Teaching Pygmalion

Instructions for You

Objective: Close your eyes and imagine Pygmalion taking place in modern Afghanistan, or present day Russia, where women outnumber men. Is it the same story? Probably not. Pygmalion takes place in a very specific culture, at a very specific time, when the rights of women were still catching up to men, and an extremely strident class system was in place.

Here at Shmoop, we like to mix it up, and we're curious; what if Pygmalion took place in another country or culture? How would it be different? Would Pygmalion set in China produce a different interpretation than Shaw's original version? For this assignment, students will re-write Pygmalion for a different culture in order to explore how the Edwardian British cultural context contributes to its overall meaning.

Materials Needed: A copy of Pygmalion and/or Shmoop's summary

Step 1: First, we want the students to do some research about the Edwardian period in Britain. After checking out some websites, students should:

1. Write down three to five characteristics of Edwardian society.
2. Think about how these characteristics are represented in Pygmalion.
3. In a paragraph or two (100 to 200 words), describe the extent to which characteristics of Edwardian Britain contribute to meaning in Pygmalion.

Students can look at the following resources to get them going:

• "The Edwardian Period" (Princeton)
• "The Edwardian Era" (Edwardian Promenade)
• "Edwardian Britain" (Britain Information)

Step 2: Have students share their written responses with the class, and then get a discussion going. Based on their research, how "British" is this story? Could this story happen in the same way if it took place in another country or time period?

After the discussion, explain to students that Pygmalion was adapted from a much earlier Greek myth of the same name. Just a bit of food for thought.

Step 3: Students should now choose a culture (preferably an unfamiliar one) and research how these societies deal with the following factors, which are so significant in Pygmalion:

• Male and female roles and relationships
• Class
• Education
• Social advancement
• Any other pertinent cultural factors which may alter the plot

Step 4: Students will take the information that they found, and adapt or rewrite Pygmalion taking place in that culture. For example, If Pygmalion was to take place in a strict Islamic country, Henry wouldn't be able to approach a woman he didn't know, and would have to be a brother or relative for the plot to move forward instead.

The adaptations won't be word-for-word rewrites of the play, but rather in-depth summaries (two to three paragraphs or two hundred to three hundred words) of each act that show evidence of substantial thought and incorporate the details that students found in their research. Encourage them to be as creative as possible; it's okay if they want to take some liberties with the plot.

Step 5: When students are finished with their "adaptation," they should write a short five paragraph essay (approximately two pages or 400 words) in which they describe the extent to which Pygmalion can be easily cross-culturally interpreted. Students should explain:

• What culture or society they chose
• Why they chose that culture
• How the setting of Pygmalion is different
• Whether the same themes are as easily communicated in their "adaptation"

Step 6: Give the option to have students present their rewrites.

Ideally, everyone will start to see how important Edwardian England is to the play, but also where certain themes could be applied to different societies, giving Pygmalion longevity and a more universal appeal.

Instructions for Your Students

It's not a secret that cultures vary wildly depending on where you live, and when. That means that some of our favorite books would be very different if they took place in a different country. Would that forever alter their meaning, though?

That's what we want you to figure out. In this assignment you'll take the very Edwardian British Pygmalion and adapt it to fit a different culture to assess how culture relates to meaning in the context of the play.

Step 1: First, we want you to do some research about the Edwardian period in Britain. After checking out some websites, you should:

1. Write down three to five characteristics of Edwardian society.
2. Think about how these characteristics are represented in Pygmalion.
3. In a paragraph or two (100 to 200 words), describe the extent to which characteristics of Edwardian Britain contribute to meaning in Pygmalion.

Here are some websites to get you going:

• "The Edwardian Period" (Princeton)
• "The Edwardian Era" (Edwardian Promenade)
• "Edwardian Britain" (Britain Information)

Step 2: Share your written responses with the class, and then we'd like to get a class discussion going. Based on your research, how "British" is this story? Could this story happen in the same way if it took place in another country or time period?

Step 3: Now you're going to explore the relationship between culture and Pygmalion. Could the play be adapted to another country or culture, and still retain a similar interpretation?

Choose a culture (preferably an unfamiliar one). It could be the Yoruba people of Nigeria, or the Tuareg of the Sahara, or Tibetans, or anyone else. Now, research how these societies deal with the following factors, which are so significant in Pygmalion:

• Male and female roles and relationships
• Class
• Education
• Social advancement
• Any other pertinent cultural factors which may alter the plot

Step 4: Here's the twist. You'll be adapting Pygmalion, act-by-act, changing the names, places, interactions, etc., so that they better reflect the culture that you just researched.

Instead of completely rewriting the play word-for-word, you'll be creating in-depth summaries (two to three paragraphs or two hundred to three hundred words) for each of the five acts, that show evidence of substantial thought and incorporate the details that you found in your research.

Be as creative as possible; it's okay if you want to take some liberties with the plot.

Step 5: You'll complete your cross-cultural study by writing a short five paragraph essay (approximately two pages or 400 words) describing the extent to which you think Pygmalion can be easily cross-culturally interpreted. You should explain:

• What culture or society you chose
• Why you chose that culture
• How the setting of Pygmalion is different
• Whether the same themes are as easily communicated in your "adaptation"

Step 6: Your teacher might ask you to share your adaptation with the class, so gargle some salt water and be ready to talk.