pygmalion vs educating rita

Both the character of Eliza Doolittle in Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion and Willy Russell’s Educating Rita, are women who comes from different eras but have the same aim; to change their social status and they choose to do it through education. They felt by having education, they are able to rise one step ahead of their present strata in life however, their dreams of being educated at the end results in their lost of identity. Both these women also faced the difficulties as other women all over the world when they want to have education. As we know fiction is a reflection of reality and in reality, the earliest push for Victorian women to become educated was because they were mothers of men and eventually teachers of men (Solomon xviii). It was not until the twentieth century that women began to desire knowledge for themselves as individuals. That is why both these plays were written later in the 1900’s. If we compare these plays with Jane Austin’s novels, we can see what education meant during that time; for the sake of finding a good husband from a wealthy family and hardly for themselves. This is why I’m fond of writing about these plays for my research paper. I wanted to elaborate further on the idea of education and women because as a woman, I do feel that we should have the equal rights in gaining education too!!! Education is not just about getting a good job, if I was a housewife; I want to be an educated one also; not just know the latest gossip in the neighbourhood but also the current issues that happens around me. Another interesting issue about these plays is the irrelevant reasons both the main characters wanted education…Rita only wanted to be educated so she knows what are the right books to read, right plays to watch and right clothes to wear and Eliza only want to speak more ‘genteel’ so she can work in a florist shop. So shallow there needs for education. That is why I want to show students through these plays that they should have significant reason in gaining education or else they are just wasting their parents’ money.