Abstract

Abstract | Selected Works | Appreciation of Pikemeiliang [Ireland] Bernard Shaw

Summary of works

Rainy night. The audience coming out of the theater after the play was waiting for a taxi, and Irina Captier Lova took the opportunity to sell flowers. Linguists Pickering and Higgins met, and the accent and language habits of the flower girl from the lower class aroused their interest.

Higgins and Pickering bet that he could correct the pronunciation of Irina Kaptelova, a flower girl, and transform her into a lady and celebrity within six months. In this regard, Irina Captier Lova embarked on a completely unexpected path.

Finally, at the social gathering of foreign embassies, Irina Captier Lova was regarded as a royal princess, and her speech, dress and behavior attracted extraordinary attention.

However, what should Irina Captier Lova do when she becomes a "noble"? She can neither be a real "princess" nor go back to her original life. Similarly, Higgins' life also broke the original peace.

selected works

Act iii

……

Higgins, she's here to see you.

Mrs Higgins, I don't remember inviting her.

Higgins, you didn't invite her. I invited her. If you knew who she was, you wouldn't have invited her.

Mrs. Higgins. Really? Then why?

Higgins is like this. She is a very vulgar flower girl. I found it on the street.

Mrs Higgins, you brought such a person to my tea party!

Higgins (stands up and walks over to coax her) No problem. I taught her how to speak, and I have strict instructions on her behavior. She is only allowed to talk about two things: the weather and everyone's health-you know, "Today's weather-hahaha" and "How are you"-she is not allowed to talk about general issues. So it won't go wrong.

Mrs Higgins can't go wrong! Talk about our health, talk about the inside of our bodies, maybe talk about the outside of our bodies! How could you do such a foolish thing?

Higgins (impatient) You have to make her say something. He restrained himself and sat down again. She won't have a problem, so stop it. Pickering is also involved in this matter. I bet she will be considered a duchess in six months. I started teaching her a few months ago, and now she is making rapid progress. I will win. She has a good ear voice. It is easier to teach her pronunciation than to teach students from ordinary rich families because she is learning a completely new language. She speaks English as much as you speak French.

Mrs. Higgins, at least that's enough.

However, Higgins alone is not enough.

What does Mrs. Higgins mean by this?

You see, Higgins, I have taught her pronunciation well, but the problem is not only her accent, but also what she said: that's it-

Their conversation was interrupted and the maid came in to report the arrival of the guests.

Maids, Mrs. Ansfer Hill and Miss Hill.

She stepped down.

Higgins is great!

He stood up, grabbed the hat on the table and ran, but his mother had introduced him to the guests before he reached the door.

Mrs Hill and Miss Hill are mother and daughter sheltering from the rain at the entrance of the theater. My mother is well-educated, quiet and dignified. Because of her poor family, she often looks sad. My daughter makes a particularly lively appearance, as if she is very sociable, which is the kind of empty shelf unique to a broken house.

Mrs. Hill (to Mrs. Higgins) Hello.

They shook hands.

Hello, Miss Hill. (shaking hands, too)

Mrs Higgins (introducing Higgins) My son Henry.

Mrs. Hill, your famous son! I've heard a lot about you, Professor Higgins.

Higgins (listless, not going to say hello to her) Hello.

He retreated to the piano and nodded coldly.

Miss Hill (approaching him in a natural and friendly manner) How do you do?

Higgins (staring at her) I seem to have seen you somewhere. I can't remember it at all; But I've heard this voice. (listlessly) It doesn't matter anyway. You sit down.

Mrs. Higgins, I'm sorry that my famous son is rude. Please don't take it personally.

Miss Hill (vivaciously) has nothing to do with it.

She sat in an Elizabethan chair.

Mrs Hill (a little puzzled) is really talking nonsense.

When Mrs Higgins moved the chair away from the desk, she sat on the sofa between her daughter and Mrs Higgins.

Higgins: Oh, am I rude? I didn't mean to.

He walked to the middle window, turned his back on everyone, and looked at the river and the flowers and trees in the park on the other side of the river, just like watching a silent desert.

The maid came in and led Pickering in.

Colonel Pickering, the maid.

She resigned.

Hello, Mrs. Pickering.

Mrs. Higgins, it's so nice of you to come. Have you met Mrs. Hill and Miss Hill?

Pickering bowed to each other, moved the Chebendale chair forward and sat between Mrs. Hill and Mrs. Higgins.

Pickering, did Henry tell you the purpose of our visit?

Higgins (turning around) interrupted the guest. have bad luck

Mrs. Higgins Henry, really! Why do you talk like that?

Mrs. Hill (stands up) Is it inconvenient for us to be here?

Mrs. Higgins (stands up and pulls her to sit down) No, no. You're just in time. We are going to invite you to meet a friend.

Higgins (turning around happily) Yes! We need two or three people present. You can charge no problem.

The maid came in again and brought Freddie in.

Mr. Hill, the maid.

Higgins (to himself impatiently) Oh, my God! Here comes another one.

Freddie (shaking hands with Mrs. Higgins) Hello.

Mrs. Higgins, it's so nice of you to come. (Introduction) Colonel Pickering.

Freddie (bows) How do you do?

Mrs. Higgins, you may not have met my son, Professor Higgins.

Freddie (walks up to Higgins) How do you do?

Higgins (looking at him like a pickpocket) I swear I've seen you somewhere. But where is it?

Freddie, I don't think so.

Higgins (helplessly) It doesn't matter anyway. Sit down.

He took Freddie's hand, his face still facing the window, and almost pushed Freddie onto the sofa; Then he went to the other side.

Higgins, we have arrived! He is sitting on the sofa, on Mrs Hill's left. ) So, what were we talking about before Irina Captier Lova came?

Mrs. Higgins, Henry, you are very popular at the Royal Society party, but you are really annoying in these ordinary occasions.

Higgins, right? Sorry (sudden surprise) Yes, that's about it. (greatly pleased) Ha! Ha!

Miss Hill (she thinks Higgins is worth pursuing. ) I sympathize with you. I don't gossip either. It would be great if a person can be honest and say what he thinks.

Higgins (depressed again) God, come on.

Mrs Hill (after her daughter) Why?

Higgins knows that they think what they should think in their hearts is terrible. Wouldn't it be a mess if they said what they really thought? Do you think it will sound good if I say what I really think?

Is Miss Hill (especially lively) an ironic remark?

Higgins is ironic! Who says it's irony? I'm afraid it's indecent

Mrs. Hill (seriously)! I'm sure you don't mean that, Mr. Higgins.

You know, Higgins, we're still savages. We seem to be educated people who know everything about poetry, philosophy, art, science and so on, but how many of us know the meaning of these nouns? (To Miss Hill) How much do you know about poetry? (To Mrs Hill) How much do you know about philosophy? (pointing to Freddie) What does he know about art and science, or something else? What philosophy do you think I know?

What manners does Mrs Higgins know (in a warning tone)?

Maid (opens the door) Miss doolittle is here.

She resigned.

Mrs. Higgins (quickly stands up and runs to Mrs. Higgins) It's her, mom.

He stood behind his mother, stood on tiptoe and motioned to Irina Karp Tairova, the hostess here.

Irina Captier's gorgeous clothes give people an unusually noble and beautiful impression. As soon as she came in, everyone stood up and felt surprised and happy. At Higgins' suggestion, she went to see Mrs Higgins with dignity and luxury.

Irina Karp Tairova (with a stiff and correct accent and beautiful tone) Hello, Mrs. Higgins. She hesitated a little when she said the word "interest", and the result was very successful. ) Mr. Higgins said I could come to see you.

Mrs Higgins (politely) Yes, I'm glad to meet you.

Pickering, how do you do, Miss doolittle?

Irina Karp Tairova (shaking hands with him) Colonel Pickering, right?

Mrs Hill, Miss doolittle, I dare say that we have met somewhere. I remember your eyes.

Hello, Irina Karp. Tairova?

She calmly sat down where Higgins had just left.

Mrs Hill (introducing her daughter) This is my little daughter Clara.

Hello, Irina Karp. Tairova?

Hello, Miss Hill (enthusiastically)?

She sat next to Irina Karp Tairova and entertained her heartily.

Freddie (also walks up to them) I dare say I've seen you before.

Mrs. Hill (introducing him) This is Freddy, son.

Hello, Irina Karp. Tairova?

Freddie bowed and sat in an Elizabethan chair. Irina Karp Tairova's beauty fascinated him.

Higgins (suddenly) Oh, my God, yes, I remember! (They look at him in surprise. ) at the theater! (dejected) What bad luck!

Mrs. Higgins Henry, behave yourself! He sat at the edge of the table. Don't sit on my desk, you will crush it.

Higgins (glum) I'm sorry.

He walked to the low couch, and the tongs around the stove tripped him and came out in a low voice. After the unfortunate journey, he collapsed on the sofa in a hurry and almost crushed it.

Mrs. Higgins looked at him, but finally held back and said nothing. There was a long awkward silence.

Mrs. Higgins (finally finding some gossip) Do you think it will rain?

Irina Kaptelova The slight depression west of the British Isles will slowly move eastward. Judging from the air pressure, there is no sign of great change in the weather.

Freddie, ha! Ha! How interesting

Irina Karp Tairova, what's wrong? I bet I'm not mistaken.

Freddie, that's great!

Mrs. Hill, I really hope it won't get cold. Many people catch a cold. Every spring, our whole family gets this disease as usual.

Irina Karp Tairova (mysteriously) They said my aunt died of a cold.

Mrs hill poured out her sympathy.

Irina Karp Tairova (continuing in a deep melancholy tone) But I think they killed her.

Mrs Hill (who doesn't understand her dialect) killed it?

Irina Captelova Yes, my God! How did she die of a cold? Didn't she get diphtheria the year before last? I saw what i saw. She is out of breath. They all thought she was really dead, but my father kept pouring shochu for her, and she suddenly came to life and bit off all the spoons.

Mrs hill (surprised) ouch!

Irina Kaptelova (continuing to complain) How could a woman with such great strength die of a cold? Where is the new straw hat she left me to wear? Someone stole it. I mean, those who stole straw hats killed her.

What does Mrs. Hill mean by "killed"?

Higgins (quick explanation) Ah, that's a fashionable word. Killing is killing.

Mrs. Hill (very surprised) You don't believe that your aunt was killed, do you?

Irina Captier Lova doesn't believe it! The people who live with her will kill her for a pin, let alone a hat.

Mrs. hill, but it's wrong for your father to fill her with soju like that. He will drown her.

Irina Karp Tairova, she won't die. She drinks soju as a child drinks milk. And my father poured more himself, knowing that it was useful.

Mrs. Hill, do you mean that he likes drinking?

Irina Kaptelova loves it! Hum! This is an addiction.

Mrs. hill, how bad this is for you.

Irina Karp Tairova is totally fine. I don't see any harm in drinking. Is that he can't drink it often. It can be said that there was a time. And he always has a better temper after a few drinks every time. When he lost his job, my mother often gave him four coppers and told him to go out until he was happy and stopped losing his temper. Many women have to let their husbands drink to get along. You see, that's it. If a person has a little conscience and always feels uneasy when he is awake, it will make him unhappy. After a few drinks, I will forget everything and be happy. (To Freddie, smiling. ) hey! What are you laughing at?

Freddie sneered at these fashionable words. What you said is wonderful.

Irina Karp Tairova, if I'm right, what are you laughing at? (to Higgins) Did I say something wrong?

Mrs Higgins (interrupting) You're welcome, Miss doolittle.

Irina Karp Tairova, that's great. (Cheerfully) I always say-

Higgins (stands up and looks at his watch) Hum!

Irina Karp Tairova (looks back at him, understands his hint and stands up) Well, I have to go. (They all stand up. Freddie, get the door. ) Nice to meet you. Goodbye.

She shook hands with Mrs Higgins.

Goodbye, Mrs. Higgins.

Goodbye, Colonel Pickering, Irina Captier Lova.

Goodbye, Pickering, Miss doolittle.

They shook hands.

Irina Captier Lova (nodding to others) Goodbye, everyone.

Freddie (opens the door for her) Miss doolittle, did you take a taxi across the park? If you go for a walk-

Irina Kaptelova walks (in a very calm and elegant voice)? Damn it! (Everyone is startled) I'm going back by car.

She walked out.

Pickering gasped and sat down. Freddie went to the balcony to see her again.

Mrs Hill (* * * too many) Well, I'm really not used to this new school.

Miss Hill (slouching in an Elizabethan chair) Oh, nothing, Mom, nothing. You are so square, people will think that we have never been anywhere and seen the world.

Mrs. hill, I admit that I am very old-fashioned; But, Clara, I hope you don't learn to say that. I heard you call a man "buddy" and say "* * *" and "* * *", but I'm used to it, although I still think it's indecent, unlike what the lady said. But now this sentence is really too much. Mr. Pickering, do you agree?

Pickering, don't ask my opinion. I have been in India for several years, and now the customs have changed a lot, so sometimes I don't know whether I am attending a formal banquet or with a sailor on a ship.

Miss hill, it's a habit. It doesn't matter who is right or wrong. People have no intention of saying these things. This remark is very noticeable. There is nothing interesting to hear, especially interesting and powerful. I think this fashionable remark is very interesting and harmless.

Mrs. Hill (stands up) Speaking of which, I think we should go.

Pickering and Higgins stood up.

Miss Hill (stands up) Oh, yes: we have to go to three tea parties. Goodbye, Mrs. Higgins. Goodbye, Colonel Pickering. Goodbye, Professor Higgins.

Higgins (seriously walks up to her from the low sofa and walks her to the door) Goodbye. You must try this fashionable expression at those three tea parties. Don't be timid. Just say it.

Miss Hill (all smiles) I must say. Goodbye. These early Victorian rules and regulations are nonsense.

Higgins (seducing her) is really nonsense.

Miss Hill is full of fucking nonsense!

Mrs. Hill (sorry to hear that) Clara!

Miss hill, ha! Ha!

She came out radiant and realized that she was fashionable, and she could still hear her laughter when she went downstairs.

Freddie (looking up at the sky and sighing) Well, you see-(He didn't go on, but also went to see Mrs. Higgins. ) goodbye.

Mrs Higgins (shakes hands with him) Goodbye. Do you want to see Miss doolittle again?

Freddie (excitedly) Yes, I do, I do.

Mrs. Higgins, you know the days when I usually receive visitors.

Freddie knows. Thank you very much. Goodbye.

He went out.

Goodbye, Mrs. Hill, Mr. Higgins.

Goodbye, Higgins. Goodbye.

Mrs Hill can't help it (to Pickering). I can never say that.

Pickering, don't force it. Not everyone has to say it. You'd better not say that.

Mrs. Hill, but if I don't become completely fashionable, my daughter won't promise me.

Goodbye, Pickering.

They shook hands.

Mrs Hill (to Mrs Higgins) You must forgive Clara. Pickering heard her whisper and knew she didn't want to be heard. He went to the window and was with Higgins. ) We are too poor! Poor child, few people invite her to the party! She doesn't know the rules very well. (Mrs. Higgins sees her eyes moist, sympathizes with her, and takes her hand to see her to the door. ) But my boy is not bad. Don't you think so?

Mrs. Higgins, the child is very good. I hope he will come to play often.

Thank you, Mrs. Hill. Goodbye.

She walked out.

(translated by Yang)

Make an appreciative comment

Readers who are familiar with Jane Austen's novels must be deeply impressed by her English afternoon tea party. Gentlemen, ladies and old ladies are laughing and understanding. This institutionalized social occasion provides men and women of marriageable age with a decent opportunity to choose their spouses, where they can release their emotions, show their minds, start dating and measure their marriage. There is British humor and wit here, as well as British indifference and distance.

The selection of the third act of "Feng Mei Liang" is a tea party in Bernard Shaw's drama, which is equally interesting and has typical British characteristics.

On the day when Mrs Higgins received visitors, her son called unexpectedly. Higgins told his mother the story of the flower girl and the bet. The purpose of his trip is to let Irina Captier Lova practice decent social intercourse with the help of her mother's tea party. In other words, the tea party is a rehearsal stage. Before the public performance of the embassy dinner, Irina Captier Lova had to go through on-the-spot practice, and Higgins would also find defects in it so as to correct them.

Judging from the plot of the whole drama, the "tea party" has the function of connecting the past with the future. At the beginning of the play, Irina Karp Tairova sells flowers to Higgins. At this moment, the church clock just struck. Higgins, who has always been arrogant and indifferent, changed his usual harsh hypocrisy to the poor and threw a lot of money into the basket of the flower girl. Such a small cause leads to the following story-the flower girl came to visit, hoping to learn the language of the clerk from Higgins, deal with decent ladies, and change the fate of selling flowers like begging in the street. Higgins and Pickering had a whim, and made a bet to rebuild Irina Captier Lova within six months. Suddenly, the plot of the play became interesting. Can the flower girl who has been living at the bottom turn a crow into a phoenix? In the first two scenes of "The Beautiful Peak", Irina Captier Lova is vulgar and stubborn, and lacks basic education.

Immediately after the "tea party", Bernard Shaw arranged a dinner for the embassy. The ambassador's wife entrusts Nepotemk, who is good at foreign languages, to investigate and judge the origin of Irina Captier Lova. The flower girl's pronunciation and grammar are very standard, and Naibomek decided that she must be a foreign princess. "Have you ever seen an English woman speak English so correctly? Only when foreigners learn to speak English can they speak so well. " Even the ambassador decided that Irina Captier Lova, if not directly affiliated with the royal family, also came from a sideline. "There is no doubt that she belongs to this class." . In the fourth and fifth acts, Irina Captier Lova gradually grows up. She learns to think and judge while learning a language, and even learns to criticize the language she has learned. The Tea Party is a turning point for Irina Captier Lova.

The fun of this play comes from the following aspects, first of all, Irina Captier Lova herself. She is a "semi-finished product" and has learned a set of affectations, but the old language habits have not been completely discarded. Therefore, wives and ladies are used to talking about the weather. Irina Kaptelova said, "The slight depression west of the British Isles will slowly move eastward. From the perspective of air pressure, there are no signs of great changes in the weather. " Such a rigid, artificial and elegant language, Irina Captier Lova said seriously. And she immediately exposed her origins and thought that her aunt was "killed"; My aunt is an alcoholic. Before she died, "her father continued to pour shochu for her, and she suddenly came to life and bit off all the spoons"; My aunt lives in a slum, and the situation that "people who live with her will kill her for a needle" is getting worse and worse. Irina Captier Lova even blurted out "Fuck" when she was about to leave. She went through a cover-up, which had a comic effect.

Irina Kaptelova is in stark contrast to the tea party environment in which she lives. Contrast is like a mirror, showing whether Irina Captier Lova is high or low, and making fun of the tea party itself. The flower girl doesn't belong to the tea party class. She is like a reckless intruder, and she is bound to stumble. The class attribute represented by the tea party is far from her flower selling career. She mechanically followed Higgins' instructions and "went to Mrs. Higgins with dignity and luxury". She greeted Mrs Higgins. "She hesitated a little when she said the word' interest', and the result was very successful." She doesn't know the rules of the tea party at all, so she can only be polite again and again. In the second act, while Higgins decides to "transform" Irina Captier Lova, Bernard Shaw asks him whether he can pick up girls casually like picking up stones at the seaside through the mouth of Mrs. Beth, the housekeeper. What shall we do with Irina Karp Tairova after teaching her? Higgins showed impatience with such worries. He was in a superior position and even asked, "What will happen to her in the future if I leave her in the mud?" "When I finish the experiment, we can throw her into the mud again; After that, it is her own business. " Tea party shows the gap between "mud pit" and "living room".

However, it is precisely because Irina Captier Lova is incompatible with the Tea Party that the so-called aristocratic association is hypocritical. At the tea party, what is the substance besides pretending to chat? If there is, it is that Miss Hill wants to meet someone who can get married and has a strong eye for Mr. Higgins.

Mrs Hill and her two children are no strangers to the audience. They appeared in the first act, and the mother and daughter were trapped in the rain. Miss Hill gave orders to her brother Freddie in a condescending manner. When the "tea party" appeared again in the third act, Miss Hill's attitude changed greatly. Irina Karp Tairova's gorgeous dress and artificial speech immediately made Miss Hill look up, so that when Irina Karp Tairova inadvertently revealed her previous language habits, Miss Hill regarded swearing as a new fashion and immediately learned to use it. Bernard Shaw's stage cue to Miss Hill fully explained the character: "My daughter is very lively and seems to be very sociable. She is the kind of empty shelf unique to a broken house." Mrs Hill told Higgins' mother that her family was poor and her daughter didn't have many social opportunities. It turns out that this "miss" is just an empty shell. Without the backing and support of money, the only thing she has is an "empty shelf" that can't be put down. In other words, what Irina Captier Lova wants to study hard is an "empty shelf"! The so-called social stratum is nothing more than the difference of economic strength; The so-called upbringing is nothing more than snobbery based on people's appearance and accent.

When Miss Hill met Higgins, she "approached him in a natural and friendly way". After being snubbed by Higgins, she still kept her original intention and said "it doesn't matter" cheerfully. She flattered Higgins and tried to flatter him because "she thought Higgins was worth pursuing". When saying goodbye, she seemed to casually mention, "Oh, yes: we are going to three tea parties." It implies that she has many opportunities and is very popular. Compared with Irina Captier's half-baked state, Miss Hill, who knows the rules of the Tea Party, is even more ridiculous and pitiful. Bernard Shaw is concerned about the situation of women. In his play The Occupation of Mrs. Warren, he sharply raised the question of what women depend on for survival. In the play "The Peak of Meiliang", by depicting the changes of Irina Captier Lova, Bernard Shaw once again raised questions. In the fourth act, Irina Captier returns to Higgins' lab from the embassy, and she can't help worrying about her future. Higgins' comfort is nothing more than finding a man to marry. It seems that marriage is the only way to provide a place for women. No, Irina Captier Lova said, "We people in totland Square Street haven't * * * reached this point." "I sell flowers, I don't sell myself. Now that you've turned me into a young lady, I can't sell anything but myself. "

What is the essence of marriage? Is there a buying and selling relationship in marriage? It is not difficult to imagine that what Miss Hill is looking forward to is a marriage that can get her out of financial difficulties. In the view of Irina Captier, a flower girl, it is "* * *" to pack yourself decently and live entirely by men. Miss Hill and Higgins Ban yearn for such a "* * *" life.

From Miss Hill, it is not difficult to see that the "decent" class is actually lacking. In the eyes of a gentleman like Higgins, the poor class will undoubtedly accept their contempt and transformation, but forget another fact: all they need to achieve the queen-like posture is six months of language training and expensive clothes and jewelry. At the end of the game, Higgins won the bet. On the other hand, he lost again! His behavior itself is not gentlemanly, and there is no equality with flower girl; His experiment just shows that the division of "class" itself is ridiculous, and his success is a great irony to himself and his class.

A tea party, around the appearance of Irina Captier Lova, outlines different characters and classes, looks at the upper class from the perspective of the flower girl, and observes the flower girl from the upper class. The level and significance of drama are very rich.

The title "Pikmeiliang" has its meaning-in Greek mythology, there was an ancient king named Pikmeiliang who liked the beautiful woman carved from ivory so much that God was moved by it and made the statue become a real person. Bernard Shaw took this as the title of the play, alluding to the relationship between Higgins and Irina Captier Lova in the play. Vivid and smooth plot and vivid characters, it is no wonder that Hollywood adapted the play into a musical and achieved great success.

(Guo)