对《皮革马利翁》中伊莉莎的形象分析

Analysis of the transformation of Elisa in Pygmalionand its causesIntroductionBorn in Dublin in 1856 to a middle-class family, George Bernard Shaw gradually became one of the most important playwrights after Shakespeare. Maybe somebody disagree with such assessment, however, the fact that"a day never passes without a performance of some Shaw play being given somewhere in the world"(Schwart, 1966:24) definitely prove Shaw's charm among the readers. Of which, Pygmalion is undoubtedly the most welcomed and beloved one. Pygmalion is originally a mythology from Ovidius’s Metamorphoseon libri. Pygmalion，King of Cyprus，was a famous sculptor．He fell in love with the sculpture which was made by him. Shaw named the play after the king's name of the myth play; obviously, it shows the relationship between his work and the mythology. In the mythology, the ivory became a beautiful statue and finally a fair lady. In Shaw's play, Elisa is a cockney speaking Covent Garden flower girl at first, but became an attractive princess at last. This is the result of Higgins's six months phonetics and manner training, and after six months, Eliza is not a self-contemptuous flower girl any more, she is a brave resistant who dares to pursue her own happiness. Shaw's relapse of mythological archetype has his own purposes. Besides, he made bold changes when he imitates.Many scholars have studied this work from the perspective of feminism, Fabianism, language and translation of Shaw's Pygmalion. But the following essay will discuss the social and natural background, changes of Elisa and different causes of her transformation from a different point of view. The play demonstrates the process of the self-realization and spiritual development of the flower girl, thus contributes profound realistic significance to the classical tradition. This essay will also discuss the influence on Eliza's fate and the society of Shaw's time.1.Analysis of the transformation of ElisaEliza is the most important topic in the work of Pygmalion, she is placed in the center of the theme. Since the appearance of this great play, critics has been analyzed the phenomena of Eliza's transformation with great interest, in the following part, we will do the same thing in a deeper level.1.1 Former image of ElisaIn Act I, Elisa appears with "a little sailor hat of black straw that has long been exposed to the dust and etc. Her hair needs washing rather badly: its mousy color can hardly be natural."(Shaw, 1925: 8) Elisa is kicked out by her parent when she was a little child, and the most important thing for her is living. She has no time and no condition to dress up herself. She wants to learn how to talk more genteel from Higgins, and try to make herself clean "she has a hat with three ostrich feathers, orange, sky-blue, and red. She has a nearly clean apron, and the shoddy coat has been tidied a little."(Shaw, 1925: 51) Obviously, this is the best dress to meet the guest, but it is still "so horribly dirty" in Higgins's eye. The first impression on Higgins is terrible "a woman who utters such depressing and disgusting sounds has no right to be anywhere—no right to live."(Shaw, 1925: 70)1.2 New image of ElisaIn the mythology of Pygmalion, it's the exquisite carving skills that made the ivory become a beauty. This is the first transformation, and similar to the changes of Elisa's appearance in Shaw's Pygmalion. After Higgins's six months training, the flower girl becomes a princess. The clothes can easily be changed, the pronunciation and tone can be fixed, but inner temperament and education need a long term nurture and accumulation. Though they teach her how to choose clothes, play piano, learn many kinds of dialects, and go to concerts, all of this make her princess when she is chatwith people in the party.1.2.1 TransformationUnder Higgins's training, Elisa's clothing, conversation and comportment has changed a lot. After Mrs. Pearce helps her to have a bath and change her clothes, she becomes a "dainty and exquisitely clean young Japanese lady". Even her father doesnt recognize her and "gets out of her way deferentially and apologizes"(Shaw, 1925: 123).In order to examine her learning, Higgins brings her to his mother's at-home day. Elisa, "who is exquisitely dressed, produces an impression of such remarkable distinction and beauty" (Shaw, 1925: 161), is not only not recognized by Mrs. and Miss Eynsford Hill, but also win Freddy's adore. Later, in the ambassador's garden party, Higgins wins the bet. Elisa attracts everyone's attention in her splendid dresses.1.2.2 DisillusionmentIn the myth of Pygmalion, the second transformation from the statue to a live lady is a great change, comparing with the first one. It is animate and inanimate. We don't know whether Galatea has her own mind after she owns life, and whether she has courage and freedom to gain will. But we know that Shaw gives us a clear description. When Elisa is confused, she chooses to be strong enough to gain courage and determination to realize her dream.From the talk between Elisa and Pickering in the garden party, we can see her feeling about her change. She feels like a dream and doesn't want to be wakened. She knows it's just a dream, but she would rather indulge in it. She is totally fed up with the life of a flower girl. She was turned out by her parents for they thought that she was big enough to earn her own living when she was very young. From then on, she lived in the house worse than pigsty, sold flowers everyday. In Act I, there are many words like "springing up terrified", "hysterically"etc. She wants to get rid of herterrible life, so she comes to Higgins. She doesn't want to be a duchess but a lady in a flower shop and has a stable income and gain others' respect. From the very beginning, Elisa has decided to live by herself and will try her best once an opportunity comes. She is an independent girl with pure dreams and has affectionate feelings. She doesn't want to wake up and expect it the beautiful dream could last forever so that she would not worry about her back to a flower girl.However, the reality is cruel, which breaks her dream relentless. If the ambassador's garden party is an exciting triumph for Higgins and Pickering, it is totally a torturing for Elisa. She copes with the task with all her heart and soul, like walking in the desert. After the dream comes to its end, Eliza has to think about her future. She realizes the distance between the current life and her ideal life finally. The difference between upper class and lower class is nothing but the so-called education and elegant language. She needs something more real and more essential to prove the existence of herself. When she heard Higgins says fervently "Thank god, its over!"(Shaw, 1925: 211), she flinches violently. For those two gentlemen, it's just a game; but Elisa put all her best hope of future life in it. She doesn't know what to do next and can't see any way out of that. The game is over, and its time to wake up. "Elisa tries to control herself and feel indifferent……Finally she gives way and flings herself furiously on the floor, raging."(Shaw, 1925: 215) The peace she tries to keep is breakdown, she "snatching up the slippers, and hurling them at him one after the other with all her force". This is a turning point of her inner growth. Two gentlemen's indifference is a dose of fierce medicine that she has to wake up and all the worries emerged. She gives a suffocated scream of fury, and questions Higgins "What to become of me? What to become of me?" "How the devil do I know what to become of you? What does it matter what becomes of you?"(Shaw, 1925: 217) Higgins answers. And this makes Elisa fully wake up. Higgins takes his control of Elisa as a matter of course. At the same time, Elisa chooses to leave wisely and bravely there even though she doesn't know what to do next just like the moment she comes. She doesn't want to be a wretch fooled by fate. She has regarded Higgins and Pickering as her friends, but finally realizes that they're not in the same world. So she breaks with them and leaveswithout hesitation. It's really a hard time and a difficult decision for her, but she made it. She completes her transformation and shows her persistence in the establishment of her identity. In the last act, the discourse initiative has reversed. Elisa is "sunny, self-possessed and giving a staggeringly convincing exhibition of ease of manner" and Higgins is outburst". From her attitude towards Higgins, we can see that she knows what she wants to do and hopes for, she is not afraid of life any more. She says "what I did was not for the dresses and the taxis: I did it because we were pleasant together and I come–came–to care for you; not to want you to make love to me, and not forgetting the difference between us, but more friendly like."(Shaw, 1925: 305) , She points out her desire for kindness, but because of their difference of values this communication break up unhappily. Elisa insists on her independence and never gives up. At last, Higgins admits her mature in his way; he says "You and I and Pickering will be three old bachelors together instead of only two men and a silly girl."(Shaw, 1925: 313)2.Analysis of the c auses of Elisa’s transformationThe causes of Eliza's transformation can be include the external causes and internal causes. Appearantly, Higgins is the main cause of Eliza's change, but in a deep sense, the social background is an indispensable or unavoidable factor which deserves our attention. Besides, the desire of Eliza herself and the the instincts of human being can not be ignored either. The following part will talk about these aspects in detail.2.1 External causesFrom the beginning of the play, Higgins was introduced with an identity of an excellent linguist, he is eager to make an experiment to prove his success through. After six months' exercise, he created a new Eliza according to his intention. This is one of the external causes of Eliza's transformation. Besides, the social background is another bigger factor which deserves us to pay more attention to it.2.1.1 The influence of HigginsProfessor Higgins is a different person in the middle class, he is a gadfly. He is rebellious, supercilious and "treats a duchess as if she was a flower girl". He is so straightforward that he objects to the communication rules and refreshes the old-fashioned nasty ethos followed by the Bourgeois society. In the at-home party, Elisa"s bad language make miss Eynsford Hill feels fresh and she finds the new small talk delightful and quite innocent. The new trend of social intercourse in bourgeois society is brought in by the marginal man of middle class like Higgins.Higgins is like an elf that exaggerated Pygmalion's suffocation vitality. Shaw's negative attitude to his "Pygmalion" is served as a failure to show the life of his "Galatea". So Elisa in a sense is the opposite of Higgins. Contrary to Pygmalion's escape life and reality, she is making the vision a reality. According to Elisa's different development of mind, we can divide it into two parts: in the first three acts, Higgins turns a flower girl into a duchess; in the last two acts, we can see how a duchess becomes a real independent female. Elisa gradually realizes the suppress vitality of her Pygmalion and she gains her identity as well as her heart and soul. Different from Higgins's pallid idealism, the growth of Elisa's mind is marked by the control of reality tightly. The rebirth of her soul is also divided into two parts: the first part is characterized by Eliza's strong outburst; the second part is represented by her extraordinary self-control. From the beginning of Act IV, Elisa starts to feel the hollowness of social situation and the distance between the reality and dream. She pursue the knowledge and power of upper class only to find that her former value is a bubble, and she needs more essential things to prove her existence. The first thing she has to face is her emotion towards Higgins. She tries to seek a spiritual sustenance from her love to Higgins. For her, love should be based on mutual care, she is eager for close relationship and interdependence, this is also her thoughts the moment she throws away Higgins slippers. However, her new heart is deeply hurt by Higgins's indifference. She is irritated and even loses control. Her outrage is not just because of her rebirth heart. On the other hand, she is still attached to Higgins and doesn't realizethe independent self. She displeased him in order to catch his attention but her love is cooled by his exclusive of any relationship. "Im nothing to you—not so much as them slippers." She finally finds out and shouted. After the failure of love, she knows that she must rely on herself to fulfill herself. She wants to find another identity, and keeps asking "What to become of me?" in order to arouse her creator’s sense of responsibility. But Higgins is only interested in form and fantasy, and doesnt have any sense of responsibility at all. He even says "How the devil do I know what to become of you? What does it matter what becomes of you?" In Act V, Elisa appears again and states her opinion about irrelevant topics on purpose. This time the upper class lady she plays is not a doll any more but an independent woman who has self-knowledge. She sees the emptiness of social distinction clearly and thinks "it was just like learning to dance in the fashionable way: there was nothing more than that in it."(Shaw, 1925: 273) Her real education is beginning with self-respect and this is the first step to self-consciousness. She knows that she can't go back to former life and she can't depend on anybody if she wants to gain her real identity. She remains calm and self-control nearly all along, because the real identity is in her. Elisa's smart and Higgins's simple answer make a sharp contract with the scene in the laboratory. This indicates that Elisa gains creativity from her creator and grows into a real woman. But she still has hope for her love to Higgins, and doesn't give up imagination until the last act. Elisa asks for mutual care and love, but Higgins regards it as "little dogs tricks". Elisa wants to build up friendship but Higgins is completely rejecting it. "I can do without anybody." Elisa cares a lot about feelings. "Im no preacher: I dont notice things like that. I notice that you don't notice me." She knows what kind of person Higgins wants her to become: a lady without consciousness, just like a dead body. She refuses his last request of living as "three old bachelors", and breaks up with him completely.2.1.2 Social backgroundThe upper class is empty, dull, boring, vulgar, superficial, pretentious and selfish. Itowns hereditary status and exploiting property as a privileged class. They go to parties, eat, drink and make merry. They scorn to work because they think that it is for those lower class people. They are the parasites on the society and very hypocrisy. They don't need to work and enjoy the exploited property, of course, so they always hold many parties to kill time. In the ambassador's garden party, Elisa is so exquisitely dressed, graceful and charming that she attracts everyone's eyes. Even the lady ambassador is curious about her and asks a linguist to find out her background. In their eyes, Elisa is a princess, "Not only Hungarian but of royal blood. Her blood is bluer than the Danube is of ever was royalty is absolutely written on her face. And she’s Hungarian as the first Hungarian Rhapsody." They always judge a book by its cover. When Miss Clara first meets ragged Elisa on the London Street, she stays far away from her. Then in Mrs. Higgins's at-home party, Clara meets Elisa again but doesn't recognize her because Elisa is just like a noble lady from her excellent pronunciation, clothing and temperament. Freddy is crazy about her at first sight and when Mrs. Higgins asks him whether he would like to see Elisa again he answers eagerly, "Yes, I should, most awfully." Though Mrs. and Mr. Hill is aristocrat, they are looked down upon because they are not rich and less family invite them to the party. In Act I, Clara doesn't want to talk to Higgins as she thought he was a detective, but at the party after she knows his real identity she is close to him and regards him as an appropriate husband. A person's popularity is decided by his status and property. The aristocrats seem like nobleness and superior to others, actually, they’re noth ing but hereditary status and property, pure pronunciation and gorgeous clothing. After six months training, a flower girl can also become an admirable duchess. Shaw is a Fabian and reads a lot of Marx's works. This is providing the foundation for his reveal of upper class. But even though he criticizes the aristocrats strictly and preaches socialism, he doesn't identify with the lower class.Shaw criticizes and satirizes the lower class relentless. The people written by Shaw are poor, silly, discontent, vanity and love to enjoy. The poor love money and is stingy. When Higgins gives Elisa a handkerchief to wipe her eyes, she doesn't know how to use it and Mrs. Pearce wants to teach her but Elisa snatches it and says "Here! Yougive me that handkerchief, He give it to me, not to you." The poor people’s selfish and indifferent attitude towards their family members is depicted either. Elisa is turned off by her father as they think she is big enough to earn her own living. Shaw also shows the ignorance of lower class. When Higgins is joking and says "At the end of six months you shall go to Buckingham Palace in a carriage, beautifully dressed. If the King finds out you're not a lady, you will be taken by the police to the Tower of London, where your head will be cut off as a warning to other presumptuous flower girls."(Shaw, 1925: 83) Elisa can't understand its meaning, and says: "I wont let nobody wallop me. I never asked to go to Bucknam Palace, I didnt. I was never in trouble with the police, not me. Im a good girl—" (Shaw, 1925: 85). When the bath was too hot she has just used it herself. It begins with the same letter as bath. She knows no better. It's hard to imagine that the word is spoken out of a young girl's mouth. The lack of education is carried on from generation to generation. They don't help each other but jealous and laugh at each other. After she wears beautiful clothes, the first thing she wants to do is take a taxi to the corner of Tottenham Court Road and get out there and tell it to wait for me, just to put the girls in their place a bit. She wouldn't speak to them. Higgins says that's so snobbery to do that. But Elisa answers "You dont call the like of them my friends now, I should hope. Theyve took it out of me often enough with their ridicule when they had the chance; and now I mean to get a bit of my own back."(Shaw,1925:89)Actually, all of characteristics of Eliza are closely connected with the biggest social background. In the early twentieth century, women get their voting rights after a furious fight. However, as men return home after the First World War, women become a housewife again without paying and social status. They realize that they live for their husbands and children rather than for themselves. They are eager for respect from others, equal job opportunity and education. All of these shows the substance of feminist movement: living right. In Pygmalion, Elisa is the same as other women that they can't receive good education and share equal rights with men, though she is looking forward to good education and equal job opportunity. In this play, Elisa is also affected by the feminist movement and makes her own living under such terribleenvironment.2.2I nternal causesThe internal causes of Eliza's transformation refers to the desire of Eliza herself and the internal desire of human being. Although Eliza was born in the gutter, she is not going to give up her right of struggling with life, she has a romantic dream in her deep heart, although she can not express it in beautiful language. After she met Higgins, she learned that her opportunity is coming finally, so she decided to do her best to achieve her dream. Secondly, "to be perfect" and becoming the center of the other's attention is everyone's thought since they come into this world, Eliza is just a representative of them.2.2.1 The desire of Elisa herselfAfter paying a visit to Higgins, Elisa begins to suffer from her transformation from a flower girl to a lady, and this pain can arouse her self-awareness deep in heart. In Higgins' laboratory, he uses rude words to hurt Elisa. Elisa swallows the insults because she knows she has to experience it before she becomes a lady. Though life is hard, she is still full of hopes and dreams for the future. Elisa has the excellent conditions to realize her dream after she experiences lots of difficulties despite that she is still Higgins' doll just like the statue in the myth without heart and soul.In Act I, as a flower girl she can do whatever she wants to do and play with her friends in the slum, but these are all gone after she becomes a good-educated lady. She can't go back to her former life anymore and also can't blend into the hypocritical upper class, just as Elisa says: "I have no real friends in the world but you and the Colonel. You know well I couldnt bear to live with a low common man after you two."(Shaw ，1925：307) Elisa is a Higgins' professional and technical product. She is like a hedgehog full of prickles and pulls out all her quills with blood and flesh for beauty. In fact, this experience makes her change from a doll to an independent newwoman. This transformation is the change of her heart and soul:rousing self-consciousness, independent personality and regaining of confidence and dignity. In the process of fulfilling her dream, Higgins never regards her as an equal person but an article or a doll belongs to him. Elisa is fighting all the time in order to get rid of Higgins' right treatment. In essence, this humble flower girl is also fighting against the whole patriarchal society and begins to have a mind of her own.The ideas of feminist have wakened Elisa's desire for independence and self-identity. The difficult transformation from language to behavior has roused her self-consciousness as a female. She is stronger and more independent than ever through inner struggles and changes. She is not a pure flower girl anymore but an independent new woman full of confidence.2.2.2 The natural instincts of human beingWhat is human being? Maybe it's just a creature created by Gods in their spare time. From the story God made man in Bible to the Chinese mythology of Goddess Nu Wa made man by soil, human beings have defined their humble lives—a powerful object's creature. We come to the world as a creature being ruled by mysterious fate. Some strong power made people realize their insignificance and incapability. Such kind of power also influenced the creation of a literature work, because of the inside conflict when we face nature, fate and god. Schopenhauer once says: "the human is the desire and the demand incarnation, is the innumerable desire congealment", which means that everyone desires and he will do anything to satisfy his inner desire.In a play, there're always two opposing forces: one is human essence force represented by protagonist; the other one is reverse force that oppress protagonist's dream and action. All of these two forces may damage human's pursuit of dreams, will, emotion and action. It reflects the cognition of the existence state--when human beings carry out their will, dream and action they will have a serious handicap out of human being's fighting spirit, the play describes when characters face upon the reverse force they shows their iron will, strong emotion and unswerving spirit whichencourage us and arouse the determination to fight against all the reverse forces. We can get rid of these weaknesses so long as we believe it and the prospect of human is bright. We strengthen the human essence life and also weaken the reverse force. Then we'll become more confident in the fight. Elisa is a common people and her transformation is just an example of it. She may be stupid and lack of confidence at first, but after the training and experiences she wakes up. The inner desire for better life appears clearly in her heart. She starts to fight for her rights and independence, and finally succeed.ConclusionGeorge Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion not only increases mythology but also gives new meanings to the play. Galatea is the prototype of Elisa. Both of them are creatures great changes occur to them. And in the re-interpretation of the play, we can obviously see many of the traces of the original one and also can feel the specialty of the new one. Elisa is a live woman full of emotion and hope. Once she is awakening, she will not stay with her creator as a live doll. She will seek for her own independent life and equal care. The time spent with Higgins and Pickering has a great effect on her. The most important is not the changes of her type of conversation or comportment; it's the opportunity to experience different life. This is the most important cause of her disillusionment. Someone says that Shaw' Pygmalion has the philosophical connotation of creating independent person, regardless of the fact that Shaw states in the preface that the purpose of writing this play is to arouse the British public's learning enthusiasm of pure English, we can see the concern of women run through this work. In Pygmalion, Shaw discusses both female shaped by male artists and women's self-creation. Pygmalion tears the mask off gentlemen and scholars of the upper class and exposes the ugliness of their treatment to lower class people. This play is an outstanding work full of bitter irony to the real world.Bibliography[1] Gibbs, A. M. The Art and Mind of Shaw. London: The Macmillan Press Ltd, 1983.[2] Massingh, H. W. "Notes on Pygmalion" Shaw. The Critical Heritage. London: Routledge &Kegan Paul Ltd, 1976.[3] Schwart, G. H. George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching andResearch Press, 1996.[4] Shaw, Bernard, edited by Dan H. Laurence. 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