Section Two Birth Is Much but Breeding Is More
世界上没人能选择自己要出生在什么家庭和由谁做自己的父母，正如没人能知道自己会在何时何地如何死一样。但任何人都有自己的生身父母，并且任何人都终有一死，好在事先都不知道。否则，生死都毫无意义。已过去了的出身就让它过去吧！未来的人生更值得关心。人们总是对研究人生和长寿更感兴趣。人们不断地研究人生并使人生过得更长久、更有意义，以便能为祖国和人民作出更大的贡献，以便别人能记住自己所做的好事。
In the world nobody can choose what family one will be born of and who will be one’s parents just asnobody knows when and where and how one will die. But anyone must have one’s own parents who havegiven birth to him or her and must die in the end. Fortunately， none can foresee. Otherwise， birth and deathmean nothing at all. Let the past birth pass！ The future life is much more worth concern. No wonder thatpeople are more interested in the study of life and longevity than that of birth and death. Consequently， peopleare constantly studying life and making their lives longer and more meaningful so that they can make greatercontributions to their people and country， and the other people will remember what good they have donebefore their death.
咱们读一读乔治·萧伯纳的《匹克梅梁》，就会认识到出身和教养比较，教养是多么的重要。
Let’s read George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion and will come to know how important breeding is whenit’s compared with birth.
2.1 内容介绍
2.1 Introduction
乔治·萧伯纳于1912年为帕特里克·甘贝尔——一位天才的英国女演员——创作了以她为主角的《匹克梅梁》。而写作念头在这之前的几年就已经形成了。在1897年写给埃伦·特里（另一着名女演员，演过萧伯纳好几部戏）的信中他提到，他有意写一个剧本，讲东区（东区是伦敦的贫民区）一个系围裙、带三根鸵鸟毛的女孩子。我们想象不出当时萧伯纳在考虑什么样的剧本，但伊莉莎的形象已在他脑海中形成了。到1912年，萧伯纳已创作出他许多优秀的剧本，并已驰名世界。
George Bernard Shaw wrote Pygmalion in 1912 as a starring play for Mrs. Patrick Campbell， a giftedEnglish actress. However， the idea had been working in his mind for years before that. In 1897 Shawmentioned in a letter to Ellen Terry， another famous actress who appeared in several of his plays， that he hadan idea for a play about an East End girl (the East End was a slum district of London) in an apron and threeostrich feathers. We cannot tell what kind of a play Shaw was thinking of then， but the physical image of Elizawas already formed in his mind. By 1912 Shaw had written many of his finest plays. He had a world-widereputation.
《匹克梅梁》由序、五幕和结尾短文七部分组成。萧伯纳以讨论英语的短处开始其短序。他指责最多的是英语的拼写。他在序中说，因为有了这种拼写，没有一个人，不论是英国人还是外国人，能通过研究英语的拼写方法而无师自通地学会英语发音。英语拼写与发音没有多少合理的联系，这使英语拼写变得困难。并且，如果我们拼不好，便经常可能被不公平地看成是愚昧无知的。这也使英语发音非常难学。序的一部分是赞颂着名但暴躁的语音学家亨利·斯威特的，萧伯纳根据他塑造了剧中男主人公亨利·希金斯的形象。萧伯纳表示，现实生活中，像希金斯教伊莉莎改变发音的事并不少见。很多贫穷的女孩子为了成为女演员改掉了她们原先的方言，学会了漂亮的发音。伦敦的高级商店的女售货员与上流家庭中的女仆讲两种语言——工作时讲标准的英语，私下里说人称“伦敦腔”的伦敦土语。
Pygmalion is composed of seven parts： Preface， Five Acts and the Concluding Essay. Shaw beginshis short preface by discussing the shortcomings of the English language. Much of the blame is placed onEnglish spelling. Because of it， no person， neither Englishman nor foreigner， can teach himself to pronounceEnglish by studying the way it is spelled. English spelling does not have much reasonable relationship to itspronunciation. This makes English difficult to spell， and， if we cannot spell well， we are liable to be lookedupon as ignorant and unintelligent， often unjustly. This also makes English pronunciation very difficult tolearn. Part of the preface is a tribute to the famous， though peppery， phonetician Henry Sweet， on whom Shawbased his portrait of Henry Higgins， the hero of the play. Shaw states that such changes in speech as Higginsteaches Eliza are not unusual in real life. Many poor girls have gotten rid of their original dialects and learnedbeautiful speech in order to become actresses. Salesladies in fine London shops and maids in elegant homesspeak two languages—Standard English on their jobs， and the low London speech called“cockney”inprivate life.
第一幕：夜晚十一点一刻，一场夏季的雷雨还在下着。人们纷纷跑进伦敦考文特花园市场内圣保罗教堂的门廊避雨。其中有位太太和她的女儿、儿子，穿着晚礼服。他们是因斯福德-希尔一家。卖花女伊莉莎·杜利特尔（我们到第二幕才知道她的名字）带着她的花篮也出场了。她只有十八或二十岁。她戴着一个肮脏的小草帽，穿着黑色的旧衣衫，褐色的裙子，围裙，和破旧的鞋子。她出场时正生着气，因为佛莱第·因斯福德-希尔撞了她，把她的花撞到了地上。但她知道怎样成功地自谋生计；她立刻就想法使被佛莱第糟踏的花得到了赔偿。
这时，旁边一个人告诉卖花女，带笔记本的人把她说的话都记了下来。她害怕了；她肯定那人是警察。暴雨既已停止，别的人都离开了门廊，只剩下带笔记本的人、卖花女和穿晚礼服的绅士。两个男子互相介绍自己。记笔记的人是语音学教授亨利·希金斯；另一个绅士是辟克林上校，一个研究印度方言的权威。两个人心仪已久。希金斯给辟克林介绍他如何教出身寒微的百万富翁讲合适的语言时，偶然用卖花女为例解释他所说的话。她注定在贫民窟遭罪终生是因为她那些卑贱的方言。他可以完全改变她的英语，让她三个月之内可以被误认为是公爵夫人。这种颇富戏剧性的说法抓住了卖花女的注意力。她记住了他们的名字和地址。希金斯与辟克林一起走了。离开时，希金斯听到教堂响起钟声。这使他想起了上帝和仁慈。他于是向伊莉莎篮子里扔了一把钱币。为意外之财而洋洋自得的伊莉莎乘车回家了。
ActⅠ： It is 11：15 p.m.， and a summer thunderstorm is in progress. Various people have run into theportico of St. Paul’s Church in Covent Garden Market， London to escape the rain. Among them is a ladywith her daughter and son， in evening dress. They are the Eynsford-Hills. The flower girl Eliza Doolittle ishere with her flower basket (we do not learn her name until Act Ⅱ). She is only eighteen or twenty. She putson her dirty little straw hat， wears her old black coat， brown skirt， apron， and worn shoes. At the momentof her entry into the scene， she is angry， because Freddy Eynsford-Hill has run into her and knocked overher flowers. But she knows how to get along successfully in her existence； she promptly manages to get paidback for the flowers Freddy has ruined. Now a bystander warns the flower girl that the man with the notebookis writing down everything she says. She is terrified； she is sure this must be a policeman. Since the stormis over， everyone leaves the portico except the man with the notebook， the flower girl， and the gentlemanin evening dress. The two men introduced themselves to one another. The note-taker is Henry Higgins，a professor of phonetics； the other gentleman is Colonel Pickering， an authority on Indian dialects. Thetwo men have long been anxious to meet. As Higgins explains to Pickering how he teaches millionaires ofhumble background to speak properly， he happens to use the flower girl as an illustration of what he is talkingabout. She is condemned to the gutter for life because of her vile dialect. He could change her English socompletely that in three months she could pass as a duchess. The attention of the flower girl is caught by thisdramatic statement. She has heard and learned their names and address by heart. Higgins and Pickering gooff together. As they leave， Higgins hears the church clock chime. He is reminded of God and charity. IntoEliza’s flower basket he throws a handful of coins. Eliza， elated by her unexpected wealth， takes a cab homeherself.
第二幕：第二天早晨11点，在温波街希金斯的家中，在一间摆设得如同语音实验室的起居室里，希金斯和辟克林在高兴地谈论着他们喜欢的话题。伊莉莎来了，她挖空心思尽量穿得文雅些。她是来聘希金斯当教师的，一小时一先令（0.25美元）。她想在花店找个工作。辟克林提醒希金斯，他曾夸口能把伊莉莎变成公爵夫人，并要和他打赌，而且还承担这一实验的全部费用。辟克林的主意让希金斯欣喜。他决心把伊莉莎变成公爵夫人。他迅速命令皮尔斯太太给她脱去衣服，把衣服烧掉，让她洗澡并给她定做新衣服。皮尔斯太太是希金斯的管家，是个典型的有尊严感有常识的人。她的性格刚强，希金斯也左右不了她。她对伊莉莎很严厉，但是态度得体，又有理有节。希金斯咆哮着要伊莉莎坐下，皮尔斯太太也厉声要她坐下。伊莉莎对此很吃惊，但她不受这种欺负。而当辟克林搬过椅子，客气地请她坐时，她感到了安慰，马上坐了下来。在对待这个女孩子上，辟克林总是比希金斯更成功，因为希金斯的狂暴举止只会让她困惑，而辟克林平静、尊敬的态度则让她安心。伊莉莎要求上课，希金斯决定给她授课。但伊莉莎对希金斯令人害怕的态度和不把她当人看的做法感到震惊，几乎要改变主意而跑掉。皮尔斯太太和辟克林对此感到不安。他们提出反对意见。所有这一切都给人以情节热闹、人格互相撞击的错觉。这时，阿尔弗雷德·杜利特尔，伊莉莎的父亲，走了进来。他表现得义愤填膺，他暗示希金斯是为了不道德的目的而拐走了他的女儿。然而，如果希金斯肯出五英镑，他就准备对此睁一只眼闭一只眼。但希金斯命令杜利特尔马上把伊莉莎带走，这使他大吃一惊。希金斯指控杜利特尔讹诈，高声威胁要叫警察。结果，希金斯高兴地听到，杜利特尔心甘情愿地承认，自己是个没有道德标准的人。当杜利特尔分析自己的情形时说自己是个不值得帮助的穷人，因为他承受不起道德，所以他拒绝道德，他听起来非常像英国文学中最伟大的喜剧角色——福斯泰夫。
ActⅡ： It is 11 a.m. the next morning， in Higgins’ house on Wimpole Street. Here， in a living roomequipped as a phonetics laboratory， Higgins and Pickering are enjoying a discussion of their favorite subject.
Eliza arrives， as elegantly dressed as she can manage. She has come to hire Higgins as a teacher， at a shilling(0.25) an hour. She wants to get a job in a florist’s shop. Pickering reminds Higgins of his boast that he canturn Eliza into a duchess and offers to bet against him， as well as pay all the expenses of the experiment.
Higgins is delighted with Pickering’s idea. He determines to make a duchess of Eliza. Rapidly he orders Mrs.
Pearce to take her clothes away and burn them， clean her up， and order new clothes for her. Mrs. Pearce，Higgins’ housekeeper， is a model of respectability and good sense. She has a strong character which cannotbe swayed by Higgins. Toward Eliza she is firm but decent and reasonable. Higgins roars at Eliza to sitdown. Mrs. Pearce adds a crisp command to the same purpose. Eliza is frightened by this， but she refuses tobe bullied. However， as soon as Pickering offers her a seat in a courteous tone， she is soothed and sits downat once. He will often be more successful than Higgins in handling the girl， because Higgins bewilders herwith his violent behavior， but she is reassured by Pickering’s quiet， respectful manner. Eliza asks for lessons，and Higgins decides to give them to her. But Eliza is so astounded by Higgins’ dreadful manners and lack ofconcern for her as a person that she almost changes her mind and runs away. Mrs. Pearce and Pickering areboth uneasy because of this. They raise objections. All this creates the illusion of bustling action and the clashof personalities. Now Alfred Doolittle， Eliza’s father， enters. He exhibits righteous indignation， suggesting thatHiggins has taken Eliza for immoral purposes. However， he is prepared to overlook this for five pounds. ButHiggins shocks Doolittle by ordering him to take Eliza away at once. Higgins accuses Doolittle of blackmail，threatening loudly to call the police. Eventually， Higgins becomes delighted by Doolittle’s cheerful admissionthat he has no moral standards. When Doolittle analyzes his position as one of the undeserving poor andrejects morals because he cannot afford them， he sounds a good deal like Falstaff — the greatest comiccharacter in English literature.
第三幕：亨利的母亲希金斯夫人正准备在家款待客人。亨利·希金斯闯进来告诉母亲，他请了伊莉莎来拜访她。因斯福德-希尔一家来了。辟克林也来了。斯福德-希尔太太是个贵妇人，但她没有必需的钱来支撑这一地位。她总是愁容满面，不过她仍是一个令人愉快的人。尽管希金斯让她吃惊和困惑，她还是努力对他友好。她的女儿克拉拉非常努力地与希金斯友好相处。无论如何，他是个单身汉，这样试试没什么害处。伊莉莎的首次社交开始时很成功。她得体地问候女主人和别的客人。显然有人精心教会了她举止。她对天气评论了一番，这是她事先精心演练过的。佛莱第给逗乐了，她的语法出毛病了。因斯福德-希尔太太为了不让她煞风景，好心把话题引到流感上。不幸的是，这让伊莉莎想起了她的姨妈。她变得只对自己说的话感兴趣了。她不再害怕了，讲起了故事。整个故事都是用伊莉莎刚刚学会的体面英语讲述的；她的语法改进不大，但发音很完美。这场社交灾难的高潮是伊莉莎回答佛莱第问她到公园散步的问题。对她来说，这种问题实际上是一种污辱。只有穷人才步行。
贵妇人出来要坐出租车。无疑，她就是因此才生气地回答：“我他妈的才不呢！”伊莉莎让人愕然地离开后，因斯福德-希尔一家也紧接着走了。因斯福德-希尔太太对伊莉莎的粗俗感到震惊。克拉拉沾沾自喜，以为自己学到了最新的流行时尚。而美丽的杜利特尔小姐让佛莱第心醉。然后，希金斯夫人试图确切了解伊莉莎以何种身份住在她儿子的家里。她是个仆人吗？如果不是，她是什么呢？实验结束后，她将何去何从？希金斯和辟克林对希金斯夫人的指责耿耿于怀。她怎能说他们不为伊莉莎着想呢？他们除了这，没想过别的！他们想着她的元音，她的辅音，她的举止，她的服饰。
Act Ⅲ： Mrs. Higgins， Henry’s mother， is preparing to entertain guests in her home. Henry Higginsbursts in to tell his mother that he has invited Eliza to visit her. The Eynsford-Hills arrive. Pickering alsoarrives. Mrs. Eynsford-Hill is a lady by social status， but she does not have the money necessary to upholdthat position. She is perpetually worried， and yet she is a pleasant person. She tries to be friendly to Higgins，though he startles and bewilders her. Her daughter Clara makes great efforts to get on friendly terms withHiggins. After all， he is a bachelor， and there is no harm in trying. Eliza begins her social debut well. Shegreets her hostess and her fellow guests in the proper manner. Her movements have obviously been taughtto her with much care. She makes a remark about weather conditions， which she has carefully rehearsedbeforehand. Freddy is amused and her grammar collapses. Mrs. Eynsord-Hill makes a kindly attempt tosave the day by turning the subject to influenza. Unfortunately， this reminds Eliza of her aunt. She becomesinterested in what she is saying. No longer afraid， she tells her story. All of it is told in Eliza’s newly learnedcultured speech； her grammar has not been much improved， but her pronunciation is perfect. The climax ofthe disaster is Eliza’s reply to Freddy’s question about a walk across the park. To her， such a question is virtuallyan insult. Only poor people walk. Ladies ride in taxi. No doubt this accounts for her vigorous reply：“Notbloody likely！”On the heels of Eliza’s sensational exit， the Eynsford-Hills depart. Mrs. Eynsford-Hill is ina state of shock over Eliza’s vulgarity. Clara is delighted to think that she has just learned about the latest fad.
Freddy is infatuated with the beautiful Miss Doolittle. Then Mrs. Higgins tries to get precise information aboutthe terms on which Eliza lives in her son’s home. Is she a servant？ If not， what is she？ What is to becomeof her after the experiment is over？ Higgins and Pickering are indignant at Mrs. Higgins’ reproaches. Howcan she suggest that they do not think about Eliza？ They think of nothing else！ They think of her vowels， herconsonants， her manners， her clothes.
第三幕第二场：最初，《匹克梅梁》第三幕只有第一场。作者说，后来有人给他指出，他省掉了“必要的戏”，戏中伊莉莎最终要通过考验，希金斯打赌获胜。因此，他写了这一场，在准备阅读用的剧本时把它加了上去。《匹克梅梁》电影里也包括这场戏。在音乐喜剧的《匹克梅梁》——《窈窕淑女》中，这场戏表演得细致入微。第二场：伊莉莎、希金斯和辟克林身着精美的晚礼服，出席了大使的招待会；伊莉莎的美貌与优雅轰动了招待会。遗憾的是，希金斯以前的一个学生也在场，一个叫涅波墨克的匈牙利人。他吹嘘说，他能从任何人的言语中分辨出他或她的背景。与伊莉莎交谈后，他告诉人们，她毫无疑问是个匈牙利公主。希金斯最后赌赢了。伊莉莎和两位陪伴者离去了。
Act Ⅲ， SceneⅡ： Originally， Act 3 of Pygmalion consisted only of the first scene. The writer stated thatlater on it was pointed out to him that he had omitted the“obligatory scene”， the one in which Eliza finallydoes pass her test and Higgins wins his bet. Therefore， he wrote this scene and added it when he prepared theplay for reading. The film production of Pygmalion included this too. In the musical version of Pygmalion，My Fair Lady， the scene is elaborately produced. The Second Scene： Eliza， Higgins， and Pickering attendthe ambassadors’ reception， dressed in splendid evening clothes； Eliza’s beauty and elegance make her asensation. Unluckily， a former pupil of Higgins is also present， a Hungarian named Nepommuck. He boaststhat he can identify the background of any person by his or her speech. After conversing with Eliza， he reportsthat she is undoubtedly a Hungarian princess. The bet is won at last. Eliza and her two escorts leave.
第四幕：伊莉莎走进温波街房子里的实验室，希金斯和辟克林跟在后面。他们刚从招待会回来。伊莉莎筋疲力尽地过了一天。一天之内，她出席了一个花园宴会、一个正式的晚宴、一个晚间招待会，举止一点儿没有差错。她身心的紧张和强烈的不幸感觉在这场戏中精彩地表现出来。她穿着晚礼服，戴着珠宝首饰，坐在那儿一动不动，听着希金斯诉说着自己的厌烦，听着辟克林向希金斯而不是向她祝贺成功。希金斯对伊莉莎日常用处的视若无睹也表现了出来。他需要拖鞋。伊莉莎拿给他。他忘了拖鞋，走下来到实验室找。伊莉莎把拖鞋扔给他。他吓了一跳。他要她解释为什么这样做。她问，她以后怎么办？她已被变成了一个对任何正常生活方式都不适应的人。他不为此事所动。他建议她可以嫁人，或是开个花店。
伊莉莎问辟克林在实验期间给她带来的衣服是否属于她。她把珠宝首饰（为招待会租来的）归还给希金斯，这样，首饰就更安全，也能使她免于偷盗的指控。她把他们在海滨胜地布莱顿时希金斯买给她的戒指还给他。他上楼时气愤地把它扔进了壁炉。她跪着爬着又把它找出来，因为她无法忍受让戒指留在他扔的地方。而她又不愿意带在身上。她最后把它放在放水果和糖的架子上。然后，她也离开了房间。
Act Ⅳ： Eliza enters the laboratory of the house at Wimpole Street， followed by Higgins and Pickering.
They have just returned home from the reception. Eliza has been through a grueling day， during which shehas attended a garden party， a formal dinner， and an evening reception， behaving without an error the wholetime. Her strain and bitter unhappiness are brilliantly indicated in this scene. She sits immobile in herevening gown and jewels， hearing Higgins discuss his boredom， hearing Pickering congratulate， not her， butHiggins on the achievement. Higgins’ indifference to Eliza’s everyday usefulness is also shown. He wantshis slippers. Eliza brings them. Higgins comes down to the laboratory again for his forgotten slippers. Elizathrows them at him. He is amazed. He demands an explanation. What is to become of her， she asks. She hasbeen made into a creature who is not fit for any normal way of life. Higgins refuses to get excited. He suggeststhat she might get married， or perhaps she would rather open a florist’s shop. Eliza asks whether the clothesPickering has bought her during the experiment actually belong to her. She returns her jewels (rented for theoccasion) to Higgins so that they may be safe and she can also be saved herself from false accusations of theft.
She returns to Higgins a ring he bought her when they were at that seaside resort. He throws it angrily into thefireplace when he goes upstairs. She crawls on her hands and knees until she finds it again， for she cannotbear to leave it where he has thrown it. Yet she does not want to take it with her. She finally puts it down on astand that holds candies and fruits. Then she leaves the room too.
第四幕第二场：这又是一出供阅读或电影制作选用的戏。这里演到伊莉莎凄凄惨惨地离开了温波街的房子。她在外边看到了害相思病的人儿佛莱第·因斯福德-希尔，他夜里多半都在那里痴痴地盯着她的窗子。看到她，他吃了一惊，把她拥在怀里。孤独又伤心的她，回报了他的拥抱。她甚至告诉佛莱第，她准备跳河。为了希金斯的缘故，她有了一段头脑与神经极度紧张的被摧残的经历，到头来只是发现，他没有注意到她经历了这一切。他轻率地把她竭尽全力所做的事说成是她不紧张，她“没有问题”。 伊莉莎和佛莱第决定乘出租车逛一夜，隔天早晨去听希金斯夫人的意见。
Act Ⅳ， SceneⅡ： This is an another optional scene for reading or for film production. Eliza is shownleaving the house at Wimpole Street in a wretched state. Outside， she finds the lovelorn Freddy Eynsford-Hill， who spends most nights there gazing at her window. Freddy is surprised into embracing her. Lonely andunhappy， she responds. She even says to Freddy that her plan was to throw herself into the river. She has hadthe bruising experience of extending herself to the last extreme of her mind and nerves for Higgins’ sake， onlyto find that he has not noticed that she has done so. He has airily passed off the strain of what she has done bysaying that she was not nervous， that she was“all right”. Eliza and Freddy decide to ride around in a taxiall night and then ask Mrs. Higgins’ advice in the morning.
第五幕：早晨，伊莉莎到希金斯夫人家寻求庇护和忠告。希金斯夫人的女仆告诉她，她的儿子和辟克林来了。他们正给警察打电话，宣称伊莉莎不见了。希金斯夫人捎话让伊莉莎待在楼上，别让他们看见，等她派人来叫。她对她儿子希金斯说伊莉莎一定有什么问题才逃走的，但希金斯说她“没有问题”。 伊莉莎一直照管他的财产，安排他的约会，而今天早晨，她不在家让他受了罪。母子间的谈话被阿尔弗雷德·杜利特尔的到来给打断了。他从上到下衣着考究，头上是高高的礼帽，脚上是一双漆皮的皮鞋。他对希金斯怒不可遏，因为希金斯曾给一个美国百万富翁的信中提到，杜利特尔是英国最有见解的伦理学家，其结果是富翁在遗嘱中给杜利特尔留下了每年4000英镑。这样，杜利特尔再也不是一个快乐的不值得帮助的穷人了；他把过去的穷日子看成是失去的幸福。他郁郁不乐地列举出他新地位的诸多坏处。他甚至连勇气也被百万富翁的钱夺走了。他找不到力量来拒绝每年4000英镑。如果他不接受，他也许面临着年老时进孤老院的命运。希金斯夫人现在告诉儿子，伊莉莎就在屋里。她给希金斯和辟克林解释为什么他们的行为对伊莉莎是自私无情的。在希金斯夫人的建议下，伊莉莎来见她的两位老师时，杜利特尔到阳台上等着。伊莉莎对希金斯冷淡而不失礼貌，对辟克林则非常热情地致谢。她已是改变了的人。不知是怎么回事，她在学会新的语言与新的举止的同时，也获得了一种新的人性。新的伊莉莎明白，贵妇人与卖花女的区别不在她的举止，而在人们如何对待她。正当她说着再也不会发出往日习用的语音时，她父亲突然招呼不打就露面了。杜利特尔说，他要娶伊莉莎的“后妈”。伊莉莎同意去参加婚礼。她去取帽子，很快就回来了。辟克林要去参加婚礼，作男傧相，希金斯夫人也要作为嘉宾出席婚礼。
杜利特尔和辟克林出发去教堂，希金斯夫人去做准备，只剩下希金斯和伊莉莎。希金斯时而哄骗她，时而辱骂她。他想要她回到他的家。他承认如果再也见不到她，他会想念她。伊莉莎无法忍受希金斯对她并无真正感情这一事实。她说她不指望希金斯会爱上她，但她的确要他以人类的关心来对待她。她说她要以教语音学为生，而且一旦能供养佛莱第，就与他结婚。希金斯大为光火，但又迷惑不解。全剧结束时，伊莉莎与希金斯夫人一同走出去，留下希金斯一人，想到伊莉莎要嫁给佛莱第而哈哈大笑。
Act Ⅴ： In the morning Eliza goes to Mrs. Higgins’ house for refuge and advice. Mrs. Higgins’ parlormaidinforms her that her son and Pickering are in the house. They are telephoning the police and announcing thatEliza is missing. Mrs. Higgins sends word to Eliza to stay upstairs out of sight until she sends for her. Shesays to her son Higgins that something must be wrong for Eliza to run away. But Higgins says that she is“allright”. Eliza has been taking care of his possessions and his appointments， and this morning he is sufferingfrom her absence. The conversation between Mrs. Higgins and her son is interrupted by the arrival of AlfredDoolittle. He is magnificently dressed， from his top hat to his patent leather shoes. He is furious at Higgins， forHiggins once mentioned in a letter to an American millionaire that Doolittle was the most original moralist inEngland， with the result that the millionaire has left Doolittle ￡4，000 a year in his will. Thus Doolittle is nolonger one of the happy undeserving poor； he looks back on his poor days as the time of lost happiness. Withgloomy relish， he lists the many disadvantages of his new status. He has even been robbed of his courage bythe millionaire’s money. He cannot find the strength to refuse four thousand pounds a year. If he does notaccept it， he must face old age as a pauper in the workhouse. Mrs. Higgins now tells her son that Eliza is in thehouse. She explains to him and to Pickering why their conduct was thoughtless and unfeeling toward Eliza. AtMrs. Higgins’ suggestion， Mr. Doolittle waits out on the balcony as Eliza comes to confront her two teachers.
Eliza is coolly polite to Higgins but really warm in her thanks to Pickering. She is transformed human being.
Somehow， as she has acquired new speech and new manners， she has acquired also a new kind of humanity.
The new Eliza understands that the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she acts， but howpeople act towards her. Eliza is just saying that she will never again make one of her old sounds when herfather appears without warning. Doolittle announces that he is about to marry Eliza’s“step-mother”. Elizaagrees to attend the wedding. She goes to get her hat and returns quickly. Pickering will attend Doolittle asbest man. Mrs. Higgins will be a wedding guest. Doolittle and Pickering leave for the church. Mrs. Higginsgoes to get ready. Higgins and Eliza are left alone. Higgins sometimes cajoles her and sometimes abuses her.
He wants her to return to his house. He admits that he would miss her if he should not see her any more. Elizacannot endure the fact that Higgins has no real feeling for her. She says she does not want Higgins to be inlove with her， but she does want him to have some human regard for her. She says she will earn her living as ateacher of phonetics and marry Freddy as soon as she can support him. Higgins is in a rage， but he is baffled.
As the play ends， Eliza goes out with Mrs. Higgins， leaving Higgins laughing contemptuously as he thinks ofEliza marrying Freddy.
结尾短文：萧伯纳对剧中人物后来的情况作了解释。伊莉莎没有嫁给希金斯。他太专情于他的母亲和他自己的工作。伊莉莎嫁给了佛莱第。在辟克林上校的资助下，夫妻俩开了间花店。经过最初因缺乏经验造成的麻烦之后，花店生意日益兴隆起来。伊莉莎和辟克林与希金斯保持着密切的联系，尽管希金斯对她耍蛮横时，她仍会有力地反击。阿尔弗雷德·杜利特尔在上流社会很成功。克拉拉，佛莱第的妹妹，找了工作，而不是过不如意的闲散生活。
The Concluding Essay： Shaw explains what happened to the characters in the play. Eliza did not marryHiggins. He was too attached to his mother and to his work. Eliza married Freddy. With the financial aid ofColonel Pickering， they set up a florist’s shop. After early troubles caused by their inexperience， the shopprospered. Eliza remained close to Higgins and Pickering， although she always fought back vigorously whenHiggins tried to bully her. Alfred Doolittle became a success with the highest social classes. Clara， Freddy’ssister， got a job instead of living in discontented idleness.
自从1913年10月《匹克梅梁》在维也纳全球首演（次月，在七个不同的欧洲都城以几种翻译版本上演，后来，1914年在伦敦的演出大获成功）以来，它已成了萧伯纳最受欢迎的剧作之一。该剧不仅有无数次的舞台演出，还在1938年拍成电影，并在1950年改编成音乐喜剧《窈窕淑女》并获得了轰动一时的成功，这些都表明了该剧的巨大生命力。今天，也许更多的人对某种形式的《匹克梅梁》比对萧伯纳的其他任何作品都更熟悉。
Since Pygmalion had its world premiere in Vienna in October， 1913 (the next month， it opened in sevendifferent European capitals in various translations， after which it enjoyed a hugely successful production inLondon in 1914)， it has been one of Bernard Shaw’s most popular plays. Not only have there been numerousstage productions of the play， but a film in 1938 and the overwhelmingly successful musical comedyadaptation of the 1950’s My Fair Lady give evidence of its great vitality. Today more people are probablyacquainted with Pygmalion in some form than with any other play by Shaw.