Social Class in Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how social class is the primary subject in both "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw and "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde. It looks at how both plays draw a vivid picture of the differences between the economic classes and how both illustrate the artificiality of these classes. It also discusses how in neither story does the position in the class structure indicate the worth of a person, or change his essential qualities, whether good or bad.

From the Paper:

"One startling difference in the two works is their respective treatment of marriage. In Pygmalion marriage is barely mentioned. There is no question of a romantic interest in the confirmed bachelor Higgins, despite he eventual fondness for his pupil. She even goes so far as to tell him that she wouldn't marry him if he asked her. In the play's lengthy postscript the author says that Eliza, who realizes that a union between herself and Higgins would never be successful, eventually marries the lovesick Freddy. Marriage is a central preoccupation of Wilde's play, possibly because of his own homosexuality. "

More papers on Social Class in Literature:

• Comparison Essay # 9257 : "The Importance of Social Class in Literature."
• Analytical Essay # 57761 : "Oppression in Literature"
• Essay # 3946 : "The Influence of Social Class on Writers"

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