How can George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" be interpreted as a marxist reading?

Thanks for asking!

The connection between George Bernard Shaw and Marxism in the work
Pygmalion is a bit tenuous. I will nonetheless briefly outline the
general and specific details that would be considered to be most
relevant to that connection, along with source references for further
study and the formation of your own individual conclusions.

SHAW, PYGMALION, AND MARXISM
****************************

Shaw, himself was politically a Fabian, or social evolutionist, a
member of the Fabian Society. Unlike Marxism or communism, Fabians
(*A*) believed society need not be destroyed by revolution, but could
instead become an instrument of social reform.

Shaw's economic and political views were formed in the innovative
Victorian era, (*B*) which also gave birth to Marxism, democracy,
feminism, and unionization.

"Shaw's gift of analysis and philosophical reflection created in his
works a new kind of drama that has been named for him—Shavian. The
term implies a deep interest in ideas rather than in character and a
propensity for elaborate discourse between characters who represent
different points of view. This is not to say that Shaw was unable to
be entertaining. Some of his comedies, still played today, are bright
and witty. Still, Shaw was basically a philosophical writer. His plays
can usually be seen as having a specific theme on which the characters
constantly discourse." (*C* -  Bedford St. Martin's LitLinks)

Carrying this philosophical characteristic to the next logical
premise, and using Marxism as the interpretive theme in analysis of
Pygmalion, Higgins first seeks to destroy Liza, then recreate her in a
more pleasing state, i.e. acceptable to society as a whole, for the
good of society, rather than the elevation of the individual. This
mirrors the societal and economic destruction/improvement process
envisioned by Marxist theorists. This sequence of destruction and
rebirth is both the theme and the plot of Pygmalion. Shaw's own
philosophic interpretations are displayed as the reactions of the
various characters (representing differing philosophic viewpoints) to
this process.




REFERENCES
**********

(*A*) The Guardian
It's Fab to be Fabian, by Paul Richards, December 17, 2002
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4568601,00.html

(*B*) The Victorian Web, University Scholars Programme Project
Victorian and Victorianism, by George P. Landow, 
http://65.107.211.206/vn/victor4.html

(*C*) Bedford St. Martin's LitLinks
Bernard Shaw
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/litlinks/drama/shaw.htm

George Bernard Shaw Biography
Nobel Museum - Literature Laureate 1925
http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1925/shaw-bio.html

"George Bernard Shaw was a playwright whose most famous work is
Pygmalion, which was a financial disaster at the time, but later
appeared after he died as the musical, My Fair Lady, and did
remarkably well. The premise of My Fair Lady, if you remember, was
that the working class could be perfected though education and the
proper environment. This was a noble sentiment, but Shaw relied
heavily on Marxist teachings to accomplish these goals. Before his
death, Shaw asked that his ashes be sprinkled on his home "to make the
soil of England more fertile for socialism."

Media House International - War of Words by Jay Rogers
http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0298_War_of_the_Words.html

Using Material Culture to analyse Power, Gender and Class Relations in
the musical 'My Fair Lady', an essay by Debbie Nash
http://wwwehlt.flinders.edu.au/archaeology/*Smith/power/pages/dn/essay.htm

"George Bernard Shaw had begun writing plays in 1892 but his works
don't achieve much popularity until the theatrical seasons 1904-7 when
ten of his plays are performed in repertory at the Royal Court Theatre
under the direction of Granville-Barker* and John E. Vedrenne
(1867-1930). These ten plays are: Candida, John Bull's Other Island,
How He Lied To Her Husband, You Never Can Tell, Man and Superman*,
Major Barbara, The Doctor's Dilemma, Captain Brassbound's Conversion*,
The Philanderer, The Man of Destiny (a one-act). Shaw won't write his
last full-length play until 1932, making it forty years after his
first. While his plays do not have the influence on playwriting that
Strindberg's or Ibsen's do, he is a major force in the theatre for
more than half a century. Shaw's comic talents (known as Shavian wit)
and his passion for the Fabian society's socialist views combine to
provide unique theatrical fare. He makes thinking as exciting and as
comic as a bedroom farce. In his plays the interest and excitement
comes through the playing off of one point of view against another
until a new level of insight is reached. As each new insight arrives,
it is challenged by still another opposition. The process of
argumentation, of dispute, of contending points of view, make Shaw's
plays entertaining and rewarding long after their time."

Clasz Theatre Services
Theatre History - Chapter 15
http://hometown.aol.com/clasz/Chap15.html



Google Search Terms:

"George Bernard Shaw" pygmalion marxism

I hope this material provides the background knowledge you're seeking.
Should you have any questions about the information or links I have
gathered, please, feel free to ask.

larre-ga

Larre gave good an comprehensive answer and
balanced review of Shaw's philosophy.

People who's job was to interpret literature to fit Marxist
agenda of course would not give a hoot about the author's
view. So, to supplement larre's fine answer, let's imagine
what they could write for the Great Philosophical Encyclopedia
in the fifties:

  Colonel was representative of the British Imperialism, who was
  aided by lackey member of Inteligentsia Higgins.
  Working class girl, Lisa, is first tempted by these bourgoi
  characters, hoping that she may be accepted by the ruling class
  if she will be 'talking nice'. Later she realizes that only true solution
  is in violent struggle (and throws a slipper on Professor Higgins).
..
enjoy

Hedgie