This paper discusses the presentation of female characters in the two books “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw and “Sexing the Cherry” by Jeanette Winterson.
The following paper asserts that both Shaw and Winterson assigned different attributes to their female leading characters in the novels ‘Pygmalion’ and ‘Sexing the Cherry’. However, this paper contends that the purpose of creating such figures, such as Eliza and the Dog woman, is identical in both cases.
“The two books Pygmalion and Sexing the Cherry are starkly different in their storyline and narrative techniques, yet the only connecting link is the dominance of female characters in both stories. For example in the Pygmalion, it is Eliza Dolittle who is the most important female character while Dog Woman plays the leading role in ‘Sexing the Cherry’. We notice that these two women have been presented in a contrasting light, as one happens to be a self-conscious young woman who is beautiful and sophisticated while the other is an ugly-looking person and has been repeatedly described as a monstrous creature. This is because Dog Woman who happens to have no other name in the book is grotesque character with nothing lady-like about her. Her mannerisms, her language, her dialect and her tone are all rather crude and the woman is an epitome of unsophisticated characteristics.”