Pygmalion+Study+Guides

Return to Pygmalion  ** Act 1 **  1. What tensions already show in the relations between the Mother (later named as Mrs. Eynsford Hill), the Daughter (later named as Clara), and the son, Freddy?  2. Shaw's Preface indicates enthusiasm for phonetics, but what "dark side" might we infer from the opening scene in which everyone misconstrues Henry Higgins' motives for taking down Eliza the Flower Girl's speech?  3. What coincidences in the first act seem likely to structure the rest of the play?  4. What is revealed about Freddy's character and his relationship with his mother and sister in the argument about the cab? 5. What is the mother's true motivation for giving the flower girl sixpence? 6. Why is the flower girl so upset that the gentleman is recording her speech? 7. What does the flower girl mean when she cries, "My character is the same to me as any lady's"? 8. What idea is the note-taker trying to emphasize with his speech which begins, "A woman who utters such depressing and disgusting sounds..."? 9. What did Higgins mean when he gold Pickering that "this is an age of upstarts"? 10. Why would better English be required of a lady's maid or shop assistant than of a lady? 11. Why does the flower girl tell the taxi driver to take her to "Bucknam Pellis"? 12. Why does the taxi driver tell her to keep her money? 13. What is the symbolic significance of having the play open with all types of people huddled from the rain under the portico of St. Paul's church? 14. Why does Higgins throw the girl a handful of coins as he leaves?   15. Why does Eliza want to improve her speaking skills and lose her accent? What does she expect to gain?  16. What concerns do Colonel Pickering and Mrs. Pearce (Higgins' housekeeper) raise about Higgins' scheme to educate Eliza? How does he respond to their concerns?  17. How does Higgins treat Eliza and her desire for education? Discuss a few instances--what assumptions does he make about her, and why do you think he makes them?  7. How would you sum up the creed of Eliza's father, the dustman Alfred Doolittle? What does he have against "middle-class morality," and why?  18. How does Mrs. Pearce feel about the people the professor invites in to talk to his machines? 19. Why is Higgins not interested in recording to girl's voice? 20. Why does Eliza want to take lessons? 21. Why is Pickering successful at getting Eliza to sit down when Higgins is not? 22. What impresses Higgins about Eliza's offer of a shilling for her lessons? 23. Explain Higgins' explanation that life is only a "series of inspired follies." 24. What is ironic about Higgins' instructions to Mrs. Pearce about how to deal with Eliza? 25. In what ways does Pickering treat Eliza better than Higgins? 26. How does Mrs. Pearce prove that she looks farther into the future than either of the gentlemen? 27. What is Eliza's reaction to the bedroom? bathroom? 28. Explain Mrs. Pearce's statement to Eliza, "You know you can't be a nice girl inside if you're a dirty slut outside." 29. How does Higgins see himself? 30. Why does Alfred Doolittle come to see Professor Higgins? 31. In what way does Higgins react differently from what Doolittle expects? 32. What type of father/daughter relationship has Eliza obviously experienced? 33. Explain Doolittle's theory about the "undeserving poor." 34. What seems to be the basic difference between Pickering and Higgins? Find passages to prove your point.  35. Shaw offers rather full stage descriptions and directions and includes a long explanation about Henry Higgins' personality. What do you think he is up to by all the references to William Morris decorations? And why provide an account of a character's personality when, in most plays at least, we get a sense of that from the events and dialogue of the play?  36. How does Clara take Eliza's incredible attempt to "talk proper" during an accidental meeting with the Hills at Mrs. Higgins' "at home" social occasion? How do Freddy and Mrs. Eynsford Hill interpret Eliza's performance?  37. What do you think of Higgins' relationship with his mother, as it is developed in this third act? And how does she view her son's scientific experiment with Eliza?  38. What do you think of Higgin's own attitude towards his experiment with Eliza, up to this point in the play? What does he reveal towards the end of the third act? <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;"> 39. Describe the relationship between Higgins and his mother. 40. Why does Higgins bring Eliza to his mother's "at-home"? 41. What are the differences between Mrs. Higgins and Mrs. Eynsford-Hill? 42. How has Eliza changed since Act I? Note evidence that shows she has not totally mastered the social graces. 43. How do Mrs. Higgins' guests react to Eliza? 44. What social class is Shaw criticizing in this act? Note lines that are examples of character flaws of this social class. 45. How does Mrs. Higgins feel about the experiment? What problems does she see arising? 46. What is Nepomuck's purpose in the play? 47. How is Eliza's behavior at the ball different from her behavior at the at-home? 48. What is the reaction of the others when Higgins tells them the truth about Eliza? <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;"> 49. In the 1930's film production we plan to watch, we actually see Eliza dazzle the audience at a big party, and pass herself off as royalty. In the play, we don't see her performance. What difference does the change make, if any? <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;"> 50. What does Higgins say he has accomplished when Eliza succeeds? What does Pickering apparently think has been accomplished? <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;"> 51. Why is Eliza so distraught at after the party? What cogent criticism of Higgins and his ideas about class and language does she offer in this fourth act? <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;"> 52. How has the experiment progressed? 53. How do Higgins and Pickering feel about the adventure ending? 54. How does Eliza react? 55. Why is Higgins so surprised at Eliza's fury? 56. What is Eliza really upset about? When has this problem been mentioned before? 57. What is Higgins' solution to her dilemma? 58. What is Eliza speaking of when she says, "We were above that at the corner of Tottenham Court Road"? 59. How does Eliza really feel about the professor? Find lines that hint at her feelings? 60. What conflicts are now left to be resolved in Act V? <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;"> 61. Higgins boasted earlier in the play that he would be able to transform Eliza's very being and make her anything he wanted. Judging from this fifth act, would you say he was right or wrong? Is Eliza still the "Eliza" we met at the beginning, or is she another person altogether? Explain. <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;"> 62. How does Alfred Doolittle's transformation into a married gentleman reflect on the exploration of class and linguistic variety we find in Pygmalion as a whole? What lesson are we supposed to learn from what happens to him? 63. Why does Eliza go to Mrs. Higgins? 64. How does Higgins react to Eliza's disappearance? 65. Describe the tremendous change in Alfred Doolittle's status. Who is truly responsible for it? 66. What comments is Shaw making on society through this metamorphosis of Doolittle? 67. From whom does Eliza say she learned good manners? 68. What is Higgins' opinion of manners? 69. How has Eliza's character developed in Acts 4 & 5? How has she become more of an individual? 70. How does Higgins seem to feel about Eliza? What offers does he make to her, and how does she react? 71. What problems are left unresolved at the end of this act? Why does Shaw leave it this way? 72. Shaw called his play a "Romance in Five Acts." Is it a romance? Why? <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;"> 72. Before reading the sequel that follows Act 5, see if you can guess what Shaw is going to spin out as a future for some of the characters. Set down your guesses as a response. Then check to see if he agrees with you. <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;"> 73. General questions: Shaw says in his Preface before Act 1 that good art is always didactic. What is the ultimate "lesson" he probably wanted us to take away from Pygmalion? <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;"> 74. Do you agree with Shaw that art should be didactic (i.e. that it should drive home some moral point, take a stand on current issues, etc.)? In your response, don't ignore the other side of the question--consider argument/s against didacticism and argument/s in favor of it.
 * Act 2 **
 * <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Act 3 **
 * Act 4 ** <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;">
 * Act 5 ** <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;">
 * Sequel ** <span style="font-family: Garamond,Skia,'Century Schoolbook L',serif;">