thedoozyreader 's review for:

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

2.0

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The latest addition to my streak of reading plays, this was a particularly difficult text to get through to the end. I had taken up the book because of the Greek mythological reference, a story that I liked, in the title. The basic plot seemed intriguing at the outset: a phonetician trying to train a working-class woman to pass her off as a duchess at a grand event. But man, was I wrong. The set-up and situations weren't engaging, the conversations were drawn-out, and Henry Higgins as a character was outright detestable. How any human with an ounce of self-worth could put up with all his snooty condescension is beyond me. Shaw does try to bring a slight nuance to him towards the end of the play, but by then it becomes unbearably didactic. I am glad Eliza's character had some kind of an arc and when she walks out of the room at the end, I do not believe her intention was to return.

In conclusion, I would rather read an academic essay by Shaw on how language and appearance dictate class relations, critiquing the remnants of Victorian morality, than Pygmalion.