Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Source

Where did the title Pygmalion come from?

For an answer to that, we must return to the source. Ancient mythology.

Pygmalion was a mythological story from the island of Cyprus and the most popular version of it was handed down to us by the Roman poet Ovid.

The story goes that Pygmalion was a sculpture who lost interest in women after having witnessed the Propoetides prostituting themselves. They were shameless and had been striped of all modesty.

The Propoetides were forced into this situation after Venus took vengeance on them for denying that she was divine and not worshiping her properly.

Pygmalion, with no interest in living women, turned to a piece of ivory and carved it into the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Pygmalion fell in love with his creation and on the festival day of Venus, he made offerings and wished his statue to be made real.

Venus granted his wish and sent Cupid to kiss the hand of the statue thus bringing it to life. Cupid placed a ring on the finger of the woman as a symbol of love achieved.

Pygmalion and his creation were married and lived happily ever after. That’s not a very satisfying ending.

We can now see why Shaw chose to title his play Pygmalion. The Victorians were familiar with the myth and in fact it was a popular story at the time.

Shaw does change the happily-ever-after ending.

Eliza is the creation of Henry Higgins but after being brought to life, she chooses not to be the object of a man but to be her own woman--relative to the time.

There is a sense of Shaw criticizing men who tried to make women into pieces of art. In the opinion of some men, women were only fit to be admired for there form and not their content.

That attitude hasn’t completely gone away.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Dia de los Muertos Celebration, Love Thy Neighbor(Hood): Food & Art Exploration

Events November 2-November 6, 2024
Next Article

Wild Wild Wets, Todo Mundo, Creepy Creeps, Laura Cantrell, Graham Nancarrow

Rock, Latin reggae, and country music in Little Italy, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Harbor Island

Where did the title Pygmalion come from?

For an answer to that, we must return to the source. Ancient mythology.

Pygmalion was a mythological story from the island of Cyprus and the most popular version of it was handed down to us by the Roman poet Ovid.

The story goes that Pygmalion was a sculpture who lost interest in women after having witnessed the Propoetides prostituting themselves. They were shameless and had been striped of all modesty.

The Propoetides were forced into this situation after Venus took vengeance on them for denying that she was divine and not worshiping her properly.

Pygmalion, with no interest in living women, turned to a piece of ivory and carved it into the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Pygmalion fell in love with his creation and on the festival day of Venus, he made offerings and wished his statue to be made real.

Venus granted his wish and sent Cupid to kiss the hand of the statue thus bringing it to life. Cupid placed a ring on the finger of the woman as a symbol of love achieved.

Pygmalion and his creation were married and lived happily ever after. That’s not a very satisfying ending.

We can now see why Shaw chose to title his play Pygmalion. The Victorians were familiar with the myth and in fact it was a popular story at the time.

Shaw does change the happily-ever-after ending.

Eliza is the creation of Henry Higgins but after being brought to life, she chooses not to be the object of a man but to be her own woman--relative to the time.

There is a sense of Shaw criticizing men who tried to make women into pieces of art. In the opinion of some men, women were only fit to be admired for there form and not their content.

That attitude hasn’t completely gone away.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Sinfonia da give me a break

Next Article

G.B. Shaw on Fem Lib — ever-old yet ever-new

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader