Question

H) mention any two features of pygmalion as a problem play.

Answer 1

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Pygmalion As A Problem Play

Write a note on Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion as a problem play.

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THANATASSA | CERTIFIED EDUCATOR

As stated above, a "problem play" is a drama revolving around the theme of one specific social problem or a group of related social problems. Pygmalion, like many of Shaw's plays, addresses the problem of the changing roles of middle class women. Aristocratic or upper class women would be supported by their families or husbands. There were many jobs available for lower class women, ranging from domestic service to factory positions. When Eliza is catapulted into the middle classes via accent reform, she can no longer return to her old life as a flower girl, but she lacks the financial grounds for entry into the upper classes and sees sponging off Pickering and Higgins as morally problematic. Instead, what Shaw suggests is that for women to live lives of moral integrity, they must have freedom to develop careers in the same way as men do. Eliza's choice to open a high-end flower shop is a typically Shavian solution. In many ways, Pygmalion, as well as being a highly entertaining drama, functions as a logical argument concerning how the "new woman" can live a life that engages her mental faculties and potential as a human being. 

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