Antithesis of Pygmalion

Antitheses

        Pygmalion and Fences show a great deal of antithetical elements throughout the play. Antithetical elements are characters or ideas that are the direct opposite of each other. In Pygmalion, Eliza Doolittle is a lower-class flower girl that has the aspirations of owning her own flower shop. Only high-class citizens can own their own business. Therefore, she takes speech and etiquette courses to become a “lady.” The 20th century was a time when women were to achieve less than men. In Fences, Troy Maxson grew up with a rough father who beat him. When he becomes a father of Cory, he tends to treat him like his own father treated him. Yet, it is a whole different generation that Cory grew up in. The relationship between father and child are similarly portrayed in each play. Pygmalion and Fences contain similar antithetical elements.

        In the beginning of Pygmalion, Eliza Doolittle was known as the flower girl. She was a poor girl with bad grammar and etiquette. She says, “Never you mind, young man. I’m going home in taxi. Eight pence ain’t no object to me, Charlie. Angel Court, Drury Lane, round the corner of Micklejohn’s oil shop. Let’s see how fast you can make it her hop it” (p. 882, Act 1, lines 253-258). The little things, for instance, like riding home in a taxi was enjoyable for her. Eliza claims money is not an object, but it very much is for her because she does not have a lot of it. Eliza is set apart from the higher-class so she seeks out lessons from a phonetic professional named Higgins. Higgins exclaims, “ She offers me two-fifths of her days income for a lesson. Two-fifths of a millionaire’s income for a day would be somewhere about £60. It’s handsome. By George, it’s enormous! It’s the biggest offer I ever had” (p886, Act 2, lines 99-102). Higgins realizes that Eliza is paying a high percentage of her daily income, but might not seem like a lot of money to him. He accepts the offer anyways, and uses Eliza as an experiment. As long as Eliza Doolittle promises to do all of what Higgins asks, Higgins will grant her all of the money and chocolate she desires. This is a look at Eliza climbing social classes.

        Troy Maxson had a rough childhood. His father was a terrible person and he left home when he was fourteen. Troy says, “My daddy ain’t had them walking blues! What you talking about? He stayed right there with his family. But he was just as evil as he could be. My mama couldn’t stand him. Couldn’t stand the evilness. She run off when I was about eight. She sneaked off one night after he had gone to sleep. Told me she was coming back for me. I ain’t never seen her no more. All his women run off and left him. He wasn’t good for nobody” (p.1417-18, Act 1, scene 4, lines 215-220).