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1、PygmalionPygmalion课文内容分析课文内容分析Historical ContextWorld War IColonialism and the British EmpireIndustrializationThe Rise of Women and the Working ClassesWorld War IBy the end of World War I (as it came to be known later), 8.5 million people had been killed and 21 million wounded, including significant
2、 civilian casualties. The war constituted the most intense physical, economic and psychological assault on European society in its history; Britain was not alone in experiencing devastating effects on its national morale and other aspects of society It is ironic. To Shaw, the war only demonstrated m
3、ore clearly the need for human advancement on an individual and social level, to reach a level of understanding that would prevent such tragic devastationColonialism and the British EmpireIn 1914 Great Britain was very much still a colonial power, but while victory in the First World War actually in
4、creased the size of the British Empire, the war itself simultaneously accelerated the development of nationalism and autonomy in the provinces. In addition to providing a symbolic unity to the Empire, the long reign of Queen Victoria (18371901) also gave coherence to British society at home, through
5、 a set of values known as Victorians. Victorian values revolved around social highmindedness (a Christian sense of charity and service), domesticity (most education and entertainment occurred in the home, but children, who should be seen and not heard, were reared with a strict hand) and a confidenc
6、e in the expansion of knowledge and the power of reasoned argument to change society. By the time of Victorias death1914, the year of Pygmalion and the onset of the Great War, constituted a much different kind of break, and symbolic.IndustrializationThe growth of industrialization throughout the nin
7、eteenth century had a tremendous impact on the organization of British society, which had tradition of a landed aristocracy and a more hierarchical class system pyramid of descending ranks and degrees. Allowing for the growth of a merchant middle class, industrialization changed British society into
8、 a plutocracy aristocracy of money more than land. Social mobility, however, still did not widely extend into the lower classes, propagating a lack of opportunity reflected in Lisas anxiety over what is to happen to her following Higginss experiment. Urban poverty remained a major social problem aft
9、er the turn of the century. Pygmalion suggests the subjectivity of class identity, and the rapid deterioration of many premdustrial social structures, but strict class distinctions of another kind nevertheless persisted. The Rise of Women and the Working ClassesDuring the decade which produced Pygal
10、ion, the political power of the working clasms increased greatly, through massive increases in trade union membership. A new political party, Labour, came into existence in 1893, advancing an eighthour work day and other workplace reforms. Meanwhile, reforms to laws concerning suffrage, the right to
11、 vote, further brought men (and later, women) of the working class into Britains evermore participatory democracy. Only after many years of political straggle by organizations of women known as suffragettes did women achieve the right to vote: first in 1918 for women over 30 who also met a requireme
12、nt of property ownership, then extended in 1928 to all women over the age of 21 (as was already the case for men). Increased political participation further prompted a shift in sex roles: British society had already noted the phenomenon of the new woman, and was to see further changes such as increa
13、sing numbers of women in the work force, as well as reforms to divorce laws and other impacts upon domestic life.The Myth Behind the PlayAccording to the Mythology Guide online “Pygmalion saw so much to blame in women that he came at last to abhor the sex, and resolved to live unmarried. He was a sc
14、ulptor, and had made with wonderful skill a statue of ivory, so beautiful that no living woman could be compared to it in beauty.It was indeed the perfect sem-blance of a maiden that seemed to be alive, and only prevented from moving by modesty. His art was so perfect that it concealed itself, and i
15、ts product looked like the workmanship of nature.Anne-Louis Girodet-TriosonPygmalion et Galate, 1819 Pygmalion admired his own work, and at last fell in love with the counter-feit creation. Oftentimes he laid his hand upon it, as if to assure himself whether it were living or not, and could not even
16、 then believe that it was only ivory. The festival of Venus was at hand, a festival celebrated with great pomp at Cyprus. Victims were offered, the altars smoked, and the odor of incense filled the air. When Pygmalion had performed his part in the solemnities, he stood before the altar and timidly s
17、aid, Ye gods, who can do all things, give me, Ipray you, for my wife he dared not say my ivory virgin, but said instead one like my ivory virgin. Venus, who was present at the festival, heard him Burne-Jones, Edward “Pygmalion and the Image Series: The Soul Attains” 1878While he stands astonished an
18、d glad, though doubting, and fears he may be mistaken, again and again with a lovers ardor he touches the object of his hopes. It was indeed alive! The veins when pressed yielded to the finger and then resumed their roundness. Then at last the votary of Venus found words to thank the goddess, and pr
19、essed his lips upon lips as real as his own.IntroductionPygmalion is a comedy about a phonetics expert who, as a kind of social experiment,attempts to make a lady out of an uneducated Cockney flowergirl. Although not as intellectually complex as some of the other plays in Shaws “theatre of ideas,”Py
20、gmalion nevertheless probes important questions about social class, humanbehavior, and relations between the sexes.summary and analysis of act iiiThe setting is the flat of Mrs. Higgms, Henrys mother. Henry bursts in with a flurry of excitement, much to the distress of his mother, who finds him lack
21、ing in social graces (she observes that her friends stop coming whenever they meet you). Henry explains that he has invited Lisa, taking the opportunity for an early test of his progress with Lisas speech. The Eynsford Hills, guests of Mrs. Higgms, arrive. The discussion is awkward and Henry, true t
22、o his mothers observations, does appear very uncomfortable in company.Lisa arrives and, while she speaks with perfect pronunciation and tone, she confuses the guests with many of her topics of conversation and peculiar turns of phrase. Higgins convinces the guests that these, including Lisas famous
23、exclamation not bloody likely! are the latest trend in small talk. After all the guests (includingLisaa) have left, Mrs. Higgins challenges Henry andPickenng regarding their plans; she is shocked that they have given no thought to Lisas wellbeing, for after the conclusion of the experiment she will
24、have no income, only the manners and habits that disqualify a fine lady from earning her own living. Henry is characteristically flip, stating theres no good bothering now. The things done. Pickering is no more thoughtful than Higgins, and as the two men exit, Mrs. Higgins expresses her exasperation
25、.ThemesClassGentility and MannersMarriage and ProstitutionMyths of CreationLanguageProfessionalismGender Solidarity or AntagonismClass The social hierarchy is an unavoidable reality in Britain, and it is interesting to watch it play out in the work of a socialist playwright. Shaw includes members of
26、 all social classes from the lowest (Liza) to the servant class (Mrs. Pearce) to the middle class (Doolittle after his inheritance) to the genteel poor (the Eynsford Hills) to the upper class (Pickering and the Higginses). The general sense is that class structures are rigid and should not be tamper
27、ed with, so the example of Lizas class mobility is most shocking. The issue of language is tied up in class quite closely; the fact that Higgins is able to identify where people were born by their accents is telling. British class and identity are very much tied up in their land and their birthplace
28、, so it becomes hard to be socially mobile if your accent marks you as coming from a certain location.Gentility and MannersGood manners (or any manners at all) were mostly associated with the upper class at this time. Shaws position on manners is somewhat unclear; as a socialist, one would think tha
29、t he would have no time for them because they are a marker of class divisions. Yet, Higginss pattern of treating everyone like dirt-while just as democratic as Pickerings of treating everyone like a duke or duchess-is less satisfactory than Pickerings. It is a poignant moment at the end of Pygmalion
30、 when Liza thanks Pickering for teaching her manners and pointedly comments that otherwise she would have had no way of learning them.Marriage and ProstitutionThese institutions are very much related in Shaws plays, especially in Mrs. Warrens profession. From his unusual standpoint of being committe
31、d to a celibate marriage, Shaw apparently feels free to denounce marriage as an exchange of sexuality for money similar to prostitution (even though this was not happening in his own marriage). Ironically, while her father expresses no regrets when he is led to believe that Liza will take up this pr
32、ofession, it is she who denounces it. She declares that she was less degraded as a flower-seller than as a genteel lady trying to make an appropriate marriage-because as a flower-seller, at least, she wasnt selling her body.Myths of CreationOf all Shaws plays, Pygmalion has the most references to Gr
33、eek and Roman mythology. Higgins represents Pygmalion, a Greek sculptor who lived alone because he hated women. Pygmalion created a sculpture of a perfect woman and fell in love with it; after he prayed, Aphrodite brought it to life for him. This statue is named Galatea, and it is represented in Sha
34、ws play by Liza. Unlike the myth, Shaws play does not end in a marriage between the pair, and Liza is infuriated with Higginss suggestion that her success is his success and that he has made her what she is. She has worked to recreate her identity as well.LanguageIn this play and in British society
35、at large, language is closely tied with class. From a persons accent, one can determine where the person comes from and usually what the persons socioeconomic background is. Because accents are not very malleable, poor people are marked as poor for life. Higginss teachings are somewhat radical in th
36、at they disrupt this social marker, allowing for greater social mobility.ProfessionalismAt the time that this play was written, the idea of female professionals was somewhat new. Aside from the profession of prostitution, women were generally housewives before this period, and there is some residual
37、 resistance to the idea of normally male professions being entered by females in the play. Moreover, Pickering is initially horrified by the idea of Eliza opening a flower shop, since being involved in a trade was a mark of belonging to the lower class. Pickering is shaken similarly after his experi
38、ence of watching Eliza fool everyone at a garden and dinner party, saying that she played her part almost too well. The idea of a professional female socialite is somehow threatening to him. Gender Solidarity or AntagonismAlthough British society is supposed to break down along class lines, Shaw mak
39、es a point of highlighting gender loyalties in this play. Although Mrs. Higgins initially is horrified by the idea that her son might bring a flower-girl into her home, she quickly grows sympathetic to Liza. As a woman, she is the first to express a concern for what will be done with the girl after
40、the experiment-the idea that her training makes her highly unmarriageable by anyone anywhere on the social scale. When Liza runs away from Wimpole St., she instinctively knows that Mrs. Higgins will take good care of her. Higginss mother sides with Liza before even her son, not revealing that Liza i
41、s in the house while Higgins is dialing the police. In contrast, relations between people of opposite genders are generally portrayed by Shaw as antagonistic. Higgins and his mother have a troubled relationship, as do the professor and Mrs. Pearce. Freddy and Liza get along better perhaps only due t
42、o his more passive, feminine demeanor.StylePlotting with a PurposeIntellect vs. EntertainmentRomancePlotting with a PurposeIn Pygmalions plot, Higgins, a phonetics expert, makes a friendly bet with his colleague Colonel Pickering that he can transform the speech and manners of Lisa, a common flower
43、girl, and present her as a lady to fashionable society. He succeeds, but Lisa gains independence in the process, and leaves her former tutor because he is incapable of responding to her needs.Pygmalion has a tightlyconstructed plot, rising conflict, and other qualities of the wellmade play, a popula
44、r form at the time. He discarded its theatrical dependence on prolonging and then resolving conflict in a sometimes contrived manner for a theater of ideas grounded in realism. Shaw knows how to end a play indeterminately, leading the audience to reflect upon character and theme, rather than simply
45、entertaining them with a neatlyresolved conclusion.Intellect vs. EntertainmentShaw broke both with the predominant intellectual principle of his day, that of art for arts sake, as well as with the popular notion that the purpose of the theatre was strictly to entertain. Refusing to write a single se
46、ntence for the sake of either art or entertainment alone, Shaw openly declared that he was for a theater which preached to its audience on social issues. Thus, in his day Shaw was viewed as succeeding despite his dramatic technique rather than because of it. Though his plays do tend towards ideologi
47、cal discussion rather than dramatic tension, Shaw succeeded because he nevertheless understood what made a play theatrical, wrote scintillating dialogue, and always created rich, complex characters in the center of a philosophically complex drama. Among his character creations are some of the greate
48、st in the modern theatre, especially the women: Major Barbara, Saint Joan, Lisa Doohttle. Also, Shaws deep belief in the need for social improvement did not prevent him from having a wry sense of humor, an additional component of his dramatic technique which helped his plays, Pygmalion most predomin
49、antly, bridge a gap between popular and intellectual.RomanceIn calling Pygmalion a romance (its subtitle is A Romance in Five Acts), Shaw was referencing a wellestablished literary form (not usually employed in theatre), to which Pygmalion does not fully conform. (Shaw was aiming to provoke thought
50、by designating his play thusly.) The term romance does not imply, as it was misinterpreted to mean by many of Shaws contemporaries, a romantic element between Lisa and Higgins. Since the middle ages, romances have been distinguished from more realistic forms by their exotic, exaggerated narratives, and their idealized characters and themes. Shaw playfully suggests Pygmalion is a romance because of the almost magical transformations which occur in the play and the idealized qualities to which the characters aspire.结束结束
