My Fair Lady is a screen version of Lerner and Loewe's musical adaption of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. The play and the movie can both serve as entertaining resources for understanding a little about Victorian culture in London.
The title of Shaw's play, Pygmalion, refers to the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. Pygmalion was a sculptor living in Cyprus. Unmarried, he became disgusted with the women of Cyprus and swore himself to celibacy. Being a sculptor, he decided to sculpt the perfect woman, carved from ivory. The resulting statue was of surpassing beauty and extremely life-like, so much so that Pygmalian named the statue Galatea and fell in love with it.
On the feast day of Aphrodite, Pygmalion made sacrifices and prayed for a wife. Aphrodite
answered his prayers by bringing the statue to life. Pygmalion and Galatea were married and bore
a son.
Shaw's Pygmalion
George Bernard Shaw took this story and translated it into the Victorian world. Henry Higgins is the Pygmalion character. He is a linguist, fairly well-to-do. He is arrogant and a confirmed bachelor, having little use for women in general. He has a close associate, Colonel Pickering. I have always felt that Higgins and Pickering were either a parody or homage to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Higgins knowledge of language is unsurpassed. He can determine a great deal about the people he encounters merely by listening to them talk. He has much of the obsessiveness of Holmes, as well as the attention to detail. His boon companion, Col. Pickering, is a retired military officer, who, like Watson, serves as the straight man. His manners are impeccable and he has a clear fondness for women.
The Galatea character is Eliza Doolittle, a young woman who sells flowers in the street. Higgins makes a bet with Pickering that he can teach Eliza to speak and act like a "real" woman and pass her off in Society. The story recounts Higgins efforts to train her, pass her off in society and then what happens when you take a "gutter snipe," give her all the qualities of a lady, without the means to support such a life.
Shaw has much to say about the English language and society, particularly how dialect and
accent was a basis for identification and discrimination. A close reading of the play can provide
a good insight into Victorian Society.
My Fair Lady
Starring:
Rex Harrison
Audrey Hepburn
Jeremy Brett
Directed by: George Cukor
My Fair lady is a fun movie. Colorful, light and full of great music, it is a very accessible version of Pygmalion. Given that it is a "Hollywood" version of Victorian life, one should not expect too much in the way of authenticity, although the costumes and sets are beautiful and reasonably true to period.
Performances by Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn are brilliant. They are a wonderful screen couple. The late Jeremy Brett (known for the most authentic portrayal of Sherlock Holmes) has a small, but well-performed part.
Overall, My Fair Lady is an entertaining way to give players a look at Society life in the Victorian era. From introductions at court to outings at the races, it gives hints at how the better half lived. At the same time, the portrayal of Eliza Doolittle as flower girl and her father, Alfred Doolittle, gives a rosy glimpse into the life of the working class, possibly useful for a more upbeat sort of Victorian setting . I recommend this movie to everyone.