Caliban and Eliza, Partners in Language

Pygmalion

the-tempest

Like Professor Lewis has stated in lecture, "Language is a partner of empire." Caliban and Eliza, characters from Shakespeare's The Tempest and George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, find ways to use the language of their oppressors to assert their individuality and establish identities separate from the ones cast on them.

Caliban first encountered Prospero when Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, were exiled to the island, a location formerly under the rule of Caliban's mother, Sycorax. Caliban welcomes Prospero, teaching him the names of the native flora and fauna and even willingly serving him. Prospero, in turn, teaches Caliban his language. However, Prospero has an ulterior motive. He does not teach Caliban to speak for the sake of educating him like he did for Miranda; he teaches Caliban language so that he can effectively use him as a slave. Prospero uses his words to degrade Caliban. "Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself / Upon thy wicked dam, come forth!" (Act I.2.467-468). He refers to Caliban as all sorts of horrific creatures to remind him of his oppressed state. But Caliban sees himself as having an identity separate from the one proscribed to him by Prospero. He sees himself as the rightful king of the island. Caliban's speaking ability is higher than Prospero, an aspect Shakespeare indicates by writing his lines in poetry. With Prospero's departure from the island at the end of the play, he does not acknowledge Caliban as an equal, not even upon releasing him from servitude. Caliban, free to do as he pleases, can rule over the island at his own discretion and finally live according to his own terms, thriving in his individuality.

Like Caliban, Eliza and her soon to be conquerors encounter each other for the first time on a street corner where she stands selling flowers. The two men, Colonel Pickering and Professor Higgins speak with her, offering her an opportunity to learn to speak properly in order to be transformed from a lowly flower girl to a woman of high society. She accepts their offer, believing it to be beneficial to her. However, Eliza, like Caliban, is exploited. Colonel Pickering and Professor Higgins only decides to teach Eliza to speak for the purpose of a bet, not because they want to help her. In fact, Professor Higgins is quite rude and cruel to Eliza, calling her names and forcing her to do things like fetch his slippers for him. In addition to her mistreatment, Eliza is unsatisfied with her transition. Her ability to utilize the language of both lower class and upper class members of society has resulted in her alienation; she can never fully belong to either group. She decides instead to use language to her own advantage. She leaves the home of Colonel Pickering and Professor Higgins but returns to announce that she plans on using her knowledge of linguistics to teach others to speak properly. Eliza frees herself, doing what she wishes with a language that has become her own.

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Sources:

Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. New York: Signet, 1998. Print.

Shaw, George Bernard, and Nicholas Grene. Pygmalion. Ed. Dan H. Laurence. New York: Penguin, 2003. Print.