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摘 要

作为一位语言大师，萧伯纳是继莎士比亚之后世界公认的最杰出的剧作家。学者们通常会从主题、人物、艺术手法和社会意义等方面来研究萧伯纳的两部剧本《皮革马利翁》和《巴巴拉少校》。而本文从女权角度对比分析了这两部作品中的两个女主角，并以此探究萧伯纳的女权主义观。

两位女主角在性格和人生经历上有着相似之处，但同时也存有差异。本文从三方面对比分析了两位女主角的异同。在对待生活的态度上，两位女主都有着追求美好生活的积极生活态度。在对待爱情的态度上，巴巴拉为了财产最终几乎放弃了自己的爱情，而伊丽莎却为了追求自由和平等放弃了自己的爱情。在对待男性权威的态度上，巴巴拉对待男权的态度经历了从轻视到屈服的过程，而伊丽莎经历了从顺从到反抗的过程。这三方面的对比分析反映出萧伯纳的女权观：女性应不断追求独立和平等，坚定信念并积极主动改变自己的被动局面以寻求美好幸福的生活。

最后，本研究能够启发学者们从新的角度研究这两部戏剧，帮助读者更好地了解萧伯纳的女权思想，同时也能激励现代女性追求自由、独立和平等的权利。

关键词：《皮革马利翁》 《巴巴拉少校》 女主人公对比 萧伯纳的女权主义观

1. Introduction

• 1. Research background

As a fruitful playwright with more than 60 plays and a critic of the 20^th century, George Bernard Shaw (1856—1950) focused his attention on the social problems such as education, marriage and government. He was so committed to reflecting the inequality and darkness of the society and women’s remorseless struggles as well as showing significant roles women could play in every walk of life that he was awarded the Nobel Prize of Literature in 1925 and an Oscar for his work on the film Pygmalion in 1938. As a language master, he is famous for good humor and irony and has been generally recognized as the most eminent playwright ever since Shakespeare.

Pygmalion and Major Barbara are two of Shaw’s masterpieces, which successively came out in 1905 and 1913. Pygmalion, named after a Greek mythological character, is one of Shaw’s most popular plays. The story starts from a bet that the professor of phonetics, Henry Higgins, makes a bet with his friend, Colonel Pickering, that he can make a poor Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, into an elegant lady by training her how to speak standard English and act refined manners. It has been adapted into a musical stage play, movies and other forms of work favored by thousands of people all around the world. Among which, My Fair Lady, an adaptation movie of Pygmalion, achieves a great success and makes Pygmalion well-known with the public.

Major Barbara is one of Shaw’s most ambiguous plays, which is based on several Christian legends: the myth of Barbara, the patron saint of gunners and miners. It tells a story that Major Barbara of the Salvation Army tries to persuade her father Undershaft, a munitioner, to quit the munitions factory and save his soul. However, after her father’s helping the Salvation Army to get rid of the economic crisis and her visit to his munitions factory, she changes her faith and surrenders to him. Major Barbara makes people rethink the ethics as to whether money is more important than faith or not.

1.2 Need of the study

There are many researches on the two plays from various perspectives; however, they have not made a comparative analysis of the two heroines to reveal Shaw’s feminist thought. So it is very important for this thesis to have a detailed discussion of the two heroines from three perspectives: their attitudes towards love, life and male authority, which may offer a new angle for the study of Shaw’s feminist thought.

Besides, as is known to all, Shaw pays attention to social problems. This thesis will not only show his thought on feminism but also disclose his concern about social issues: in a male-dominated society, women are restricted by men; however, they struggle to find their own position in every walk of life. Meanwhile, in order to be equal to men, women should stay independent both economically and personally as well as stick to their faith.

2. Literature Review

The definitions, development, classification and significance of feminism will be elaborated on in this chapter. Afterwards, previous studies on Shaw’s Pygmalion and Major Barbara will be analyzed respectively.

2.1 Feminism

Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social right for women, which involves various movements, theories and philosophies that are concerned with the issue of gender difference and advocate equality for women by helping them gain rights and interests (Wikipedia and Wikiquote). Feminism is the radical notion that women are people (Kramarae, Russo, and Treichler 158). Susan Faludi (1992) claims that feminism’s agenda is basic: it asks that women not be forced to “choose” between public justice and private happiness; it asks that women be free to define themselves -- instead of having their identity defined for them, time and again, by their culture and their men. This article agrees with Gloria Steinem (1969), thinking that a feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men. Men and women should be treated equally and women’s humanity should be recognized by the public.

In general, the history of feminism can be divided into three waves. The first wave was in the nineteenth and early 20th century, the second in the Mid-20th century, and the third in the late 20th and early 21st century. The first-wave feminism started from Europe and soon prompted a furious response over the Europe and the United States. It mainly focused on women’s getting equal rights from men in education, economy and political power, particularly the right of women's suffrage. The second-wave feminism was firstly popular in the 1960s and 1970s in America, which described a new feminist movement that not only focused on political inequalities but also on social and cultural inequalities. The feminist advocates fought for women’s political, social and cultural equality. The third-wave feminism extended from the 1990s to the present. It distinguished itself from the second wave over issues of sexuality, female heterosexuality as a means of female empowerment. 

Traditional feminism branches have derived from the first and the second waves of feminism, including liberal feminism, radical feminism, Marxist feminism, socialist feminism and new feminism branches, post-structural feminism. Here let’s list some important ones as follows: Liberal feminism seeks individualistic equality of men and women by way of political and legal reform without changing the structure of society; Radical feminism thinks the male-controlled capitalist hierarchy is the root of women's oppression, and it is necessary to uproot it and reconstruct the society; Marxism feminism argues that capitalism is the root cause of women's oppression, and capitalism should be replaced by socialism if women want to gain liberation; Socialist feminism differs itself from Marxist feminism by emphasizing that women's liberation can be achieved by ending the economic and cultural sources of women's oppression. This thesis will employ the Socialist feminism to have a detailed illustration of Shaw’s feminism thought reflected by the two plays.

Feminism encourages women to pursue freedom, equality and independence whatever in the economic, political and other aspects. It advocates the liberation of women’s nature, and being free from male authority’s bondage.

2.2 Previous studies on Pygmalion

Pygmalion has drawn the public attention since it was first presented on stage in 1912. It has been adapted into a musical stage play, movies and other forms of work favored by thousands of people all around the world, which proves that it is a great success. Since then, many scholars have conducted quite a lot of researches on the play from different angles. Thematic concerns and characterization are the most popular topics scholars would like to discuss.

Some scholars are more interested in the themes of Pygmalion. Martin Meisel (1963) pays attention to the class distinction between the nobility and the common people, regarding it as a strong hit towards class inequality. Zhang Jianchun and Liu Li (2013) make a comprehensive analysis of the themes of Pygmalion in different ways, such as the romantic significance, the importance of phonetics in the society and hypocritical moral codes of the middle class, etc. However, it is pitiful that their analyses seem to stay on the surface. However, quite a number of scholars focus on the analysis of characters, especially the feminist approach to the heroine. Liu Tingting (2005) digs deep into the background condition and the process of Eliza’s self-consciousness awakening, thereby showing her feminist thought and feminist performance. Lu Qingqing (2012) makes a little change. She also makes the feminist approach as a starting point but from the perspective of Eliza in Pygmalion and Nora in A Doll’s House, pointing out that they have similar experiences and self-awakening consciousness though differing in living backgrounds.

2.3 Previous studies on Major Barbara

Major Barbara has been one of the most revolutionary plays，which discusses something about morality, religion, and political rights between characters, and profoundly reveals the essence of the capitalist system: money is supreme. We will focus on Bernard Shaw’s outlook on the society and characterization.

Many scholars show keen interests in the study of social problems, from which they can get a glimpse of Shaw’s social outlook. Zhang Mingai (2008) conducts a research of Shaw’s social outlook from Major Barbara and Mrs. Warren’s Profession, in which he explains Shaw’s six outlooks on society. Du Fang (2012) studies Shaw’s social outlook, indicating that money is the core value of that capitalist society. However, Shaw holds a positive attitude toward future, and believes the capitalism system must come to an end in a near future. Some scholars would like to merit their attention on the characters. Yang Xue (2011) does a research on the heroine, Barbara. Barbara is shaped into a courageously independent figure, who struggles to get freedom from a patriarchal society and encourages people to live on. Ma Junxiao (2011) studies the process of Major Barbara’s changes, concluding that her changes are driven by the strong economic foundation and her father’s life value.

There is not a research comparing the two heroines, so this thesis will have a detailed discussion from the perspective of their attitudes towards love, life and male authority, which may provide a new angle for the study of Shaw’s thought on feminism.

3. Pygmalion and Major Barbara: A Reflection of Bernard Shaw’s Feminist Thought

As an advocate of western feminist movement, Bernard Shaw insists that men and women be born equal. He promotes women's economic independence, cares about women’s life, and encourages women to play an active role in social life. As Harris claims that in George Bernard Shaw’s life, there is no more attractive thing than his concerns about women. Different from the fixed image of women, Shaw shapes many new female images with distinct characters and unique charm, who are intelligent, independent and decisive. Eliza and Barbara are two female representatives in Shaw’s two plays, Pygmalion and Major Barbara, who are courageous to pursue independence and freedom. They not merely share the same female consciousness but also possess differences in some degree.

3.1 Two heroines’ attitudes towards life

Barbara and Eliza possess a totally different life background, but both have a positive life attitude, love their life, make unremitting efforts to pursue a better life and realize their life value.

Barbara was born in an upper-class family with a rich father, who owns a world famous munitions factory manufacturing guns, battleships, cannons and so on. However, she gives up her comfortable life, and chooses to become a major in the Salvation Army committing to help the poor to get rid of hunger and save their souls. She overturns the fixed female image of frailty and sensibility, showing her strong independent consciousness and great sense of social responsibility. E.g. In the second act, people try to hide from Bill Walker, because he causes many troubles to the Salvation Army by beating and scolding people in the shelter. However, Barbara is not afraid of him; instead, she tries her best to reason with him patiently and to find out his puzzle, thereby offering him help to save his soul. She not only possesses individual economic and personality independence, but also passively shoulders the social responsibility, which makes her a new woman rich in material and spirit. In this way, her life value is realized.

Eliza is a poor floor girl in the slum who has no mother but an alcoholic father. She has no home and no money with nobody caring for her, and her father even asks money from her to buy alcohol. It seems that her life is completely a mess and has no hope. However, she struggles to pursue a good life instead of giving up. She starts a new life from leaving her hometown to the East. In order to support herself, she begins to sell flowers in the street. After she finds the opportunity to change her fate, she tries paying money to hire Higgins as her language tutor to teach her standard language. Maybe, her behavior is a little bit thoughtless, but it is of vital importance for her to have the courage to pursue life and the determination to change it. Because of her courage, she gains the chance to learn standard English from Higgins and she is transformed as a refined lady finally through her persistent efforts. Her efforts build a foundation for her future happiness. Feminist consciousness makes her get rid of subordinate status, find her own position and live an independent life. It shows that her heart is full of hope and never stops to pursue a better life.

3.2 Two heroines’ attitudes towards love

Feminists think that the love mode can bind women in traditional gender roles in western culture and social construction, making them subordinate to men. Therefore, they try to criticize the traditional love mode in order to take initiative in love and pursue equal love: be honest, love each other and respect one another’s rights. Both Eliza and Barbara think that love should be based on equality and mutual respect and their attitudes toward love experience the process of metamorphosis.

Barbara advocates free love, thinking that the combination of two people should be on the basis of love, so she chooses to be in love with Cusins, a scholar of Greek literature, who respects her and treats her equally. However, she changes her mind under the influence of reality, realizing the importance of money. Her transformation is influenced by two big events. The first is the Salvation Army receives donations from her father, an armaments manufacturer. The other is her visit of her father’s munitions factory and is greatly impressed by the prosperity and vitality of the factory. She gets rid of the stereotype of munitions factory and marries Cusins who will inherit her father’s fortune and business. At the end of the plot, when Cusins asks her what will happen if he has refused her papa’s offer, Barbara replies, “ I should have given you up and married the man who accepted it” (3. 1450-1451 ). Thus, it is obvious that although Barbara still plays a positive role in her love with Cusins, her attitude towards love is totally changed. To her, the combination of two people is not just on the basis of love any more, but also on the basis of economy. She is not a childish girl who loses herself for love but a rational lady who carefully weighs the pros and cons. Feminist consciousness prompts Barbara to deal with her emotion problems actively and rationally, thus she is free from the passive situation in love.

Eliza falls in love with Higgins in the process of getting along with him. In the beginning, she behaves as a puppet following Higgins’ instructions to change her accent and behaviors in order to be a lady. Her life is controlled and manipulated by Higgins. She has no voice in deciding on anything, in which way everybody puts her in an attached position including herself. In Act five, Higgins’ words indirectly display Eliza’s daily state:

Let her speak for herself. You will jolly soon see whether she has an idea that I have put into her head or a word that I have put into her mouth. I tell you I have created this thing out of the squashed cabbage leaves of Covent Garden (5. 352-358).

The quotation shows Eliza’s passive situation that ideas are put into her head, words are put into her mouth and she is just like an artificial doll created by Higgins.

However, after a successful “performance” she plays in a garden party, she finds that Higgins cares nothing about her but treats her as a machine of his experiment. So she is lost:

What am I fit for? What have you left me fit for? Where am I to go? What am I to do? What’s to become of me? (4. 149-151).

Eliza desperately realizes that she can not find her position in such a condition: she can not go back to be a flower girl any more or become a lady in an upper-class society. However, it seems that Higgins does not care about her and would not like to understand her. Immediately, she wakes up from her dream, realizing that their relation is under the unequal conditions and she is not treated as equally as Higgins. Therefore, she decides to leave Higgins with high status and much money and chooses Freddy who loves, respects her as well as treats her equally. She finally realizes that love should be on the basis of mutual equality and mutual respect.

3.3 Two heroines’ attitudes towards male authority

Feminists regard male authority as oppressive to women, which indicates that men are in a dominant status while women are the attachment of men. Feminist theory believes that the social construction of male authority can be overcome by revealing and critically analyzing its manifestations. Some radical feminists even think separatism is the only solution to breaking the social construction of male authority (Wikipedia).

In Shaw’s two plays, the attitudes of the two heroines’ toward male authority are gradually changing. Both of them live in a male-dominated society, thus they are restricted by males to some extent. However, they try their best to get rid of their attached status, find their own positions and stay who they are.

Although Barbara believes that everyone can be saved, she is indifferent and disdainful in her heart to her arms-dealer father at first. However, she gradually changes her mind and yields to her father, which is shown in her attitude towards Undershaft’s munition business. At the start, Barbara shows her scornful attitude towards her father and his arms business. When she calls a family meeting to announce that her father is going home, Lady Britomart is very worried that Barbara will object, which leaves an impression that Barbara would not like to see her father. After Undershaft comes back home, he should mix up his own children and can not recognize them. Given this, Barbara pulls a face to Lomax making him not help laughing. Her mother scolds Lomax of his rudeness, but Barbara counters, “Why don’t you laugh if you want to, Cholly? It is good for your inside” (1. 498-499).These behaviors show her indifference and contempt to her father, since they have different life values. However, Barbara’s life value is constantly changed. When the Salvation Army depends on her father’s donation to get rid of financial crisis, she is very lost and confused, finding she has nowhere to go and no directions to follow. Furthermore, after she pays a visit to her father’s munitions factory, she is greatly shocked by the vigor and richness of the factory. She realizes that Undershaft and Bodger’s hands stretch everywhere and turning backs on Bodger and Undershaft is turing back on life (3. 1422). In the end, she surrenders to her father and accepts the property with her boyfriend, which means that she compromises to the male authority.

Eliza relies on Higgins when she starts to learn to be a charming lady and follows his instructions as if she were a living doll. She devotes her heart and soul to the experiment Higgins creates for her, and pays full attention to study standard English and manners as she is asked to. She almost falls into the dream Higgins has woven for her. However, her dream is broken by reality that although her performance is recognized by the upper class, she has no capacity to survive in the upper class. After the performance is finished, she realizes that it is just a bet for Higgins and when the party is over, the game is over. Nobody cares about her and nobody cares for her future; therefore, her hope for future is disillusioned. She finds that the way has deviated her previous direction, and the only solution is to leave Higgins. Her departure from Higgins is a great rebellion to male authority and it is also an important step for her to be free from the subordinate role.

3.4 Summary of two heroines’ feminist consiciousness

Eliza and Barbara’s feminist consciousness have been presented from three perspectives: their attitudes towards life, attitudes towards love and attitudes towards male authority. They have shown different feminist consciousness in different life stages and from different perspectives. However, we believe that Eliza possesses more feminist consciousness than Barbara.

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