Author: George Bernard Shaw
Genre: Novel, Romance, Social criticism
Publication: 1912
Number of pages: 176
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw is a play you’ll enjoy as if you were sitting in a theater, watching it live. The book is written in such a way that you can vividly imagine the characters and even sense the emotions they’re expressing.
The plot itself isn’t complicated or filled with dramatic climaxes. If you’re looking for something breezy to read in the evening—something light yet thoughtful—then this play is definitely worth trying.
First, I’ll tell you about the plot of the story, and then I’ll share my personal review at the end of this article.
Plot
The first act starts with two gentlemen—Professor Higgins, a professor of English phonetics, and Colonel Pickering, a linguist specializing in Indian dialects. They were both hoping to meet each other, but didn’t know how to find one another. As if destiny played a trick, they ended up meeting during a storm, right in the middle of which a flower girl named Eliza Doolittle was trying to sell flowers from her basket to everyone around.
Eliza overhears the conversation between the Professor and the Colonel, and the next day she appears at Professor Higgins’s house with a request: to teach her English phonetics so that she can speak as a duchess and be able to work in a flower shop instead of selling them in the street.
Colonel Pickering agrees to cover the costs of the experiment that Higgins proposes—that if he can pass Eliza off as a duchess at the Ambassador’s Garden Party, he will win the challenge.
Turns out Eliza is a quick learner. Besides the language lessons the girl is taught to play the piano, taken to exhibitions and opera, taught etiquette, manners and literacy.
On reception day, Higgins brings Eliza to his mother. The girl keeps herself with dignity all evening, but by the end, the experiment fails as Eliza starts behaving improperly. But even inspite of this fact she manages to charm Freddie, Higgins mother’s friend’s son.
Soon, Eliza appears at another social event and behaves like a true lady – everyone takes her for a duchess. Higgins wins the argument. But when they return home, he does not congratulate Eliza, on the contrary he becomes rude and egoistic. She declares to Higgins that she is worthy of human attitude and attention. Eliza, offended by this attitude, leaves the professor’s house.
What happens at the end of Pygmalion?
Bernard Shaw leaves an open ending. As you know, the author reworked the ending several times, but in the end left an afterword in which Eliza does not return to Higgins, but marries Freddie. Colonel Pickering helps the young financially, and they open their flower shop.
What is the meaning of the play “Pygmalion”?
Have you ever heard of the Pygmalion Effect? It’s a psychological phenomenon that describes how one person’s expectations can influence another person’s behavior or performance in a good way.
The name of the phenomenon comes from an ancient Greek myth about a sculptor Pygmalion who fell in love with a statue he had created and prayed to the goddess Aphrodite to bring it to life. One day, his prayers are answered—the statue comes to life, and Pygmalion marries the woman, named Galatea.
When George Bernard Shaw wrote Pygmalion, he represented this theme through the character of Eliza Doolittle. In the play, Eliza tells Professor Higgins,
“I shall always be a flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me as a flower girl, but I know I can be a lady to you” addressing this part to Colonel Pickering “because you always treat me as a lady—and always will.”
This moment fully illustrates how expectation shapes identity and behavior. Just like in the myth, someone’s belief in you can be powerful enough to bring out a new version of yourself.
My review
Did I like the book? Overall, yes—because it really feels like you’re sitting in a theater watching a play. The writing style is exactly how you’d see it on stage. But don’t expect major conflicts or dramatic twists, because the idea is simple, and you already get a clear sense of it from the very beginning, right from the first act.
The language is beautiful, and it’s the kind of book you’d want to read for 2–3 hours alone before bed. Nothing heavy, nothing that’s going to weigh on you emotionally. It’s a short read, something you can just pick up and enjoy for a quiet evening.
I mean, if you’re looking for something light, theatrical, and with a simple plot, then yes—go ahead and take this book.
