Pygmalion act 4. Pygmalion Act 4 Short Summary By GB Shaw • English Summary 2022-10-30

Pygmalion act 4 Rating: 7,2/10 261 reviews

In Act 4 of George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, the character of Eliza Doolittle undergoes a transformation as she becomes more confident and assertive in her newfound role as a member of high society. The act begins with Eliza's return from her trip to the embassy, where she has been taking lessons in etiquette and elocution in order to pass as a lady at an upcoming garden party.

Upon her return, Eliza is greeted by her former teacher, Professor Henry Higgins, and his mother, who are both surprised by the transformation in Eliza's appearance and demeanor. Eliza is now confident and poised, and she speaks with a refined accent that belies her humble origins.

Despite her success at the embassy, Eliza is still unhappy with the way that Higgins and his mother treat her, and she makes it clear that she will not be a servant to them any longer. She demands to be treated with respect and to be given a fair wage for her work.

The act also reveals the changes in the relationship between Eliza and Higgins. In the beginning of the play, Higgins sees Eliza as nothing more than a project, a way to prove his theories about language and social class. However, as Eliza becomes more confident and self-assured, Higgins begins to see her as an equal and even admits that he has grown fond of her.

Overall, Act 4 of Pygmalion is a crucial turning point in the play as it marks the completion of Eliza's transformation from a Cockney flower girl to a confident and capable member of high society. It also highlights the changes in the relationship between Eliza and Higgins, as their dynamic shifts from that of teacher and student to one of mutual respect and understanding.

Act 4

pygmalion act 4

Pearce about the coffee; for she won't be told by me. My own clothes were burnt. You've never been broken in properly to the social routine. But that's all over now. He thanks God the experiment is over.

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George Bernard Shaw

pygmalion act 4

He takes off the hat and overcoat; throws them carelessly on the newspaper stand; disposes of his coat in the same way; puts on the smoking jacket; and throws himself wearily into the easy-chair at the hearth. By the way, I came down for something: I forget what it was. Nothing more for you to worry about. I don't want to hear anything more about that. One reason is that most theatrical productions do not have the capacity to stage an opulent, luxurious ball just for a short scene. Will you take these to your room and keep them safe? He stops unlacing and looks at them as if they had appeared there of their own accord. Oh yes, of course.

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Pygmalion Act 4 Summary

pygmalion act 4

What am I to do? That's enough for you. Eliza did the trick, and something to spare, eh? May I ask whether you complain of your treatment here? Eliza looks at him darkly; then leaves the room. Eliza says she knows Higgins doesn't care about her at all. Eliza returns with a pair of large down-at-heel slippers. You go to bed and have a good nice rest; and then get up and look at yourself in the glass; and you won't feel so cheap. Higgins yawns again, and resumes his song. Summary It's midnight, and Moments later, Higgins returns, once more searching for his slippers, and she throws them at him with all her strength.

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Pygmalion Act 4 Summary & Analysis

pygmalion act 4

Where am I to go? Having to go to high society events with Eliza has been irritating for him. Eliza opens the door and is seen on the lighted landing in opera cloak, brilliant evening dress, and diamonds, with fan, flowers, and all accessories. What did you throw those slippers at me for? I prefer to say nothing more tonight. Low spirits and nothing else. What else am I to do? We are spared the actual training of Eliza as well as her moment of glory that is, both the science and the magic ; instead, all we get is scenes of her pre- and post- the dramatic climax.

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Pygmalion Act 4 Short Summary By GB Shaw • English Summary

pygmalion act 4

Eliza's beauty becomes murderous. Presently Higgins and Pickering are heard on the stairs. If I hadn't backed myself to do it I should have chucked the whole thing up two months ago. Higgins a little uneasy. Do my clothes belong to me or to Colonel Pickering? Will you take these to your room and keep them safe? GradeSaver, 14 July 2006 Web.

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Act 4 questions

pygmalion act 4

Higgins is confused and even humiliated by such an assertion. You have wounded me to the heart. Oh, chuck them over the bannisters into the hall. I know you don't care. One thing to consider in this act is why Shaw has chosen not to portray the climax at the ambassador's party where Eliza can prove how well she has been instructed by Higgins although his movie screenplay does allow for a scene at the embassy. The dinner was worse: sitting gorging there for over an hour, with nobody but a damned fool of a fashionable woman to talk to! Higgins says that no one has ever treated her badly at his house, and says that Eliza must simply be tired after a long day.

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Pygmalion Act IV Summary and Analysis

pygmalion act 4

I wish I was dead. I don't matter, I suppose. If I hadn't backed myself to do it I should have chucked the whole thing up two months ago. I didn't sell myself. By the time she gets there she is on the point of screaming. Finally she flings it down on the dessert stand and goes upstairs in a tearing rage.

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Pygmalion/Act IV

pygmalion act 4

I knew she'd be all right. Eliza tries to control herself and feel indifferent as she rises and walks across to the hearth to switch off the lights. Clumsily, he suggests that she could find a rich man to marry who will take care of her—a solution Eliza rejects: "We were above that at the corner of Tottenham Court. Therefore, in his perception Eliza is what he can see and hear, and he assumes this is all that matters to her as well. I shouldn't bother about it if I were you. Because I wanted to smash your face.


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Pygmalion Act IV Summary & Analysis

pygmalion act 4

Take your slippers; and may you never have a day's luck with them! Eliza apparently easily fooled people into thinking she was upper-class. Oh yes, of course. . Pickering returns, with the contents of the letter-box in his hand. But when I saw we were going to win hands down, I felt like a bear in a cage, hanging about doing nothing. He tells her that after she sleeps she will feel better.

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Pygmalion: Act IV

pygmalion act 4

All I want to know is whether anything belongs to me. I didn't think it made any difference now. My heart began beating like anything. Eliza smiles for the first time; expresses her feelings by a wild pantomime in which an imitation of Higgins's exit is confused with her own triumph; and finally goes down on her knees on the hearthrug to look for the ring. How dare you show your temper to me? Still, it's been a great occasion: a triumph for you.

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