Pygmalion Archetype Concise definition Transformation story in which an external force seeks to change someone else. Archetypal characters 1.Creative person (creator) 2.Object of creative person’s attention (created) 3.Being who grants creative person’s wish
Aspects to look for/recognize 3 archetypal characters Relationship between creative person & creation The transformation process
Ovid & Shaw side-by-side Original Pygmalion myth by Ovid (~AD 0) Creative person: Pygmalion Object of creative person’s attention: Ivory Woman Being who grants creative person’s wish: Venus Transformation: Ivory Woman becomes a real woman 1900’s adaptation by George Bernard Shaw Creative person: Higgins Object of creative person’s attention: Liza Being who grants creative person’s wish: Colonel Pickering Transformation: Liza going from poor street flower seller to a lady with proper English
Recreations of Pygmalion Books: – Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray – Pinocchio Movies: – Pretty Woman – My Fair Lady