Act I and II of Pygmalion

In the first two acts of Pygmalion, Eliza Doolittle, a poor flower vendor, has an encounter with Colonel Pickering, a student of Indian dialects, and Henry Higgins, the author of the Universal Alphabet, while selling flowers on the street corner of London. Hearing the broken English Eliza speaks disgusts Higgins so much that he develops an urge to teach her how to speak properly. Fearing Eliza’s poor speech could possibly prevent her from being successful in her life endeavors, Higgins brags about his ability to transform Eliza into the polished, refined young adult she is capable of becoming within the time frame of three months. “You see this creature with her kerbstone English: the English that will keep her in the gutter to the end of her days. Well, sir, in three months I could pass that girl off as a duchess at an ambassador’s garden party,” Higgins boasts to Pickering in Act I (18).

Higgins’ annoyance with Eliza’s broken speech reminds me of George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” article our class read last week. Like Orwell, Higgins hates how Eliza unknowingly butchers the English language every time she talks. In fact in Act I, Higgins tells Eliza, “. . .you incarnate insult to the English language. . . .” (18). In this quote, Higgins is telling Eliza she dishonors English language.

Even though I have only read the first two acts of Pygmalion, I have to say, I am enjoying the play already! Particularly, I like how Act I opens with a family of three—a mother, daughter named Clara, and son named Freddy—looking for a taxi cab on a busy London street, whom I assumed to be the main characters of the play. However, it is not until Freddy accidentally bumps into Eliza that I realized the plot of Act I is centered around the character of Eliza, not the characters of the mother, Clara, or Freddy who were introduced first. 

The Desecration of the English Language

In the article, “Politics and the English Language,” by George Orwell, Orwell compiles several common errors people tend to display within their writing compositions. In many cases, people are unaware of the horrible mistakes they frequently incorporate within their writing. As Orwell states in his article, the reason why many English-speakers tend to butcher their native tongue is not because they are ignorant, but because the English language, itself, “is full of bad habits which spread by imitation” (paragraph 2). In other words, Orwell is implying that people like to copy what they see and read from the works of others.

I found Orwell’s article to be a plea for all English-speakers in the world. The tone of Orwell's voice throughout the article is one of desperation. In my mind, Orwell is asking English-speakers to stop being lazy within their compositions, be aware of the words they are using, and ensure these words are being used in their correct context. Moreover, Orwell suggests to “never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print” (paragraph 28, (i)). I have heard this statement from the majority of the English professors I have had throughout my matriculation. I think this pointer Orwell provides in “Politics and the English Language” is very important because the over use of metaphors, similes, figure of speech, and clichés has the ability to convert meaningful words and phrases into insignificant verbiage.

Below, I have included some of the clichés I have been reprimanded for using within my English compositions:

Practice makes perfect

I believe the children are the future

Diving into the deep end

Running around like a chicken with my head cut off

"Changing the Names: The Two Catherines," by Lyn Pykett

In the essay, "Changing the Names: The Two Catherines," by Lyn Pykett, Pykett discusses the roles of both Catherine Earnshaw and Cathy Linton in the novel, Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë, in extensive detail. Among many other points, Pykett expresses the difficulties Catherine Earnshaw experiences while learning "to be a woman as defined by the society in which she lives" (470). Furthermore, Pykett charts the difficulties Catherine Earnshaw encounters as living in a nineteenth century society while doing her best to obey the behavioral code of conduct, as a nineteenth century woman was expected.

Like Catherine Earnshaw, I have experienced difficulty with behaving as a "proper lady" at certain times throughout my life. As a child, I was free to do every physical activity I wished to participate in without worrying about tarnishing my physical appearance. If I happened to sweat out my curls while playing tag, my mother would re-curl my hair for me without any hesitation. If I acquired a hole in the "knee" of my jeans while playing too roughly at the park, my mother would patch them up for me. Similar to Catherine Earnshaw, as a child, I too, ran around "half savage, and hardy, and free" (123). As I became older, nevertheless, my mother stopped fixing the problems I created for myself and began to teach me the art of taking responsibility for my own actions. Since then, I have learned to suppress the urge of engaging in an aimless game of tag in fear that my curls may unravel. Because I know my mother cannot be there to assist me with every problem that arises in my my life, I have learned to make a conscious effort to walk, instead of run in oder to avoid the stress of re-styling my hair.

The transition from a bestial child to a refined young adult was not an easy one to make by any means. In fact, it took a great amount of practice and reprimanding from my mother before I was able to comprehend the behavioral code of conduct my mother instilled in me. For this reason, I can understand why Catherine Earnshaw had a hard time making a transition similar to the one I made during my adolescence. But unlike Catherine Earnshaw, I was able to succeed to the elevated plateau of becoming a "proper lady," while she continued to revert back to her adolescent state.

"Imperial Nostalgia and Wuthering Heights" by Nancy Armstrong

In her essay, “Imperial Nostalgia and Wuthering Heights,” Nancy Armstrong discusses the customs of English society during the nineteenth century. In addition, Armstrong correlates English cultural practices of the nineteenth century to some of the events that transpired in Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Brontë. In the essay, Armstrong describes Wuthering Heights, as “just the sort of text that exemplifies the symbolic practices most essential to the social group that produced and/or received it” (pg. 430). In this quote, Armstrong is explaining to literary critics that the purpose of Wuthering Heights was not to reflect English culture, but to depict an unconventional novel with an unconventional story, birthed from the creative mind of Brontë.

One cultural practice Brontë incorporates in Wuthering Heights is the existence of servants. It was not uncommon for the royal family and wealthy homeowners to possess a “help” staff. Usually, it was the job of the “help” to ensure the daily tasks of a household were completed, day in and day out. The one servant readers got to know the best was Nelly Dean. Nelly Dean was the housekeeper of Wuthering Heights who has grown up alongside the family in whom she works. In Wuthering Heights, some of Nelly Dean’s tasks included answering the doors (96), delivering messages to various members living within Wuthering Heights (130), and fetching keys for locked doors around the house (205).

Below, I have attached a picture of two, typical servant girls from the Victorian Era. One girl balances a plate with a cup filled with liquid in both hands, while the other holds a dusting broom in her left hand.

"The Women's Movement"

“The Women’s Movement” essay, by Lady Caroline Norton, of the “Cultural Documents and Illustrations” section in Wuthering Heights highlights the rights of English women during the nineteenth century. According to Norton, “A married woman. . .has no legal existence: her being is absorbed in that of her husband” (295). In addition, Norton informs readers that women were not allowed to defend themselves in court or compose their own wills later on in the essay (295-296). It was the primary job of a woman to tend to the needs and demands of her husband. For this reason, women did not possess legal rights, properties, or monetary funds. All possessions owned by a nineteenth century-English woman prior to marriage were defaulted to her husband once they were wed.

This is exemplified in chapter ten of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. In chapter ten, Heathcliff decides to marry Isabella, Catherine’s sister-in-law, in order to become the heir to Edgar’s, Isabella’s brother, property.  “. . .appalled by this fantastic preference. . .the possible fact that his [Edgar] property, in default of heirs male, might pass into such a one’s [Heathcliff’s] power, he had sense to comprehend Heathcliff’s disposition” Nelly explains in chapter ten (103). The “fantastic preference” Nelly is referring to in this quote is the shift of Heathcliff’s attention from Catherine, Edgar’s wife, to Isabella. This confirms Edgar’s suspicions of Heathcliff’s devious strategy to inherit the Linton properties. In accordance to  nineteenth century English law, once Isabella marries Heathcliff, the property she is to inherit following the death of Edgar, will be given to Heathcliff, along with any other possessions or inheritances she may acquire before and after the confirmation of the marriage.

First Impression of Heathcliff

In Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë, Mr. Lockwood chronicles the time he spends in England at Thrushcross Grange.  Thrushcross Grange is the name of the estate Lockwood rents from a man named Mr. Heathcliff—“a dark skinned gipsy” with a disdainful appearance (27). 

The first impression I developed of Heathcliff was one of uncertainty. I could not decide whether he was a timid or malevolent individual upon meeting him for the first time in chapter 1 of Wuthering Heights. When Lockwood introduces himself to Heathcliff in chapter 1, Heathcliff does not seem to take any interest to Lockwood right away. Initially, Heathcliff was very solemn and frigid throughout the conversation he has with Lockwood. In fact, Lockwood describes Heathcliff as talking “. . .with closed teeth. . .no sympathizing to the words. . . .” in chapter 1 of Wuthering Heights (25). This exemplifies Heathcliff’s unwillingness to converse with Lockwood at that particular moment. From his actions, I could not help to think Heathcliff was annoyed by Lockwood’s presence as well. Consequently, “Heathcliff’s [icy] countenance relaxed into a grin” (28) when witnessing his dogs lunge for Lockwood’s knees at the close of chapter 1. This suggests Heathcliff was amused by the sight of his dogs leaping toward Lockwood, viciously. When Heathcliff saw how flustered and frustrated Lockwood appeared to be after his close encounter with Heathcliff’s pack of dogs, Heathcliff’s whole demeanor changed for the better. For this reason, I found Heathcliff to be bipolar and mentally instable in the beginning of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

"Stealing Books"

In A History of Reading, by Alberto Manguel, Manguel explains the value books possessed in the 1800s. According to Manguel, books were valued by all—both the elite and the poor classes. In most cases, books were traded amongst people in exchange for treasured goods. Rare books, on the other hand, were sold at prices as high as $30,000 (239). They were regarded as precious commodities so much so that people would go to extreme lengths in order to protect their books from thieves and library raiders. Tallemant des Réaux believed that everyone sought the “pleasure of holding a rare volume in one’s hands” (241).

I experienced a sense of amusement while reading the “Stealing Books” Chapter in A History of Reading. I found the information Manguel presents in this chapter amusing because of the differing attitudes society held about books from the 1800s and the new millennium. I cannot imagine people having to worry about guarding their books in their homes over heirlooms and other prized possessions. Nevertheless, the majority the population no longer value books in today’s society. It is apparent that reading is not considered a recreational activity by many. This is demonstrated through the closing of many of the Borders Bookstore locations, nationwide. Nowadays, people rather spend money on technological resources (iPods, iPads, and touch-screen cell phones) than spend money on the latest books.

My, my, my how times have changed. I, too, succumb to the enticement of technology over reading in my leisure time. When I was younger, I used to pick up a book whenever I was bored. I loved reading about the different adventures of the American Girl Dolls in the American Girl Doll Colllection. But now, whenever I have some free time, I log into Facebook and learn about the different adventures of my friends by viewing their pictures.

Living in a society where the inhabitants do not read as much as they ought to saddens me. We, as citizens, are not only hurting ourselves, but we are hurting the future generations to come. If we, as adults, cannot find the time to pick up a book and expand our knowledge, how do we expect the children to do the same? After all, they are the future; it is up to us to set a positive example for each and every one of them.