Week of June 24, 2012 - Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, a Book Review

By Joan Whetzel

I read this story in high school in novel form and loved it. The version I just read was the stage play, also quite enjoyable. It is, for those who do not know it, the story that became the basis for the musical movie and play “My Fair Lady.” For those of you who have seen “My Fair Lady,” then know the basic plot. For those of you who have not seen it, it is worth reading Pygmalion and seeing “My Fair Lady.”

Act I follows the plot of the movie to a tee. The flower girl is plying her trade near the theater and church just as the theater lets out. There is the rainstorm, the flower basket knocked over by Freddy Eynesford Hill, Professor Higgins taking notes on her speech patterns, and the first meeting of Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering.

Act II, though it follows the movie for the most part, the plot is altered somewhat. The day Eliza shows up at the Professor’s house for lessons, Mrs.  Pearce takes her upstairs for a bath. Her old clothes are burned, and she is given a Japanese kimono to wear until the new clothes arrive. On that same day, her father pays a visit to Professor Higgins to demand five pounds if they intend to keep his daughter.  On his way out the front door, he passes what he thinks is a Japanese lady in a kimono. It is not until she opens her mouth that he realizes its Eliza. The scene ends with a brief snippet of one of the speech lessons where he is trying to get her to say her alphabet correctly – more genteel – and to say “cup of tea” rather than cuppatee.

Act III changes quite a bit from the "My Fair Lady" movie. The initial trial with Eliza was at a Tea Party at the home of Henry Higgins's mother at which Freddy Eynseford Hill along with his mother and sister are present. The Act ends with the Ball in which Eliza is introduced simply as Miss Eliza Doolittle, leaving everyone to guess who she is. The Hungarian grammarian descends on her almost immediately and denounces her as a fraud and that she can only be Hungarian of royal descent. The scene ends with the Professor, Colonel Pickering and Eliza leaving early to go out to dinner and celebrate the Professor and Colonel's victory.

Act IV follows the Colonel, the Professor and Eliza as they return home from the ball. The Colonel and Professor congratulate each other on their fine success and admire each other for all of their hard work, completely ignoring Eliza. Her feelings are deeply hurt not only because they didn't congratulate her and failed to recognize all the hard work she'd put in as well, but also because they have completely ignored her since leaving the ball. They did not even hold the door for her. She had to let herself in. After a row with the professor, complete with slipper throwing, Eliza has had enough. She goes upstairs, but not to bed. She changes clothes and packs her bags, and then she leaves the house. On the street, she meets up with Freddy Eynesford Hill, who is quite smitten with Eliza. They walk the streets for a bit, and then hire a cab to drive them around London until the sun comes up.

Act V begins with the Colonel and Professor at the home of Mrs. Higgins. They are calling the police and searching frantically for Eliza. Soon Mr. Doolittle shows up after being sent there from the Professors house. He is mad because the Professor referred him to an American who was looking for "moralists" and it has elevated Mr. Doolittle to middle class respectability. He also wants to invite Eliza to his wedding.

Mrs. Higgins informs them all that Eliza is there and that the Professor and Colonel need to settle things with Eliza. Eliza and the Colonel settle their differences quickly. Eliza and the Professor have to duke it out for a while. The Play ends with an uneasy truce between the professor and Eliza, and with his uneasy acceptance of Eliza’s plan to marry Freddy.

The play write, George Bernard Shaw, goes on to narrate the story of the main characters' lives after the play ends. I won’t spoil it for you, but it makes an intriguing alternate ending to the “My Fair Lady” version of the story. Like all play and movie scripts, “Pygmalion” includes stage set and character instructions mixed in with the dialogue.  Unlike any other script I’ve read, Mr. Shaw has also included narrative to fill in the reader about the plot points not included in the script, including the end story following the end of the script. Personally, I found it a bit disconcerting. I felt that most of these little narrated vignettes could have been written into the script somehow and the narration at the end could have been shortened and included into the script.  If you read “Pygmalion” in script form, read the narrations as well, and decide for yourself.