Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw summary

 

Act 1

 The action begins at 11:15 p.m. in a heavy summer rainstorm. An after-theatre crowd takes shelter in the portico of St. Paul's Church in Covent Garden. A young girl, Clara Eynsford Hill, and her mother are waiting for Clara's brother Freddy, who looks in vain for an available cab. Colliding into flower peddler Eliza Doolittle, Freddy scatters her flowers. After he departs to continue looking for a cab, Eliza convinces Mrs. Eynsford Hill to pay for the damaged flowers. Eliza is made aware of the presence of Henry Higgins, who has been writing down every word she has said. Thinking Higgins is a policeman who is going to arrest her for scamming people, Eliza becomes agitated. Higgins turns out, however, to be making a record of her speech for scientific ends. Higgins was  an expert phonetician.  Higgins boasts that "in three months I could pass that girl off as a duchess at an ambassador's garden party." Higgins and Pickering eventually trade names and realize they have long wanted to meet each other. They go off to dine together and discuss phonetics. 

 

Act 2

The next morning at 11 a.m. in Higgins's laboratory, which is full of instruments, Higgins and Pickering receive Eliza, who has presented herself at the door. Higgins is taken aback by Eliza's request for lessons from him. She wants to learn to "talk more genteel" so she can be employed in a flower shop instead of selling flowers on the street. Eliza can only offer to pay a shilling per lesson, but Pickering, intrigued by Higgins's claims the previous night, offers to pay for Eliza's lessons and says of the experiment: "I'll say you're the greatest teacher alive if you make that good." Higgins enthusiastically accepts the bet, though his housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce, pleads with him to consider what will become of Liza after the experiment. Eliza agrees to move into Higgins's home and goes upstairs for a bath. Meanwhile, Higgins and Pickering are visited by Eliza's father,  Alfred Doolittle, "an elderly but vigorous dustman." Rather than demanding to take Liza away, Doolittle instead offers to "let her go'' for the sum of five pounds. Higgins is shocked by this offer at first, asking whether Doolittle has any morals, but he is persuaded by Doolittle's response, that the latter is too poor to afford them. Later Eliza appears, Doolittle does not at first recognize his daughter, who has re-entered, cleaned up and dressed in a Japanese kimono.

 

Act 3

The story moves to the home of Higgins's mother. Elegantly furnished, it reflects a woman of wealth and refinement. It is Mrs. Higgins's day for receiving visitors, and she is not pleased when her son bursts in without warning. He lacks social graces and tends to insult her guests. Higgins further surprises her with news that he has asked a common flower girl whom he has taught to speak properly to come see her. However, as he explains, while her pronunciation is quite good she still needs to learn what to talk about. He hopes his mother can help.

Mrs. Higgins's other guests arrive, and among them is Mrs. Eynsford Hill, the genteel lady featured in Act I, who purchased the flowers spoiled by her son, Freddy. He, too, is present, as are her daughter, Clara, and Pickering, the last to arrive before Eliza makes her entrance. Elegantly dressed, the former flower girl creates an impression of exceptional beauty and sophistication while she perfectly articulates her greetings. As Mrs. Higgins later comments, Eliza is "a triumph of her son's art and of her dressmaker's."

Freddy, in fact, is captivated by her loveliness and odd ways. As she leaves, he takes her to the door and inquires if she intends to walk home. Her reply, "Not bloody likely. I am going in a taxi," is shocking but fails to destroy the overall delightful impression she has made.

Once alone with Higgins and Pickering, Mrs. Higgins passes judgment on the whole affair, telling them that Eliza is not presentable and gives herself away "in every sentence she utters." Learning more about the experiment, she chides both men for treating Eliza like a live doll. The results of teaching Eliza to look and sound like a fine lady will likely leave her caught between two worlds, one in which she still needs to earn a living, the other in which her new status disqualifies her from doing so. Both men miss the point completely, vaguely assuring Mrs. Higgins that "we'll do what's right." Then they leave with plans to take Eliza to a Shakespeare exhibition. Alone with her frustration over the stupidity of the two, Mrs. Higgins cries out, "Oh, men! men!! men!!!"

Act 4

It's midnight, and Eliza, Higgins, and Pickering  are returning to Wimpole Street after the exhausting but highly successful final test of Eliza's skills. Higgins scornfully remarks, "Oh Lord! What an evening! What a crew! What a silly tomfoolery (prank / clowning)!" Then, complaining that he cannot find his slippers, he takes no notice when Eliza finds and places them before him and continues to sound off about the party, saying, "Thank God it's over!" Oblivious to Eliza's growing resentment,  then states that he "can go to bed at last without dreading tomorrow." Eliza holds her temper until Higgins and Pickering leave the room, and then bursts into tears of rage.

Moments later, Higgins returns, once more searching for his slippers, and she throws them at him with all her strength. She has won his bet for him, and now he has no more use for her. Higgins attempts to persuade her that she is simply tired and suffering a case of nerves; a good night's sleep will make things right. After all, she is now free and can do what she likes. Clumsily, he suggests that she could find a rich man to marry who will take care of her, but Eliza rejects that solution: "We were above that at the corner of Tottenham Court ... I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself."

Eliza changes clothes and leaves the house. Outside, she comes upon Freddy gazing up at her window. Love-struck, he spends most of his nights there on the street. Hungry for comfort, Eliza falls into his arms and responds to his passionate kisses. They end up in a taxi with a plan to drive around all night.

Act 5

The next day, Mrs. Higgins is in her drawing room when the maid announces that Higgins and Pickering are downstairs phoning the police about Eliza's disappearance. Mrs. Higgins sends the maid upstairs, where Eliza has taken shelter, to ask that she stay there until she is sent for. Mrs. Higgins then chastises her son and Pickering for their thoughtless treatment of the girl.

Eliza enters, looking coolly self-possessed, and politely greets the two men. She then thanks Pickering for always treating her well and showing her respect. "The difference between a lady and a flower girl,".

For a few moments before leaving, Eliza and Higgins are left alone. Higgins tries to convince her that he did not treat her any differently than anyone else, that he treats everybody rudely. Then he softens a bit and tells her that he will miss her if she leaves. Knowing Higgins will never change and refusing to be trapped by sentimentality, Eliza suggests that she may marry Freddy and support them both by teaching phonetics, possibly as an assistant to Nepommuck (former student). Yet he suddenly sees something in Eliza that she is No longer a  flower girl, Eliza is a woman, "a tower of strength." He likes her.  Even so, as the play closes, Eliza seems set on a path away from Higgins.