Pygmalion
I chose the archetype "The prostitute with a heart of gold". An archetype
is
defined as a universal idea that can take many forms,
appearing"spontaneously, at any time, at any place, and without any outside
influence" (Pygmalion’s Word Play, Carl Jung, p. 82). When present in
the
unconscious, an archetype shapes thoughts, feelings, moods, speech, and
actions.
The ‘prostitute with a heart of gold’ originated in early Greek
mythology as
the story of Pygmalion. Next, a more modern version called My
Fair Lady was
written and performed in the 1950’s. Then in the 1980’s the
movie Pretty
Woman came out, which has the same story line as the other
two, although it is a
lot more modernized and the theme of a ‘prostitute with
a heart of gold’ is
much more evident than in of its predecessors. Although
‘the oldest
profession’ was just as large a factor in society in 1912 when
George Bernard
Shaw’s Pygmalion play was released as it is today, it was
talked about much
less freely and the idea of reforming street girl was not
as feasible as it is
today. "My Fair Lady" was one of the first versions of a
poor street girl
metamorphasizing into an elegant, proper lady. Pretty Woman
can closely trace
its roots back to "My Fair Lady," because both women reform
to a better life
that they never dreamed was possible, the most striking
difference being that
Pretty Woman is a more modernized version and the
evidence of prostitution is
much more evident. In the story of Pygmalion, he
wanted a wife, yet he saw too
much corruption in women and always doubted
their true motives. He was a very
talented sculptor, and one day he began
sculpting an ivory maiden statue. No
woman was physically comparable to this
statue, not the most perfect naturally
created woman. His art was so good
that it caught him in his own web of deceit.
Eventually Pygmalion fell in
love with this counterfeit creation, full well
knowing that he would drive
himself mad obsessing over an inanimate object while
at the same time knowing
that nothing good could come from his love. He caressed
her, gave her
presents and decorated her body with fine clothing and jewels. He
even laid
her on his royal bed at night to sleep, calling her his wife. Finally,
the
festival of Venus came and Pygmalion stood before the altar and timidly
said,
"Give me, I pray to you for my wife" - he dared not say "my ivory
wife", but
said instead - "One like my ivory virgin" ("Metamorphoses by
Ovid, p.10).
The golden goddess of Venus knew that he meant he wanted his statue
to be his
wife, so she granted his wish. When Pygmalion returned home he placed
his
hands upon his statue, and to his surprise she felt warm and alive! Her
lips
became soft, and her skin molded to his touch. Nine months later a baby
girl was
born to them. In this Greek myth Pygmalion creates an ideal woman,
made out of
ivory. Although he never expected her to become real he still
treated her like
his wife and took great care of her. Eventually his wish was
granted and she was
brought to life. The perfect woman, in his eyes, was now
his wife. Pygmalion
created and formed this woman, showing that if you want
something bad enough and
love it as much as he loved his statue, you can make
it happen. In "My Fair
Lady," written during the era of the 1950’s in
England, there was a high
aristocratic society which demarcates itself from
the rest of English society,
consisting of the elegantly dressed bourgeois
class sharply contrasting the poor
peasant class. Eliza Doolittle, a
disheveled cockney flower vender who was lucky
enough to catch the eye of a
Professor Henry Higgins who gives her an offer she
can’t refuse. Higgins is a
well known phonetic expert who studies "...the
science of speech...speech
patterns and their corresponding locations..." (Pygamalion,
p.19). He
brutally criticizes Eliza’s detestable ‘boo-hooing" and crude
pronunciations
of words. To the snobby, intolerant Higgins inarticulateness and
ignorance
concerning proper dialect and language produces a ‘verbal class
distinction’
that functions as an external indicator of what class in society
you belong
to. He cannot understand why some English men and women do not take
the time
to learn how to speak proper English. Higgins makes the offer to Eliza
to
stay with him for six months and he would teach her how to speak
articulately
enough to pass in the most exclusive social gathering, the
Embassy Ball, without
anyone being aware of her Cockney origins, which is no
small task. He says that
she will become a proper aristocratic lady who
speaks proper English. Once Eliza
and Professor Higgins begin ‘business,’
they practice the skills and
pronunciations of the proper use of English.
Everyday they repeatedly practice
Eliza’s grammar, dialects, and speech
patterns with a recording device that
enables Eliza to learn from her own
mistakes. In just weeks there are dramatic
differences in Eliza’s speech
patterns that are apparent by listening to their
recording lessons. Not only
has her English improved, but her manners and
etiquette have improved as
well, due to the help of Professor Higgins. Months
later, Eliza has been
transformed into ‘one of them,’ a member of the
exclusive bourgeois class in
England, able to ‘pass’ at any social event she
chooses, which is no easy
accomplishment. Thanks to Professor Higgins, Eliza can
mingle with the
‘snobs’ of the elite class, and no one has any idea where
she is originally
from. Higgins has not only traversed the ‘phonetic
stream,’ transforming one
polar opposite dialect into another, but he has
simultaneously developed an
affection for his star pupil. Although he denies it
to by telling himself
that he can live just the same without her, just as he did
before, he knows
it is just a lie. The six months have passed quickly, and it is
time for
Eliza to leave. Eliza is a fresh new woman, and is capable of playing
off the
aristocratic role, to live a sophisticated and proper life of her own.
In
fact she won the heart of a fine gentleman, Freddy, and is planning
a
marriage with him. Higgins is surprised, although he doesn’t show it,
and
continues to act as if he is not bothered at all by this development. In
his
mind though, he’s remembering how accustomed he has grown to her face,
that he
will soon miss. The two say their ‘good-byes,’ and Higgins returns
home to
find himself listening to the first recordings of Eliza. Shortly
thereafter
Eliza returns back to Higgins home and surprises him with the
truth of her true
feelings for him. She finally admits to herself that she
has grown to love both
him and his lifestyle, and that Freddy is not her true
love. The story of "My
Fair Lady" is similar to Pygmalion because of the
similarities between the
archetypal characters Professor Higgins and
Pygmalion. Professor Higgins has the
intelligence and ability to take a poor
and uneducated woman with no manners and
sculpt her into an elegant and
sophisticated lady who is able to ascend into the
upper echelons of high
society from the streets of England seamlessly. At the
same time, Professor
Higgins has unknowingly ‘molded’ Eliza into his ideal
woman. On the other
hand, although Pygmalion did not actually teach and
transform his statue into
his ideal woman, his undying hope for an ideal
intellectual mate to suit the
physical beauty he created brought together divine
intervention with divine
creation and formed his ideal woman, in his eyes.
Again, this is evidence
that anything is possible, if you really devote your
mind to it. Although
Professor Higgins was rude and snobby, he still held a
strong belief in his
ideal and it took a lot of devotion to take an unmolded
human being and bring
qualities out in her that no one ever thought were there.
This example
gives hope to every little girl who aspires to be something she is
not.
Although Professor Higgins did bring to the surface the elite qualities
that
were necessary to fit into society at this time, it was the
untapped
potential in Eliza which made it possible for her to fit in and have
confidence
to become something that she wasn’t previously. "Higgins clearly
lacks the
eroticism of Ovid’s Pygmalion, but his distaste for women in life’s
gutters,
his passion for creation, for an art that conceals its art in
carrying a thing
of beauty from raw materials, his dressing Eliza in gowns
and jewels, and his
desire to articulate life and achieve an ideal, all echo
Ovid’s hero.
Pygmalion’s passions finally impregnate his creation;
Higgins finally sparks
Eliza to give birth to the woman within her"
(Berst, p.13). Eliza’s growth
involves increasing self-realization, an
evolution from a lower to a higher
state of being, and an important quality
that sometimes is not innately there
and must be developed. Pygmalion spent
great time and effort in creating his
ideal woman. This gives hope to
society, especially the lower classes, that one
can change and succeed if
they just try hard enough. The more advanced and
modern version of "My Fair
Lady" was spawned in a film entitled Pretty
Woman. This 1980’s film is
more blunt than it’s predecessors because the
‘Higgins’ character (played by
Richard Gere) chooses a prostitute (Julia
Roberts) not as someone to try
to ‘pass’ into high society, but as a
companion to himself. The movie takes
place in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, in a
wealthy area in present day, and is
not so unlikely a scenario to happen
considering the day and age that we live
in today. Gere is a rich, cool
executive who finds a soft spot for Roberts,
who turns out to be a strikingly
honest, real and charming woman. Gere
decides to hire her for business and
social reasons (as a woman for display)
with the agreement that she is treated
like a princess for a week. She gets a
new wardrobe, goes to the opera, and
learns proper etiquette manners for fine
dining. We see Higgins plight
paralleled in Gere’s attempt to pass her off as
a normal, Beverly Hills
debutante. We see Eliza Doolittle represented in
Roberts because she decides she
wants more from Gere than money. Julia ends
up like a fairy tale character,
succeeding in passing as well as ‘getting her
man,’ like Eliza Doolittle and
similar to Pygmalion’s statue. Each woman is
transformed into a new identity.
"My Fair Lady" and Pretty Woman are the
stories that more young women will
be able to take inspiration from and shows
once again that it’s very possible
to find true women with hearts of gold.
Pretty Woman really shows society that
regardless of your living status,
class or occupation, all women have the
ability to grow, change and succeed
buried deep inside. Not all prostitutes or
street people are helpless, and
meaningless. They can have genuine hearts as
well and sometimes they are
truly more honest and real because of the
experiences that they have lived
through and the challenges they have faced thus
far in their lives. In all
three stories, both the man and woman can be seen as
an archetypal hero.
Pygmalion, Professor Higgins and Richard Gere all each take
the risk of
helping these women, and society could view them negatively for
their
involvement with the lower class. Eliza and Julia take a big risk in
being
stepped on and being ridiculed lower than they already are compared to
the
men’s lifestyles. They are archetypal heroes because they have
strong
character and are willing to change. These women have the confidence
and ability
to change and this shows society that again, anything is
possible. The only
downfall was the verbal abuse both women took from the
elite class, as they were
learning to adapt. High society doesn’t appreciate
or care for prostitutes,
but for everyone to be fooled and convinced of this
new woman shows their
absurdity. A person has a heart of gold regardless of
their status even if it is
not evident to the naked eye.