Question

Read the excerpt from Pygmalion and Galatea by Josephine Preston Peabody.

But it chanced that Pygmalion fell to work upon an ivory statue of a maiden, so lovely that it must have moved to envy every breathing creature that came to look upon it. With a happy heart the sculptor wrought day by day, giving it all the beauty of his dreams, until, when the work was completed, he felt powerless to leave it. He was bound to it by the tie of his highest aspiration, his most perfect ideal, his most patient work.

Read the excerpt from Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

HIGGINS [with professional exquisiteness of modulation] I walk over everybody! My dear Mrs. Pearce, my dear Pickering, I never had the slightest intention of walking over anyone. All I propose is that we should be kind to this poor girl. We must help her to prepare and fit herself for her new station in life. If I did not express myself clearly it was because I did not wish to hurt her delicacy, or yours.

What do the source text by Peabody and the adaptation by Shaw have in common?

A man helps a woman improve her lifestyle.
A man wants to make an ideal version of a woman.
A man becomes too obsessed with his project.
A man hopes to inspire jealousy in others.

Answer 1

A man wants to make an ideal version of a woman.

Both excerpts show a man shaping or remaking a woman to fit his ideal—the sculptor fashions a perfect statue, and Higgins aims to transform Eliza into a refined lady.