The Pygmalion Ends

In the last half of the Pygmalion I was befuddled by the conversation between Eliza and Higgins. In this volley of dialogue the reader gets the sense that Eliza and Higgins are both infatuated and disgusted by one another. Shaw explains their confusing situation perfectly in the sequel, and then shortly wraps up the book by stating “Galatea never does quite like the Pygmalion; His relationship with her is too godlike to be altogether agreeable”. This short and sweet ending gives an allusion to the original story of the Pygmalion and also leaves the reader thinking.

At first my thoughts were to disagree with this statement all together because unlike Galatea, Higgins did like his “Pygmalion”. Then I realized that though he may like her, he would feel awkward around his creation because he would feel like he had power over her. We even know Eliza resents him because he holds power over her and in the end that’s why she marries Freddy. The type of relationship she has with Higgins even now leads to Eliza and Higgins wrestling for control.

 Finally I was amused at Clara’s and Mr. Doolittle’s troubles of adapting to her/her new class, this showed the confusion of change and in a way exemplified a conversation Higgins had with the Colonel. The conversation where Higgins states that the upper class “Don’t even know their own game”, in this case both Clara and Mr. Doolittle struggle to learn a new “game”. For both of them it is difficult to adjust but by the end of his play Shaw has placed everybody perfectly, making his masterpiece the Pygmalion complete.