Pygmalion and Pretty Woman are both texts that deal with the theme of social class. In Pygmalion, the protagonist is a working-class girl who is transformed into a lady by a wealthy gentleman. In Pretty Woman, the heroine is a prostitute who is transformed into a princess by a wealthy businessman. Both texts explore the idea of someone from a lower social class being given the opportunity to move up in the world through the help of someone from a higher social class.
Both Pretty Woman and Pygmalion are romantic comedies, and they both end with the girl getting the guy. However, there are some key differences between the two texts. Pretty Woman is set in modern times, while Pygmalion is set in the early 1900s. Pretty Woman is also a much more light-hearted and comedic film, while Pygmalion has a more serious tone.
Pretty Woman was directed by Garry Marshall and stars Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward, a prostitute who is hired by Edward Lewis (Richard Gere), a wealthy businessman, to be his escort for several business and social functions. Over the course of their time together, Edward begins to fall in love with Vivian, and he eventually offers to pay her to stay with him for an entire week. At the end of the week, Edward declares his love for Vivian and asks her to marry him. She agrees, and they live happily ever after.
Pygmalion was written by George Bernard Shaw and first performed in 1913. It tells the story of Henry Higgins (played by Rex Harrison in the 1964 film adaptation), a wealthy London gentleman who makes a bet with his friend Pickering that he can transform a working-class girl named Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) into a lady.
Higgins takes Eliza under his wing and begins to teach her how to speak like a lady and act like a lady. He also enters her into a prestigious social event, The Embassy Ball. At the ball, Eliza is mistaken for a duchess, and Higgins triumphantly proves that he has won his bet.
However, Pygmalion ends on a more ambiguous note than Pretty Woman. Higgins and Eliza argue, and she runs away from him. It is unclear whether or not they will get back together, but the final scene suggests that they may have a future together.
So, while Pretty Woman and Pygmalion are both romantic comedies about social class, there are some key differences between the two texts. Pretty Woman is more light-hearted and comedic, while Pygmalion has a more serious tone. Additionally, Pretty Woman is set in modern times, while Pygmalion is set in the early 1900s.
Both Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw and Pretty Woman, directed by Garry Marshall, were written for a mass audience at the time of composition. This is reflected in the form of each work, Pygmalion is a play because it was released during the early twentieth century, and Pretty Woman is a Hollywood film since it is a current type of mass media today.
Pretty Woman was produced over seventy years after Pygmalion, Pretty Woman is a retelling of the classic story in a modern setting with a few changes to characters and events. The most notable difference between the two texts is the change in social class between the protagonist, Pretty Woman is about a high-class girl who falls for a low-class man, while in Pygmalion it is a low-class girl who marries into high society.
Despite these changes, both texts maintain the original message about love transcending social barriers. Pretty Woman uses the cliche “love knows no bounds” to get this idea across to the audience, while Pygmalion uses more subtle methods such as Eliza’s change in speech and manners to show how love can change people for the better.
Both Pretty Woman and Pygmalion are excellent examples of texts that deal with social class barriers, but Pretty Woman is the more accessible of the two due to its modern setting and simpler language. Pygmalion is the more sophisticated text, with a more complex plot and higher level language, but it ultimately says the same thing as Pretty Woman: love conquers all.
Because both texts were designed for the general public, they must represent the sentiments of their respective cultures to be successful. Both works proved this to be the case. Because both writings reflect the cultural views of their time and place of origin, comparing them reveals a lot about how particular values have been preserved and modified over time.
Values Pretty Woman reflects that are different to Pygmalion are the acceptance of prostitution, which was illegal in England during the time Pygmalion was composed. Pretty Woman also presents a less idealistic view of relationships than Pygmalion. In Pretty Woman, Edward and Vivian’s relationship is based on financial gain for Vivian and sexual pleasure for Edward, whereas in Pygmalion, Higgins and Eliza’s relationship starts off as one of Higgins using Eliza as a project to change her into a lady so she can pass as a duchess at an ambassador’s garden party.
While Pretty Woman does make an effort to present a more realistic view of relationships, it still upholds the traditional values of women being dependent on men, both financially and emotionally. Pretty Woman also includes a happy ending, which was not as common in Pygmalion.
There are several values Pretty Woman shares with Pygmalion. Both texts include a makeover montage in which the main female character is transformed from someone who is lower class and unkempt to someone who looks like they belong in a higher social class. This is done primarily through clothing and hairstyle changes.
Both Pretty Woman and Pygmalion use clothing as a symbol of social class throughout the texts, with Edward and Higgins both making comments about the shabby clothing Vivian and Eliza wear when they first meet them. Another value Pretty Woman shares with Pygmalion is the idea that love can overcome social barriers. In Pretty Woman, Edward falls in love with Vivian despite her being a prostitute and coming from a lower social class than him. In Pygmalion, Higgins falls in love with Eliza even though she is not a lady and comes from a very poor background.
One of the most significant values Pretty Woman shares with Pygmalion is the importance placed on spoken language as an indicator of social class. In Pretty Woman, Edward meets Vivian when he mistakes her for a hooker and offers to pay her for sex.