[Last Name] 1

[Your Name]

[Instructor Name]

[Course Number]

[Date]

Pygmalion and The Importance of Being Earnest: An analysis of gender issues

The females are fighting against the societal norms and fixed perceptions about them. All

these genders fixated perceptions linked to women are not new and can be traced back to

Victorian times. Shaw has highlighted gender issues women face in his play named

"Pygmalion," and Wilde has discussed them in "The importance of being earnest." It was when

the women had to be satisfied with gender roles, perceptions, and duties set for them. Some

females characters in both plays try to break the walls of gender roles, but they have to succumb

in one way on another. The paper discusses the gender issues faced by the women of victorian

time as represented by the characters of both plays. 

           The independence of women was a foreign concept for the people living in Victorian

times. "I should be independent" (Shaw 79). In Pygmalion, Eliza had to choose her living

position, and she was given three options – her father, Higgins, or Freddy (Li and R 47). It is

absurd to believe that women cannot live alone, without a man's shadow over her. Shaw has

explained the issues faced by women during victorian times in this particular scene. To think that

Eliza is being given a choice in selecting one man in her life shows the hopelessness and

powerlessness of women of those times.

  On the other hand, the play demonstrates that a man can happily live alone, but a woman

living alone was a foreign idea. It was suffocating freedom for women in which they had to make

logical or emotional choices for the long term. "I'll adopt you as my daughter… or would you

rather marry Pickering" (Shaw 79). It demonstrates the reaction of Higgins that shows arrogance

to accept the notion of women's independence. "Work till you are more a brute than a human

being" (Shaw 81). 

Shaw’s play demonstrates that women were encouraged to be dependent on men for a

luxurious life. In fact, from the statement of Higgin, it is apparent they were frightened by the

hardships women had to undergo who were married into low-income families and had to work. It

was a tactic to scare them off from being independent. No matter how strong a woman mentally

is, she has to succumb to available choices. Such crucial moments proved to be life changers for

women in those times. 

The play demonstrates that the concept of an independent woman, “Eliza” was a hard pill

to swallow for people living in Victorian times. People like Higgins were always present around

to remind them how fragile their hard-earned independence can be. All in all, the shackles of

dependency for women were heavier than they could imagine. It would not be wrong to say that

society was ready to go to an extreme extent to make women powerless and deny them

independence. 

           In Shaw’s play, the character of Eliza appears to be marginalized. The character

demonstrates that the women had to face inequality and inferiority at different places during

victorian times. In Shaw's "Pygmalion," Higgin has linked subjects such as science and literature

to be a sign of intellectual individuals such as men only. It was an attempt by him to show the
 [Last Name] 3

inferior status of women in their society. The women are more confided to other activities of life,

such as looking after their husbands. They were not considered intellectual or capable enough to

understand education. 

Furthermore, men had it more comfortable to receive education than women. It is pure

inequality toward women. They have similar capabilities, which can be polished as they were

polished in men through education. The play demonstrates that women were not given an equal

chance at learning intellectual subjects such as mathematics and classic literature. 

On the other hand, Wilde has taken a satirical approach to explain the gender issues faced

by women in the Victorian days. A role reversal is seen in his play. The women are shown to be

dominant while the men are obedient and submissive to their women. It was an attempt by Wilde

to show how the dominant women would behave or look like if the society ever allowed them to

be powerful enough to voice their thoughts. It can also be considered Wilde's way of giving

equality to women. Such equality came as a fresh breath of air in suffocating times like Victorian

days. Therefore, the play explores a pacifist message against how women lived within the walls

of their homes, hidden from the world (Zeltser). Simultaneously, the men of Victorian days were

allowed to roam around the streets as they pleased – mingled with the public on their conditions

(Zeltser). All these facts are showing the inequality women had to go through. It is also

inferiority toward their gender, which illustrates that women were incapable of handling

themselves physically and mentally. 

           Wilde has defied the norms of victorian days regarding the role of women in society

through his characters in "The importance of being earnest." As mentioned earlier, the play has

introduced strong female characters to the audience. One such character is Lady Bracknell, who
 [Last Name] 4

is in a position of leadership. Men often test her in the talks of politics. It is a test to check her

intellect and ability to be considered equal to men. Hence, the play elaborates that the women

have to break society's perceptions to mark their position among men as equals. Sadly, patriarchy

was not broken entirely. Wilde has explained this fact through Lady Bracknell, where she is

insistent on women marrying a suitable person. 

In contrast, the men in the play see marriage only as a business transaction (Wilde 8). It is

an insult to women's gender where they are seen as nothing more than business deals. They hold

no respect in the eye of men unless they are profitable to them in some manner. "I thought you

had come up for pleasure" (Wilde 8). The woman has to be presented as an object in the form of

pleasure to receive men's attention. It is an insulting attitude toward women. It is almost an abuse

toward the female gender. Speaking so disrespectfully for them shows the women of that time

had to go through verbal abuse. "And a thick pair of boots to kick you with" (Shaw 81). This

statement shows that the women faced physical abuse at the hands of men as well. Women can

achieve many things without marriage; they have to be taught its concept (Demir 638). The most

powerful women had to endure insulting remarks from men just because they did not fulfill

society's norms. 

           It is concluded that both plays highlight gender issues. The women of victorian times were

not given independence. They were caged in all possible manners. Whoever tried to think of

freedom was shown the harsh control of men in society. It was also masochist of men to practice

such dominance by crashing the dreams and hope of women. The women were not considered

equal to men, and it was made evident in many practices. The women were not given education

on intellectual subjects such as classic literature and mathematics. The women in a powerful

position were often tested for their intellect and ability to hold that position. The women had to
 [Last Name] 5

endure insulting remarks and physical abuse at the men's hands. Society tried to mold the women

in the frame that they deemed accurate for them. Society did not consider them humans with

thinking ability. They had snatched all thinking, speaking, and acting power from the women –

making them lifeless. 

Works Cited

Shaw, George Bernard. Pygmalion. (1912). A Penn State Electronic Classics Series

Publication.

Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. Dover Publications, 1990.

Li, H. Y., and R. Q. Weng. "Eliza's awakening in Pygmalion." Higher Education of Social

Science 11.3 (2016): 42-48.

Zeltser, Olga. Historical Analysis: Women as the "the Sex" During the Victorian Era,

[Link]/nreagin/tempmotherhood/fall2003/3/[Link].

Demir, Çağlar. "An analysis of the play called importance of being earnest with feminist

perspective." International Journal of Social Sciences and Education Research 1.2

(2015): 637-640.