Pygmalion facts for kids
Pygmalion is a famous play written by George Bernard Shaw. It tells the story of a young woman who gets a chance to change her life.
The Story of Pygmalion
The play begins when Eliza Doolittle, a poor girl who sells flowers on the street, meets Professor Henry Higgins. Higgins is a language expert who studies how people speak. He is writing down Eliza's words to study her pronunciation. Eliza thinks he is a policeman and gets upset.
Higgins then boasts that he could teach Eliza to speak so well that she could pass for a duchess (a very important lady). He says he can do this just by changing how she pronounces words. Later, Eliza remembers what he said. She dreams of a better life and goes to Higgins's house, hoping he will teach her to speak like an upper class woman.
Professor Higgins decides to try an experiment with Eliza. He teaches her how to speak and act like a lady. Then, he takes her to a fancy party. He tricks everyone there into believing that Eliza is a real duchess. The experiment is a big success!
After this, Higgins suggests two paths for Eliza. One is to marry someone because of her beauty. The other is to open her own flower shop, using money from Colonel Pickering, a rich friend of Higgins. But Eliza doesn't want either of these options. She feels used and leaves Higgins's home.
When Higgins and Colonel Pickering realize Eliza is gone, they search for her. They find her at Mrs. Higgins's house (Professor Higgins's mother). Eliza still refuses to go back with them. She tells them she plans to marry Freddy, a young man who has fallen in love with her.
Why Shaw Wrote Pygmalion
George Bernard Shaw was a famous writer known for surprising his audiences. In comedies, people usually expect a happy ending where poor characters become rich or find love. They also expect bad characters to be punished.
In Pygmalion, Eliza, the poor flower girl, does get a better life. She rises from the streets to the upper class by changing how she speaks. However, Shaw surprises the audience by not having Eliza and Professor Higgins fall in love or marry. Eliza doesn't marry a rich man, which was a common expectation in stories like this.
Shaw also used this play to share his ideas about how society could be better. In the early 1900s, many poor people lived on the streets, and young girls often worked long hours for very little money. Shaw cared deeply about poor people and believed in freedom for women.
He also thought that the way people spoke was one of the main things that separated the rich from the poor. This idea was the starting point for Pygmalion. He showed how changing one's language could be a way to move up in society.
See also
In Spanish: Pigmalión (desambiguación) para niños
