Sculpting Theatre, Sculpting Self: The Construction of Form and Identity in Shaw's _Pygmalion_
Abstract
In Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, the expected climax scenes are withheld from the audience, redirecting our attention from the plot to the ethical dilemmas and questions of identity within the play. Moreover, the exclusion of key events makes us focus on the actors themselves and how they fit within the play’s dramatic structure. We must draw connections, then, between the visible workings of theatrical form and the obvious creation of social roles. I argue that Shaw’s seemingly faulty construction of plot mirrors the inherent flaws in self-identity, as identity is socially constructed, mutable and thus filled with contradiction.
Nominating Faculty Member: Sheila Rabillard (rabillar@uvic.ca)
Copyright (c) 2018 Amelia Nezil
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