Derek McGovern
Doctor of Philosophy, (English)
Study Completed: 2011
College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Citation
Thesis Title
Eliza undermined: The romanticisation of Shaw's pygmalion
Read article at Massey Research Online:
Mr McGovern鈥檚 research examined the metamorphosis of Bernard Shaw鈥檚 1912 play Pygmalion from anti-romantic satire to conventional love story through a series of screen and musical adaptations that successively undermined the playwright鈥檚 feminist conception of his work, culminating in the 1964 film My Fair Lady. Mr McGovern focused on Shaw鈥檚 numerous attempts to counter the romanticisation of Pygmalion, most notably in a 1938 screenplay adaptation, and then in the final revision of his play in 1941. However, Mr McGovern found that, ironically enough, Shaw鈥檚 interventions not only laid the foundation for the romanticized adaptations that followed, but obscured the superiority of his original play.
Supervisors
Professor Dick Corballis
Dr Ian Huffer
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Last updated on Monday 04 April 2022