A Comparative Study between Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion & Numan Ashour’s People up Stairs

George Bernard Shaw wrote Pygmalion in 1912. The title of this play was taken from an ancient story of “Pygmalion and Galatea." The goddess of love was extremely impressed by the affection of Pygmalion towards Galatea, so she turned the statue of Galatea into a human being. Later on, Pygmalion married Galatea, and they lived happily forever.
Shaw was impressed with Ibsen thoughts and ideas in writing and revealing the problems of his society.Shaw's focus as a social playwright was to restructure the social norms and customs and put those ideas in his writings so that it can change the mindset of his people. Shaw believes that every work must convey an idea about class distinction, decomposition of moral values, poverty, and capitalism. Hence, he dedicated himself to improve the social structure of society through his works (Crompton). In Pygmalion, Shaw describes the transformation of a poor independent flower girl into an educated lady who could easily pass as a lady in his highly stratified society. Through the portrayal of the character of Eliza, the audience could realise a woman's sensitivity regarding her rights and dignity.