Your
question almost answers itself. One must only look at the definition of "Shavian"
which means a play written by or in the same style as . Considering that
is actually written by George , there is no DOUBT that it is "Shavian" simply due to
it's author. However, in regards to style, there must be a reference to some sort of
"Shavian eugenics."
You see, Shaw thought that women subconsciously
must choose mates in order to have "better" children. Some refer to this idea as the
"Life Force" (which I have always found interesting). This certainly fits with
Pygmalion. Eliza, being a flower girl, despite her treatment during the
play, must choose someone like Higgins or Freddy in order to increase her societal breeding
potential (regardless of her thought process). In Pygmalion, in addition to all other Shavian
plays, there is acerbic wit involved as well: lots of sarcasm and lots of . One of my
favorites that fits with the life force is as follows:
HIGGINS: My manners are exactly the same as Colonel Pickering's.
LIZA: That's not true. He treats a flower girl as if she was a duchess.
HIGGINS: And I treat a duchess as if she was a flower girl.
If the reader/watcher of the play reads in between the lines here,
we find that it doesn't matter if Eliza marries Higgins, Freddy, or Pickering. They ALL
increase her station and the station of her potential children. She MUST choose one of them.
Therefore, the sarcasm and satire here show the play to be truly
"Shavian."
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