Pentru mine, e foarte greu să parcurg cu entuziasm o carte a cărei acţiune o cunosc deja sau pe care am vizionat-o într-o formă sau alta. Pygmalion nu m-a surprins cu nimic, iar motivul este că am văzut piesa de teatru acum doi ani şi, într-o manieră destul de ciudată, am rămas în minte cu forma respectivă!

Dacă până acum preferam oricând varianta cărţii filmului, de data aceasta se pare că prefer varianta teatrului în defavoarea cărţii. Mai mult decât atât, pe măsură ce citeam îmi aminteam secvenţe din montaj, actorii, vocile lor, costumele, deşi piesa am văzut-o în limba română în cadrul Festivalului de Operă şi Operetă din Timişoara, în Parcul Rozelor, într-o zi frumoasă din august.

Şi pentru că am citit-o în engleză, iată mai jos câteva pasaje care totuşi mi-au plăcut:

Happy is a man who can make a living by his hobby!

Remember that you are a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech: that your native language is the language of Shakespeare and Milton and The Bible, and don’t sit there crooning like a bilious pigeon.

What is life but a series of inspired follies? The difficulty is to find them to do. Never lose a chance: it doesn’t come every day.

Have you ever met a man of good character where woman are concerned?

Women upset everything. When you let them into your life, you find that the woman is driving at one thing and you’re driving at another. (…) I suppose the woman wants to live her own life; and the man wants to live his; and each tries to drag the other on the wrong track. One wants to go north and the other south; and the result is that both have to  go east, though they both hate the east wind. (…) So here I am, a confirmed old bachelor, and likely to remain so.

Take my advice, Governor: marry Eliza while she’s young and don’t know no better. If you don’t you’ll be sorry for it after. If you do, she’ll be sorry for it after; but better you than her, because you’re a man, and she’s only a woman and don’t know how to be happy anyhow.

When a lion meets another lion with a louder roar „the first lion thinks the last a bore.” The man or the woman who feels strong enough for two, seeks for every other quality in a partner than strength.