GB Shaw’s Pygmalion: A Study

Pygmalion published in 1912 focuses on social realism.The work, apart from being a treatise on social realism, also contains colonial aspects.The present work focuses on the colonial aspects ingrained in the text using postcolonial theories proposed by scholars like Homi Bhabha, Edward Said and Gayatri Spivak.Attempts are made to bring out the typical relationship between Eliza and Higgins who are considered as colonizer and colonized respectively.Eliza is looked as a subaltern who comes from the marginalized sections of the society.She remains inferior to Higgins and gradually attempts to claim her individual status.The role of language in deciding the status of the people and language used as a key tool in developing people and distorting culture should be underscored.Eliza's resistance to overcome oppression and her continuous struggle to fight back pervades the play.The way in which Eliza acknowledges her subaltern position and ascends to her status would be the key focus of the study.