Comment
on George Bernard Shaw’s treatment of gender roles in his play Pygmalion.
G. B.
Shaw’s attitude towards women and gender role in general can be explained with
several stations in his biography. As I mentioned above, he had an unusual
relationship with his mother that influenced his view on women in general.
Not being
appreciated and loved by his own mother led to his odd attitude towards women.
The affairs he experienced before and during his marriage included much more
talking than love-making. He recreated triangles that resembled the one of his
parents and Vandeleur Lee, but nevertheless lead a chaste life as his interests
hardly ever were sexually. There was for example Ellen Terry, whom he wanted to
entice from her husband for professional reasons.
There was
always the professional idea in the foreground instead of a romantic attitude
towards women, like Higgins’ attitude towards Eliza:
“Eliza:
One would think you was my father.
Higgins:
If I decide to teach you, I’ll be worse than two fathers to you.”
(Shaw, Pygmalion 176, f.)
G. B. Shaw idealized women
and created the “stereotype, Woman-the-Huntress” (Holroyd, Shaw 112). He was
comfortable in the role of the innocent man who is escaping the women’s grasp.
He portrays love and sexuality as something negative and is proud of fleeing
it. He constructs Higgins, a man who is also able to get away from women and
the idea of romantic love. By doing this and putting Higgins’ ability as
something positive, he glorifies his own personality at the same time: “I wont
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