Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys Essays

Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys Essays Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys Essay Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys Essay Essay Topic: Literature Pygmalion The Taming Of the Shrew Bernard Shaw and Jean Rhys were both influential in their genre fields. Both the play and the novel develop themes of the rights of the individual and how that individual may be set aside from the rest of the society they inhabit. Throughout the development of civilisation there are accepted modes of representation and this is certainly applicable to both playwrights and novelist. Each has certain traditions that have preceded them and it is interesting to see how both Shaw and Rhys conform to a point, yet also resist those conventions within Pygmalion and Wide Sargasso Sea. Looking at the text of Pygmalion we can see that on the surface it does conform to the traditional rules of the structure of the play. The elite method for the written text of the play was for it to be constructed into five separate acts, which were outlined by the Greek philosopher, Aristotle. (Myths and Conventions, Unit 19, page 12) In Act 1, Shaw conforms to the exposition element of his play by introducing all the characters and sets up a promise of what is to happen when Higgins, referring to Eliza, declares that in three months I could pass that girl off as a duchess []. (Pygmalion, page 18) To the audience it would be apparent that this would be no effortless task after hearing Elizas opening words of Nah then, Freddy: look wh y gowin, deah. (Pygmalion, page 16) Formally, the opening is also suitable for its purpose of performance. The sequence with the Eynsdford-Hills conforms to a performance element in the fact that it contains partially irrelevant information. With the settling down of the audience it was important to Shaw to not open with necessary information. However, the fact that the middle classes are the element of ridicule here does contribute to the themes in the play Claras obvious anxiety is comical. In a historical context, many of Shaws audience would actually be middle class citizens and causing them to laugh cynically at this behaviour would motivate them to consider the deeper moral issues in the play. Act 2, defined as the development act continues with Eliza declaring Im coming to have lessons, I am. And to pay for em te-oo. (Pygmalion, page 26) Following Higgins agreement to her proposition they set out to wash and bathe her. Elizas prudish behaviour and marked assertions of I always been a good girl (Pygmalion, page 35) contrast directly with Higgins undomesticated actions and penchant for swearing. Shaw flags up another contradictory element between the classes the issue of middle class morality, which Doolittle later falls prey to. The dynamics of the argument between Doolittle and Higgins in performance would have served Shaws intentions; We want a frankly didactic theatre. (Myths and Conventions, Unit 19, page 34) Mrs Pearces questions and, later in the play, those of Mrs Higgins act in imitation of a classical Greek chorus asking the question of what is to become of Eliza? Looking at the play in a historical context we see that when Shaw was writing Pygmalion in 1912 a new form of realist theatre was emerging. The three stipulations of this type of theatre were that the setting should be sparse, the language should be as close to the audiences own language as possible, and that it should concern serious moral issues. In this sense Shaw was conforming to conventions of his era. He chooses not to use the heightened language of verse and rather includes the gritty cockney accents to highlight the contrasts between societies. In a didactic sense, he draws on the Ovidian myth of Pygmalion to highlight issues surrounding the responsibility of the creator and the individual rights of the created. The Ovidian Pygmalion was rather romantic in conclusion and Shaw reworked this myth in a realistic setting, assuring us that there were wider problems to confront in our own society. Act 3, though conventionally it is meant to be the climax, is not action-filled but rather comically heightened. Elizas transformation is partially complete, in the fact that she can phonetically converse with the middle classes, though the content of what she says is not suitable for her surroundings: Acts 4 and 5, traditionally name the turning-point and dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½nouement (unravelling) are flouted here. The rags-to-riches element of the play is cast aside when Eliza throws Higgins slippers towards him. Although the turning point is that Eliza does leave Higgins and Pickering, the eventual outcome in Act 5 is not the unravelling that some may have expected, nothing is resolved in a comfortable light as Shaw wanted a realist ending and therefore could not settle Eliza with marriage. Shaw suggested that discussion should take the place of unravelling and the eventual discourse of Doolittles rise in social status, and Elizas comments on her tutors allows Shaw to voice more of his views on the social change he felt was so needed. [] the difference between a lady and a flower-girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated. (Pygmalion, page 95) Shaw thought that violence to tame wild ways (as in Shakespeares Taming of the Shrew) was a defeatist action. The prevailing class hierarchy is shown to be superficial and the command of phonetics evidently was the key to social mobility. (Myths and Conventions, Unit 19, page 38) Wide Sargasso Sea, written in the 1960s, also challenged current ideas about race, stereotyping and gender, and those of the Victorian novelist, Charlotte Bronte. Wide Sargasso Sea opens with a distinctly unsettling narrative. The point of view is of that of Antoinette, as a child, growing up on her Coulibri estate. Suggestions of conflict are echoed throughout the opening sequence, with Mr Luttrells suicide, and the unfamiliar setting positions the reader with apprehension and a lack of knowledge. The first section of the story is like echoed visions rather than a direct narrative. Jean Rhys uses the imagery of the landscape to suggest the atmosphere of the people of the estate who felt no need to work after the Emancipation Act. All Coulibri Estate had gone wild like the garden. (Wide Sargasso Sea, page 6) From the first person narrative of Antoinette we hear the language of the people around her, Godfrey and Christophine have a peculiar type of dialect a patois, which also unsettles the reader. The unfamiliarity distances us from the action and from identifying with the characters and placing them within a knowable framework. However, the first person narration actually brings us closer to Antoinette and we can feel her isolation more acutely when Tia betrays her. This also sets of the theme of race alongside isolation. The girls differences are not only exemplified through their physical differences; [Tia] had small eyes, very black, set deep in her head. (Wide Sargasso Sea, page 9) They are also set-aside in the social structure both girls are trapped in the racist community where status has seen as inversion following the Emancipation Act. Following Annettes marriage to Mr Mason, Jean Rhys examines English attitudes not only to the Creole population but also to the black community that are now free. Mason misunderstands their danger and his assumptions are based on stereotypes. Theyre too damn lazy to be dangerous. (Wide Sargasso Sea, page 16) Mason is shown to be a typically naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve, stiff upper-lipped, Englishman, presuming that English culture is the right way to live and that other cultures are barely more than savagery. Jean Rhys continues to flout the conventions of the Victorian novelist by incorporating more than one narrator. This was typical of the gothic genre an unsettling approach to reading, coupled with Antoinettes recurring nightmares. In the second section, narrated by Antoinettes husband, Jean Rhys exploits the traditional hero of Rochester by proving him to be elusive and emotionally affected by his surroundings rather the solid rogue character in Jane Eyre; [] a wild place. Not only wild but menacing. Those hills would close in on you. (Wide Sargasso Sea, page 42) Rhys thought that a more realistic view would be to show how an individuals circumstance and surroundings could alter their behaviour it is natural for emotions to change and for people to adapt or rebel. Antoinettes husband becomes the alienated being likened to Antoinettes role in Jane Eyre. However, one feature that persistently pervades the dialogue is the widely descriptive language. This is a very common trait of realist writing of the nineteenth century. Jean Rhys uses the description of the wild terrain to reflect the emotional stability of the characters. The stormy weather indicates his emotional unrest and when the decision is made to leave the honeymoon island for England it is the approaching hurricane season that determines when they leave; The hurricane months are not far away. [] The contemptuous wind passes. [] Tied to a lunatic for life a drunken lying lunatic. (Wide Sargasso Sea, page 106) Following this, a more explicit imitation of Jane Eyre follows with a narrative from Grace Poole and another from Antoinette. The suppression is complete and she is emotionally and psychologically broken. Then I open the door and walk into their world. It is, [] made of cardboard [] that has no light in it. (Wide Sargasso Sea, page 117) Both Bernard Shaw and Jean Rhys had strong opinions of what was needed or wrong with the society they inhabited. Shaw highlights the unnecessary degradation of the lower classes and Elizas isolation in her company is similar to that of Antoinette. Both writers use myths to correlate with issues that need resolving in their own world. Shaw uses the myth of Pygmalion whereas Rhys flouts the myth of the mysterious madwoman in Jane Eyre. For as much as they conformed to certain conventions probably subconsciously, as both were educated and steeped in tradition, they also exploited them to suit their purpose. Both Pygmalion and Wide Sargasso Sea deal with a broadly feminist angle that of suppression by their male counterparts. Eliza has little choice of career following her education and Antoinette was virtually sold to her husband. Shaw and Rhys emphasise that nothing is concrete social structure, emotional stability and right and wrong can often be interpreted differently depending o n the circumstance.