Power, language, and transformation: A Foucauldian reading of Pygmalion

The paper explores the implementation of Michel Foucault's profound theories of power and discipline within the paradigm of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, with particular focus on the intricate interplay between the eminent figure of Henry Higgins and the ostensibly subjugated Eliza Doolittle. Foucault's conceptualization of power as an inherently relational force, deeply embedded within the fabric of societal structures, furnishes an illuminating lens through which to interrogate the transition of Eliza. Higgins, as a figure of intellectual and cultural hegemony, possesses the requisite knowledge and expertise to effectuate the transmutation of Eliza's identity via linguistic mastery, thus consolidating his position as a preeminent agent of dominance within the power nexus. In stark juxtaposition, Eliza, initially portrayed as an object of powerlessness and subordination due to her proletarian origins, endeavours to assert her autonomy and agency through the instrumentality of education. Moreover, this article meticulously explores the way Foucault's theories on power, surveillance, and normalization elucidate the socio-cultural dynamics that underpin the characters' interactions, thereby advancing a critique of the insidious societal mechanisms that define, constrain, and regulate individual identity through the pervasive exercise of power. Ultimately, Pygmalion emerges as both a profound depiction of a struggle for control and an incisive critique of the structural forces that circumscribe the possibility of social mobility and personal emancipation.