Excerpt from Pygmalion, by Bernard Shaw

Question

ACT I

[Covent Garden at 11.15 p.m. Torrents of heavy summer rain. Cab whistles blowing frantically in all directions. Pedestrians running for shelter into the market and under the portico of St. Paul’s Church, where there are already several people, among them a lady and her daughter in evening dress. They are all peering out gloomily at the rain, except one man with his back turned to the rest, who seems wholly preoccupied with a notebook in which he is writing busily.

The church clock strikes the first quarter.]

THE DAUGHTER: [in the space between the central pillars, close to the one on her left] I’m getting chilled to the bone. What can Freddy be doing all this time? He’s been gone twenty minutes.

THE MOTHER: [on her daughter’s right] Not so long. But he ought to have got us a cab by this.

A BYSTANDER: [on the lady’s right] He won’t get no cab not until half-past eleven, missus, when they come back after dropping their theatre fares.

THE MOTHER: But we must have a cab. We can’t stand here until half-past eleven. It’s too bad.

THE BYSTANDER: Well, it ain’t my fault, missus.

THE DAUGHTER: If Freddy had a bit of gumption, he would have got one at the theatre door.

THE MOTHER: What could he have done, poor boy?

THE DAUGHTER: Other people got cabs. Why couldn’t he?

[Freddy rushes in out of the rain from the Southampton Street side, and comes between them closing a dripping umbrella. He is a young man of twenty, in evening dress, very wet around the ankles.]

THE DAUGHTER: Well, haven’t you got a cab?

FREDDY: There’s not one to be had for love or money.

THE MOTHER: Oh, Freddy, there must be one. You can’t have tried.

THE DAUGHTER: It’s too tiresome. Do you expect us to go and get one ourselves?

FREDDY: I tell you they’re all engaged. The rain was so sudden: nobody was prepared; and everybody had to take a cab. I’ve been to Charing Cross one way and nearly to Ludgate Circus the other; and they were all engaged.

THE MOTHER: Did you try Trafalgar Square?

FREDDY: There wasn’t one at Trafalgar Square.

THE DAUGHTER: Did you try?

FREDDY: I tried as far as Charing Cross Station. Did you expect me to walk to Hammersmith?

THE DAUGHTER: You haven’t tried at all.

THE MOTHER: You really are very helpless, Freddy. Go again; and don’t come back until you have found a cab.

FREDDY: I shall simply get soaked for nothing.

THE DAUGHTER: And what about us? Are we to stay here all night in this draught, with next to nothing on. You selfish pig—

FREDDY: Oh, very well: I’ll go, I’ll go.

How does the dialogue in this scene contribute to the development of the characters?
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It details their past.
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It focuses on their physical appearances.
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It showcases their professional skills.
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It reveals their personalities and social status.

Answer 1

The dialogue in this scene contributes to the development of the characters primarily by revealing their personalities and social status.

1. Personality Insights: The characters' interactions highlight their individual traits. The daughter expresses frustration and impatience, demonstrating a sense of entitlement and impatience. The mother is condescending and somewhat dismissive, indicating a protective but critical nature towards her son. Freddy comes across as helpless and overwhelmed, suggesting a lack of assertiveness and resourcefulness.

2. Social Status: Their evening attire indicates that they belong to the middle or upper class, which influences their expectations about services like cabs being readily available. The dialogue reveals their dissatisfaction with the situation, implying that they are not accustomed to inconvenience and are frustrated at what they perceive as poor service. The lack of a cab during rain, which they deem unacceptable, illustrates a gap between their expectations and reality.

Overall, the dialogue intricately weaves together their personalities and social status, providing depth to their characters while also illustrating the social dynamics and class distinctions prevalent in early 20th-century London.