Q5. Critically Examine the Transformation of Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion and Discuss Whether the Play Supports Feminist Perspectives
ANSWER :
IGNOU MEG 02 Solved Assignment Q5 Answer 2025–26 – George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (1913) remains one of the most celebrated and intellectually provocative plays of modern British drama. At its core lies the transformation of Eliza Doolittle — a poor flower girl from Covent Garden — into a refined lady who can pass as a duchess. Inspired by the classical myth of Pygmalion, the sculptor who falls in love with his own creation, Shaw reimagines this ancient story as a social and psychological experiment set in modern London. Yet beneath the humor and linguistic cleverness, Pygmalion presents a powerful commentary on gender, class, identity, and power.
This essay critically examines Eliza’s transformation — not merely as a physical or linguistic change, but as an assertion of selfhood — and evaluates whether Shaw’s play truly supports feminist ideals or merely disguises patriarchal control in a modern form.
Eliza Doolittle’s Initial State: The Flower Girl and Her Social Position
At the beginning of the play, Eliza Doolittle is introduced as a poor, uneducated flower girl selling violets in Covent Garden. Her speech is coarse, her manners are unrefined, and she exists on the margins of society. Shaw’s depiction of her is not merely pitiful but symbolic: Eliza represents the lower-class woman struggling against the rigid social hierarchy of Edwardian England. Her dialect immediately marks her as inferior; in Shaw’s world, language is not just a means of communication but a marker of class and social identity.
When Eliza encounters Professor Henry Higgins, a phonetics expert, she becomes both subject and object in his linguistic experiment. Higgins boasts that he can transform her into a “duchess” within six months simply by teaching her to speak “properly.” This moment establishes the central conflict — the power dynamics between creator and creation, man and woman, teacher and pupil.
The Transformation: Beyond Speech and Manners
IGNOU MEG 02 Solved Assignment Q5 Answer 2025–26– Eliza’s transformation begins when she seeks Higgins’ lessons of her own accord, offering to pay him from her modest earnings. This act is significant because it reveals her agency. Contrary to being a passive recipient of transformation, Eliza initially takes control of her destiny, aspiring to self-improvement and social mobility. Her decision to walk into Higgins’ laboratory signals the first stage of empowerment, aligning with feminist ideals of self-determination.
However, the transformation process itself exposes the play’s ambivalent stance toward feminism. Higgins treats Eliza as a “live doll,” a human subject molded for his experiment. He strips her of individuality, calling her “a squashed cabbage leaf” and referring to her as if she were an object. Through his scientific detachment, Shaw satirizes the male-dominated academic world that reduces women to specimens or artistic creations.
As Eliza learns refined speech, elegant manners, and social behavior, she successfully passes as a lady in upper-class society. The climax at the ambassador’s party, where she fools everyone with her grace, demonstrates the superficiality of class distinctions — social status is merely a matter of language and appearance. Shaw uses Eliza’s success to criticize the hypocrisy of a class system that judges worth by accent rather than character.
Yet beneath this triumph lies a deeper irony: Eliza’s transformation has alienated her from her former life. She no longer belongs to the lower class, yet she cannot truly belong to the upper one. Shaw portrays her as “a new woman” — educated and articulate, yet uncertain of her place in society. Her metamorphosis, though outwardly successful, reveals the psychological cost of transformation imposed by patriarchal authority.
Eliza’s Assertion of Independence
IGNOU MEG 02 Solved Assignment Q5 Answer 2025–26– The most profound transformation in Pygmalion is not linguistic but emotional and moral. Eliza’s awakening occurs when she recognizes the limits of Higgins’ power over her. While Higgins believes he has created her identity, Eliza realizes that true independence means claiming ownership of herself. This realization reaches its peak in the final act, when she confronts Higgins and declares that she will no longer be treated as a possession or a project.
Her statement, “I’m a common ignorant girl, and you’re a book-learned gentleman, but I’m not dirt under your feet,” marks her emergence as an equal — a woman who refuses to be subjugated. This assertion is the heart of Shaw’s feminist message: Eliza demands recognition of her humanity beyond class or gender.
By choosing to marry Freddy, rather than becoming dependent on Higgins, Eliza symbolically rejects patriarchal control. Though Freddy is financially weak and socially awkward, he represents emotional sensitivity and respect, in contrast to Higgins’ arrogance. Her decision illustrates Shaw’s belief that dignity and independence are more valuable than social prestige.
Higgins as the Symbol of Patriarchal Authority
Professor Higgins embodies the intellectual arrogance and masculine dominance of Edwardian society. Though not malicious, his attitude toward Eliza is condescending and objectifying. He regards her as an experiment, not as a person with emotions or agency. His repeated use of terms like “baggage” and “silly girl” reflects a patronizing view of women as inferior beings who require male guidance.
Shaw’s characterization of Higgins is deliberately complex. While he serves as the Pygmalion figure — the creator molding a new identity — his emotional immaturity and moral blindness reveal the limitations of patriarchal rationalism. Higgins insists that he treats everyone the same, but his lack of empathy exposes the gendered imbalance in their relationship. He represents reason without compassion, intellect without humanity.
By contrast, Eliza’s evolution challenges the very ideals Higgins upholds. Her emotional intelligence and moral awareness surpass his mechanical logic, suggesting that the true “education” occurs not in the pupil but in the teacher’s realization of human worth.
The Play and Feminism: Progressive or Ambivalent?
IGNOU MEG 02 Solved Assignment Q5 Answer 2025–26 -Whether Pygmalion supports feminism has long been debated. On one hand, Eliza’s journey from subservience to self-respect embodies feminist empowerment. Shaw presents her as a woman who asserts her independence, rejects domination, and defines her own identity. He undermines Victorian ideals of womanhood, in which women were valued only for beauty, obedience, and domesticity.
Shaw’s preface to the play reinforces this progressive vision. He insists that Pygmalion is not a romantic story but a social critique. Eliza does not fall in love with her “creator”; instead, she outgrows him. This defiance of romantic convention itself marks a feminist gesture — a woman’s emancipation from male-defined narratives of love and dependency.
However, the play’s ending complicates this reading. In some interpretations, particularly the later film My Fair Lady, Eliza’s independence is diluted, and her relationship with Higgins is softened into romantic reconciliation. Shaw explicitly opposed such interpretations, arguing that Eliza’s freedom should remain uncompromised. Despite this, the ambiguity of the final act leaves open the question of whether she can ever escape Higgins’ intellectual dominance.
Thus, Pygmalion is feminist in spirit but ambivalent in execution. Shaw envisions equality between men and women, yet the language and structure of the play still center around male authority. Eliza achieves independence, but only within the boundaries of a world defined by men.
Conclusion
IGNOU MEG 02 Solved Assignment Q5 Answer 2025–26 – Eliza Doolittle’s transformation in Pygmalion is one of the most compelling depictions of personal growth and self-assertion in modern drama. From a poor flower girl to a confident woman who claims her identity, her journey symbolizes the struggle for autonomy in a society governed by class and patriarchy. Shaw uses her evolution to critique social hypocrisy, linguistic snobbery, and gender inequality.
While the play contains strong feminist undertones — particularly in Eliza’s assertion of independence — it also reflects the limitations of its time. Higgins’ dominance and the ambiguous ending remind readers that liberation is complex and incomplete. Yet Eliza’s voice — proud, articulate, and self-assured — stands as Shaw’s greatest achievement.
In the end, Pygmalion is not merely a story of transformation but of recognition: the recognition of woman as a human being with intellect, dignity, and will. Through Eliza Doolittle, Shaw not only sculpts a “new woman” but also exposes the cracks in the patriarchal world that sought to shape her — a critique that continues to resonate with feminist audiences today.
