In reading, one is permitted to interpret the words as they
please, but when one watches something on television or in a play, his or her
interpretations have no room to expand for the directors make one see the show
or play as they imagined it to be perceived. When reading Pygmalion, one may find Higgins’ wit and sarcasm to be comical.
This is because the person may read the lines in a lighthearted way and understand
the character’s threats as mere mockery. However, in viewing Pygmalion on screen, Higgins’ once
passive comments become intensified causing him to be perceived as mentally abusive.
Eliza, yearning for a better lifestyle, puts all her trust in
Higgins, a complete stranger, but all he does is ridicule and manipulate her
for his advantage. From the moment Eliza met Higgins, he degraded her as he
mocked her speech. While reading the play, one may overlook his bullying; however,
the actors’ portrayal of the characters amplifies Higgins’ cruelty. Readers may
laugh at Eliza’s screeched “oo”s and “ahh”s, but viewers examine this as fear and
cries for help. Eliza does not comprehend Higgins’ possibly sarcastic comments
and takes them literally. Higgins is aware of this. As oppose to ceasing his
mockery, he continues with his sadistic ways. The only form of affection Eliza
receives in Higgins’ household is from Mrs. Pearce and Mr. Pickering, who addresses
Eliza in a respectful manner. Aside from Mr. Pickering and Mrs. Pearce’s mild
support, Eliza is confined to
a household where she is unwanted other than for the purpose of winning a bet.
When one views Pygmalion in a play setting, his or her perception of the
characters change causing them to no longer see Higgins as a comical
protagonist, but a heartless, selfish, batterer.
I see a valid argument here but I personally think if Higgins is the “heartless, selfish, batterer” you see him as, I do not think he would have helped Eliza in the first place. Yes Higgins has some rude comments and can be cruel, but he does help Eliza. In the end of the story he becomes concerned for her. When Eliza leaves Higgins home he calls the cops and runs to his mother because that is all he can think to do to get her back. I think Higgins has a hard time expressing his feelings, and the way he does express his feelings is through sarcasm and jokes, like a child. Personally I believe in the Asperger theory, that his social skills are impaired and he does not know how to keep people close to him.
ReplyDeleteI personally read the story in a manner of which Higgins wanted to better Eliza. In the end of the story I saw Higgins trying to motivate Eliza to become independent and respectful of herself. Higgins told Eliza that he never wanted her to bring him her slippers and become his human planner. Higgins told Eliza that doing his chores makes her his slave and he did not want or need a slave.
Higgins never wanted Eliza to lower herself to him. Higgins plan was to create a woman out of Eliza and as she lowered herself, that gave Higgins the right to talk down to her. Once Eliza told Higgins her plan of the future and how she now sees herself as smarter than him did Higgins now respect Eliza for the woman she has become. Eliza did not demand respect of Higgins until the end when she had a right to it. After Eliza yelled at Higgins that she would become a teacher Higgins states “I said I’d make a woman of you; and I have. I like you like this.” When Higgins tells Eliza to order a ham at the end of the story I think Higgins was making a joke. Higgins now knows he can no longer boss her around and control her now that she has found herself.
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ReplyDeleteWhile there is a valid point in the statement that Higgins is an abusive man, one would have to disagree and say that Higgins cannot be abusive, simply due to the compassion he shows for Eliza. Throughout the play, Higgins shows that he does care for Eliza but is afraid to fully show it. He believes that he will lose his credibility if he does not appear as her superior. With this belief, Higgins tends to use negative derogatory comments against Eliza to prove his superiority. One can definitely see that Higgins' words can be taken as verbal abuse if read in the wrong context; however, the play was written to be taken in a lighthearted manner. If one were to take the play in the lighthearted manner Shaw was trying to convey, it can be seen that Higgins is no abusive and is, instead he is socially awkward.
ReplyDeleteHiggins continuously displays social awkwardness throughout the play. He does not display understanding of what is socially acceptable to say to people. He continuously speaks with explicit language, even while his mother is in the room. At the same time, Higgins is a genuinely good man. He allows Eliza to live with and teaches her proper speech for close to no cost. When she tries to leave, he attempts to convince her to stay. Higgins has a good heart and the right intentions but is unable to express them in the right way. One can see that Higgins is not a bad man; he is simply incapable of displaying his true intentions for lack of social awareness. He does not understand what is socially acceptable to say to people; therefore, he speaks in negatively, not only to Eliza but to everyone he comes into contact with throughout the play.
Rachel, I agree that when a play is performed, it is depicted in the directors' and actors' different interpretations of the work. Different actors can interpret characters in different ways just as readers interpret these characters in different ways. In a performance, the way in which a character or situation is portrayed is sometimes limited to the one performers opinion of how they feel it should be. In reading the play, however, some may feel Higgins’ mistreatment of characters as a serious problem and others, who may have a dark sense of humor like me, find the abuse and mistreatment to be hysterical. In the musical version especially, serious situations are portrayed in a lighthearted fashion, yet as I viewed the 1930s film version, I felt sympathy for Eliza, and regretted laughing at her.
ReplyDeleteMany feel that Higgins is an abusive brute of a man who shows no compassion for anyone, and abuses Eliza coldheartedly. Yet, I feel he does show remorse for his verbal abuse. He even states, “Five minutes ago you were like a millstone round my neck, now you’re a tower of strength.” Higgins realizes Eliza has changed and although he may not have good intentions, he does regret treating a person worthy of acceptance, with disrespect.
I feel that Shaw wrote the plot in an unserious manner. However, he does want Higgins to be seen a mean man whose immoral actions led to his unhappy ending, being forever alone.