Pygmalion book club questions

The reading plan

Meeting 1: Acts 1 to 2

1. How fair is it to judge someone's respectability by their accent?
2. What might make the speech expert's knowledge unsettling rather than helpful to the crowd?
3. How might money shape who receives respect during the strangers' clash?
4. Does seeking speech lessons seem more like accepting social rules or trying to gain power over them?
5. How might a wager change the responsibilities owed to someone seeking lessons?

Meeting 2: Acts 3 to 4

6. What does the gap between polished pronunciation and accepted manners suggest about who gets to belong?
7. How fair is a social test whose demands go beyond speaking well?
8. How should the unanswered practical worries affect our judgment of the social visit?
9. Whose view should count most when deciding whether Eliza's social triumph is truly a success?
10. What might the men's celebration reveal about how they understand their relationship with Eliza?

Meeting 3: Act 5

11. When might respectability cost more than it offers?
12. How does the inheritance complicate the earlier clash over money and respectability?
13. What is the difference between giving Eliza recognition and giving her respect?
14. How might Eliza's demand for recognition develop her earlier demand for a future of her own?
15. What might turning a reunion into an argument over care reveal about what the people involved value?

Themes to talk about

Tips for the host

1. Open each meeting with one question everyone can answer, then go deeper.
2. Anyone who fell behind can catch up with the 15-minute summary.