Pygmalion Explain how Shaw criticises the society of Victorian England
Through the play Pygmalion, Shaw is arguing that women living in Victorian times had little independence and were expected to be subservient to male figures. Through the character of Higgins, Shaw shows how women are treated as objects rather than as human beings, where Higgins remakes Eliza in the way he thinks best. Through the characters of Eliza and Higgins, Shaw criticises the rigid social stratification and prejudice in Victorian times through Eliza and Higgins and shows how judgements based on speech and accent are false indicators of a person’s worth and ability. ... In Act Two, Shaw shows how women living in Victorian times had little independence and were expected to be subservient to male figures through Higgins, where he exclaims “A young woman! ... Shaw conveys how women are treated as objects rather than human beings through Higgins when he says “You have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and change her into quite a different human being by creating a new speech for her. ... Shaw challenges the idea of women as objects through Eliza, where she objects and makes a stand for what she wants, fearing that Higgin’s casual attitude could be part of some seductive scheme. Through the characters of Eliza and Higgins, Shaw criticises the rigid social stratification and prejudice in Victorian England, where Eliza says to Higgins in an argument, “The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she’s treated.