Introduction to Pygmalion

Pygmalion is a five-act play that satirizes the British class system through the lens of phonetics. It follows the transformation of a lower-class flower girl into a refined lady, exploring whether social standing is defined by birth or behaviour. 

Plot Summary

1. The Meeting: On a rainy night in London, Professor Henry Higgins, a linguistics expert, meets Eliza Doolittle, a flower girl with a thick Cockney accent. Higgins boasts to Colonel Pickering that he could pass Eliza off as a duchess simply by teaching her to speak properly.
2. The Wager: Intrigued, Pickering offers to pay for the experiment. Eliza visits Higgins' laboratory, hoping to learn enough "proper" speech to work in a florist shop instead of on the street.
3. The Transformation: After months of gruelling training in elocution and etiquette, Eliza is tested at a high-society garden party. She passes flawlessly, convincing the elite that she is of noble birth.
4. The Conflict: After the success, Higgins and Pickering celebrate their victory but ignore Eliza, treating her like a finished "experiment" rather than a person. Realizing she no longer fits into the lower class but lacks the means to survive in the upper class, Eliza confronts Higgins in a rage.
5. The Conclusion: Eliza leaves Higgins’ house and seeks refuge with his mother. In the final confrontation, she asserts her independence, declaring she may marry Freddy Eynsford-Hill (a kind but poor gentleman) or become a teacher herself. The play ends with Eliza departing, leaving her future relationship with Higgins ambiguous. 

Key Characters

• Eliza Doolittle: The protagonist who evolves from a "guttersnipe" to a self-assured woman of dignity.
• Henry Higgins: A brilliant but arrogant phonetician who views Eliza as a scientific project.
• Colonel Pickering: A gentlemanly linguist who treats Eliza with respect from the beginning.
• Alfred Doolittle: Eliza’s father, a "philosophical" dustman who unexpectedly inherits a fortune and finds himself trapped by "middle-class morality". 

Major Themes

• Social Class and Mobility: Shaw argues that class is a performance based on superficial traits like accent and clothing rather than inherent worth.
• Identity and Agency: Eliza's journey is not just about speech; it is about finding her own voice and the power to control her own life.
• Gender and Power: The play critiques the male desire to "mould" women to fit their ideals, mirroring the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. 

Famous Adaptations

• My Fair Lady: The 1956 musical and 1964 Oscar-winning film starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.
• She's All That (1999): A modern high school reimagining of the transformation story.