George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was born into a poor family in Dublin, Ireland. Despite childhood neglect and inadequate schooling, he became one of Britain's most articulate and famous writers. His plays, economic and political tracts, journalism, and public speaking appearances were all colored by his socialist views and sparkling wit. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925, traveled the world, and amassed a considerable fortune before his death. Pygmalion, one of his less serious plays, helped secure Shaw's success as a popular playwright.
Social class and social climbing. In every scene of Pygmalion, Shaw juxtaposes different social classes and explores how they relate to one another. Accents, clothing, and manners indicate the degree of wealth and social status of each family. Social climbers in England at the time faced slim odds, while well-to-do families devoted considerable time, energy, and money to the preservation of their status.
The rise of the middle class in nineteenth-century England had fundamentally redefined the class system. As more and more businessmen and their families prospered and imitated the upper classes, subtle distinctions became all-important.
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