Pygmalion

Shaw’s comedy Pygmalion presents the unlikely journey of an impoverished flower girl into London’s society of the early 20th century. Professor Higgins proposes a wager to his friend Colonel Pickering that he can take a common peddler and transform her into royalty. Eliza Doolittle is the pawn in the wager. But little does Higgins know the change will go far beyond his expectations: Eliza transforms from a defensive insecure girl to a fully …

…marry Higgins reveals a mature and independent Eliza, a person free to choose. Eliza’s transformation occurs over the six months of her living with Higgins. Their relationship can be described as father/daughter. Her evolution into a young woman is evident in her rebellion like a daughter rebels against her father. It is only through this that Eliza can become an assertive woman. Shaw’s play Pygmalion demonstrates a girl’s rite of passage.