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Femininity In George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion

The word 'femininity' carries connotations of its usage in the 19th century. The Oxford English Dictionary defines 'feminine' as "1 having qualities traditionally associated with women, especially delicacy and prettiness" (1). Its second definition is "female", and this is the definition I shall be using in this essay. In both Wide Sargasso Sea and Pygmalion however, femininity is constantly associated with being demure, graceful, and, especially in Wide Sargasso Sea, obedient. For these were the "qualities. associated with women" in upper-class nineteenth and early twentieth century England. Set seventy years after Wide Sargasso Sea, in Edwardian England, we do see more assertive female characters in Pygmalion, for this is the time when women were starting to cast loose the shackles of the Victorian ideal of womanhood and were campaigning for the right to vote. In both texts though, we see women fighting to be heard; fighting for their independence.

We must start by considering whether it is possible to fully compare and contrast texts from two different disciplines. On the one hand we have a piece of prose fiction, rich with descriptions of the characters' surroundings and, more importantly, their inner thoughts and feelings. Through their internal monologues, the reader is able to possess a deeper insight into the state of mind of the characters and their motivations. On the other hand, we have a drama which is written to be performed. As a reader we have, to some extent, knowledge of the characters' thoughts through Shaw's very detailed stage directions, and as a viewer we should see some of this through a good actor's body language and facial expressions. A drama can rarely provide as detailed knowledge of a character's mind as a novel however, simply because of the constraints of the medium.

In Wide Sargasso Sea we know a lot more about the characters of Antoinette and Edward though their internal monologues than through their conversations with others. We see, at the beginning of Part Two, that Edward views his new bride as a means of gaining financial security and respect from his father, and yet this causes bitterness towards Antoinette from the beginning of their marriage. As he reflects on his situation, he muses, "I have not bought her, she has bought me, or so she thinks" (2). The implication being that marriages are always financial transactions, only it is more commonly the man buying the woman. In Victorian England women were commodities to be bought and sold. In this case, the woman has effectively been sold by her step-father - all of her inheritance has been given to Edward, leaving her with nothing. From the moment Antoinette married Edward she became dependent on him and lost any shred of independence she might have had.

Liza was also effectively sold by her father to Higgins, although she knows nothing of this. It is the independence Liza has gained, earning her own money as a flower girl, that has moulded her into such a strong and savvy woman, able to say what she wants, and to anybody. That independence is snatched from her when she becomes Higgins' experiment. Although she is provided with many luxuries, as a lady-in-training she is forced to forgo the freedom she once possessed. As part of her coaching she must accrue "the manners and habits that disqualify a fine lady from earning her own living" (3).

Coming from a working-class background Liza is far shrewder than naïve Antoinette, and sees the marriage-market exactly for what it is when Higgins suggests she marries; "I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me I'm not fit to sell anything else" (4). Unlike Antoinette, Liza refuses to be bought and sold, and this is as much to do with her background as with the changing circumstances for women in Edwardian England. Liza is wily and has had to fight for her survival - she has been exposed to everything a person living in the slums of London would have, despite the fact she is a woman. By contrast, Antoinette was hidden from her mother's descent into madness and was then sent to a convent school where she was sheltered from the realities of the outside world until she was a young woman. It is this lack of real education that makes Antoinette so vulnerable - she is totally unprepared for the realities of adult life. In the patriarchal society of Victorian England, women were moulded into vulnerable, submissive beings, forced into male dependence.

At the same time however, the Creole Antoinette is a very passionate woman and cannot accept a marriage without love and a sexual relationship. She doesn't conform to the prudish Victorian ideal of a submissive and demure woman, and she tempts Edward with her passion. He does not like the way he loses control when he is with her, and thus draws away from her. He views her sexual powers over him as dangerous to the very end, hating her as, "she had left me thirsty and all my life would be thirst and longing" (5). Liza also could not survive a marriage where she did not feel loved and cherished by her husband, which is why she proclaims that she could never marry Higgins and asserts, "I won't care for anybody that doesn't care for me" (6). Shaw himself states that at Liza's age "a good-looking girl. feels free to pick and choose" who she marries, although he does admit that it depends on her "age and income" (7). Antoinette has no options and barely knows the man she is to marry, so she is trapped in a marriage to a man who does not love her.

Christophine is presented as a strong woman from the start of Wide Sargasso Sea, proudly wearing different clothes to the other women on the island. She appears independent and self-assured, and cuts a very different figure to that of Antoinette's mother, whose first description depicts her as desperate, lonely and unhappy. It is only when Annette has a new dress and the respect of people with money that she becomes "gay and laughing" (8). These are things that Christophine never needs. When Antoinette comes to Christophine after Edward's betrayal, Christophine advises her, "A man don't treat you good, pick up your skirt and walk out" (9). Christophine lives in a very different world to Antoinette though - she never found it necessary to marry, and thus has kept her independence: "I keep my money. I don't give it to no worthless man" (9). Aunt Cora is also a strong woman. She acted the part of the protective mother when they escaped the fire, whilst Antoinette's real mother fell apart. She was also the last one into the carriage and was the only one brave enough to step forward to try to save Pierre. She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, as she did when she opposed Antoinette's impending marriage to Edward. Ultimately though she cannot do anything. Pierre dies and she is told to shut up when trying to protect Antoinette from an unjust marriage. Unlike Christophine, she is constrained by her position as a woman in a patriarchal Victorian society.

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