Transformation of Eliza from a Flower Girl to Duchess

Abstract

George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion is a complex work of art and such a number of themes and ideas stand out. However, in the play its central theme is the education of Eliza Doolittle and the progress of her soul from spiritual darkness to light. Paper discusses how Eliza a poverty-stricken, shabby girl becomes heroine of the play, which is concerned entirely with her transformation from a flower girl to a lady.Eliza proves difference with a flower girl is not how she behaves but how she is treated. She achieves spiritual illumination through successive stages of despair, self-realization, and the ultimate achievement of social identity and a sense of belonging. Therefore, her transformation is both internal and external.In the words of Jane Rolland Martin-“Eliza’s is nothing less than a whole person transformation.”