Lynda Mugglestone: “Shaw, Subjective Inequality, and the Social Meanings of Language in Pygmalion”

Lynda Mugglestone’s “Shaw, Subjective Inequality, and the Social Meanings of Language in Pygmalion” for The Review of English Studies discusses “Shaw’s study of the social markers which make up the seemingly insurmountable divisions of class . . . [and] the social meaning [of the play] can be seen above all to reside in the stress placed on innate equality, against the arbitrary values placed on the symbols which obscure it, on the differences of income and enunciation which may spuriously suggest acceptability or otherwise . . . the superficialities of social disguise.”

Consider Mugglestone’s ideas about Shaw’s play, which will help you to contextualize your analysis of Pygmalion.  This article is available via the Queens College Library Database. Your login is required.