Reading Pygmalion, I was intrigued by the themes that appeared. Some themes were easier to point out than other. There were two themes that really stood out from the rest of them. I can relate to changing and/or being forced to change my identity. I can also relate to the feeling of changing my appearance and the difference it makes in my social life. Pygmalion was written back in the day when the way a woman looked and spoke defined her as a person. As I sit and think about the story, I find myself asking “have things changed much since then?”
Identity is defined as “the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.” Eliza Doolittle was simply a flower girl who had an atrocious way of speaking and dressing. Professor Higgins made a bet with Pickering that he could improve Eliza’s speech and appearance. Eliza wanted to better herself by allowing Higgins to help her improve. The way that I looked at this story was Eliza knew she was different and she was ashamed. She changed her whole identity to become someone whom she was not. Moving around the country throughout my life, I have experienced changing my identity, becoming someone completely different from who I was before and starting fresh. When I moved to Arizona, I practiced every day for the longest time to lose my southern dialect. I did the same thing that Eliza did. I lost a sense of myself, although, I eventually “fitted in” with the other people that surrounded me.
Appearance and identity tie into each other in Pygmalion. When someone changes their identity, they sometimes change their appearance. In the story, Higgins was determined to transform Eliza into a high-class beauty. He was successful in changing her speech and appearance. One thing that I noticed when Higgins became successful, Eliza received more attention. Her social life boosted and she gained more respect from the high-society members. This theme reminded me of when I moved to Phoenix and lived in a very high-society area. I did not have the trendiest haircut, or the most fashionable clothes and shoes. I was considered a “nobody”. After a few months of being ignored and disrespected because of the way I looked, I went out and bought clothes that were up to everyone else’s standards. I craved to fit in with the other people at my school. When I came back to school with my brand new appearance, I received more attention from the other kids. I got asked to the school dance and joined a good group of friends. I thrived off of the attention. I, again, changed who I was to fit in.
This story contained many meaningful themes; themes that some people can relate to. Although Eliza changed dramatically in Pygmalion, she continued to be a flower girl and opened up a shop. That must have been my favorite part of the story because she gained back a little of her old self even after the transformation.
