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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
3.5 Stars
In a lot of ways, I prefer 'My Fair Lady' to Shaw's play. I feel like they could have taken a lot more of Higgin's speeches from the play for the movie though, since I felt like they explained his feelings about Eliza a bit more.
In a lot of ways, I prefer 'My Fair Lady' to Shaw's play. I feel like they could have taken a lot more of Higgin's speeches from the play for the movie though, since I felt like they explained his feelings about Eliza a bit more.
Spoiler
I know that Shaw didn't like when people thought Eliza would end up going back to Higgins, so he wrote an epilogue of sorts to explain exactly how Eliza married Freddy and ended up opening a flower shop. I appreciated the level of detail and the tidy conclusion for all the characters that he gives, so I'm a lot more satisfied with his ending than with 'My Fair Lady's' ending.
I listened to this on audiobook and I found it worked really well for a play. Reading a play can feel quite dry at times as you are missing a huge dimension of it. With a full cast audiobook it felt almost like attending the play.
It was really funny and enjoyable.
It was my first venture into the work of GBS and I would love to attend one of his plays if the opportunity ever presents itself.
It was really funny and enjoyable.
It was my first venture into the work of GBS and I would love to attend one of his plays if the opportunity ever presents itself.
I kept picturing My Fair Lady...heard that Keira Knightley will be the new Eliza Doolittle inthe re-make.
The beginning was already slow. It didn`t get much better.
All the running in the rain got tiresome.
The premise was build on the eventual relation between a “master puppeteer” and a “puppet” (metaphorically, not literally).
It opened up with a lower class girl asking a gentleman to give her the proper training to be able to insert herself into the high society (if se would wish to do so—however, she didn`t seem too keen on actually doing it).
The play felt a bit long and tiresome. I liked some of the lines, they seemed to be vey quote-friendly.
Maybe I`ll enjoy this play better after I watched it being played on stage.
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All the running in the rain got tiresome.
The premise was build on the eventual relation between a “master puppeteer” and a “puppet” (metaphorically, not literally).
It opened up with a lower class girl asking a gentleman to give her the proper training to be able to insert herself into the high society (if se would wish to do so—however, she didn`t seem too keen on actually doing it).
The play felt a bit long and tiresome. I liked some of the lines, they seemed to be vey quote-friendly.
Maybe I`ll enjoy this play better after I watched it being played on stage.
Instagram\\my Blog\\
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The 1964 adaptation with Audrey Hepburn, titled My Fair Lady, is my favorite movie. I’ve been interested in reading this play for years. Glad I finally did. Superb.
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pygmalion is a social satire that pokes fun at classism in the Victorian era. A feminist reading can also be found in the rebellious nature of the heroine, and one can also argue that it's a meta-reflection on art itself, and the relationship between the Creator and his Work.
In none of these departments I'm satisfied. I didn't feel any revelatory views from Shaw lurking through the scenes of the play, except for his views on womanhood and patriarchy's effect on class. Those have aged like fine wine. This is not a fair critique of the work however, as one can find examples that were way ahead of their time, but that alone doesn't mean I would need to care for it.
Had I at least found it entertaining I would have probably attempted to dig deeper on its meanings but I don't connect with Shaw's humor or the world he's portraying. It's always nice to see something that was ahead of the curve but the problem with doing that is that, you end up with very "obvious" ideas at the forefront, and unless you want it to go there, you'll find yourself lacking investment. The play was written for the people of its time, my world is made out of different anxieties and those are taking more space in my head than Shaw's preoccupation with the utilitarity of the English language. It feels empty to me. Not because nothing can be found in it, but because I do not care for any of it. And because I'm not sure if I agree with Shaw's own views on accent and dialect, as I find them rich and colorful for the world.
In summary, something to admire, not something I will care about anywhere in the near future. Maybe one day if I watch it live I'll change my opinion. But here's the catch, me and other people seem to view the work differently, or at least the people of its time and the ones that viewed the play as the achievement it most likely is. They wanted the play to have a "happy ending". To allow poor little Elize to marry Higgins. Because they view this as a romance after all.
How deeply ironic it is for Shaw's writing to be a reaction towards fiction that infantiziled women of its time, only for it to be misunderstood as an example of it too. I'm sure these were the same critics that tried to apply Freudian readings to The Turn of The Screw, because surely our heroine is a crazed sex addict who can't get his employer out of her head, surely Elize is in love with Higgin's because she has daddy issues. Why not?? Women having agency? What do you think this play was about after all, something fucking boring like phonetics???
In none of these departments I'm satisfied. I didn't feel any revelatory views from Shaw lurking through the scenes of the play, except for his views on womanhood and patriarchy's effect on class. Those have aged like fine wine. This is not a fair critique of the work however, as one can find examples that were way ahead of their time, but that alone doesn't mean I would need to care for it.
Had I at least found it entertaining I would have probably attempted to dig deeper on its meanings but I don't connect with Shaw's humor or the world he's portraying. It's always nice to see something that was ahead of the curve but the problem with doing that is that, you end up with very "obvious" ideas at the forefront, and unless you want it to go there, you'll find yourself lacking investment. The play was written for the people of its time, my world is made out of different anxieties and those are taking more space in my head than Shaw's preoccupation with the utilitarity of the English language. It feels empty to me. Not because nothing can be found in it, but because I do not care for any of it. And because I'm not sure if I agree with Shaw's own views on accent and dialect, as I find them rich and colorful for the world.
In summary, something to admire, not something I will care about anywhere in the near future. Maybe one day if I watch it live I'll change my opinion. But here's the catch, me and other people seem to view the work differently, or at least the people of its time and the ones that viewed the play as the achievement it most likely is. They wanted the play to have a "happy ending". To allow poor little Elize to marry Higgins. Because they view this as a romance after all.
How deeply ironic it is for Shaw's writing to be a reaction towards fiction that infantiziled women of its time, only for it to be misunderstood as an example of it too. I'm sure these were the same critics that tried to apply Freudian readings to The Turn of The Screw, because surely our heroine is a crazed sex addict who can't get his employer out of her head, surely Elize is in love with Higgin's because she has daddy issues. Why not?? Women having agency? What do you think this play was about after all, something fucking boring like phonetics???
funny
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes