stereotype
An author's method of treating a character so that the character is immediately identified with a group. A character may be associated with a group through accent, food choices, style of dress, or any readily identifiable group characteristic.
Pygmalion Example: There are several characters in Pygmalion that embody social stereotypes. The most obvious being Eliza (pre-transformation). Her exaggerated cockney accent, wild actions, clothing, and lack cleanliness are all associated with the English lower class. She makes an honest living (however small) and is therefore a stereotype of the “deserving poor”. Her father, Alfred Doolittle, is a stereotype of the undeserving poor because he makes a dishonest living by mooching off people and then characteristically blowing the money on drink and frivolities. The middle class stereotype is embodied by the Enysford Hills. Miss Enysford Hill is overly snooty to those with less fortune than her, Freddy is a young bachelor with not much to concern himself with other than being lovesick, and Mrs. Enysford Hill is the mannered matriarch concerned with keeping the family in money. |