gender antagonism
• Relations between people of opposite genders are generally portrayed by Shaw as antagonistic. Right to the last act, Higgins is still quarrelsome, cold and cynical in his interaction with Eliza, and doesn’t even thing of her as an object of romantic interest
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