To read Updike’s 1981 short story "Pygmalion" as it appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, click here.

The short story “Pygmalion” by John Updike involves a man trying to create the perfect woman, and the title “Pygmalion” provides a framework to view the one page story. Pygmalion, the main character, manipulates his second wife so she has the qualities of his first wife that he likes. He achieves his goal, but in the end fails because the bad qualities of his first wife are involked as well.

Pygmalion does not accept people for who they are and attempts to change them to is liking. He likes the impressions that Marguerite does, but does not like the fact that she would always fall asleep during nightly back rubs. His second wife Gwen was lively in bed. After parties during the first few years of his marriage to Gwen he would wait for the imitations to begin. “He would even prompt, ‘What did you think of our hostess’s brother?’” He would not get the response that he wanted, she would reply “he seemed very pleasant.” She knew he was after something but was not sure what. She eventually did figure out, after a banquet she did her first imitation of Marguerite’s second husband, which they met at the banquet. She does this to make Pygmalion feel superior to the second husband of Marguerite.

Has he has finally created the perfect woman? She is lively in bed and makes him laugh with imitations. “She had become perfect for him.” His world was about to come crashing down. “In bed she pointed out. ‘It’s awfully late.’” ... “Want a back rub.” “As his left hand labored on the smooth, warm, pliable surface, his wife - that small something in her that was all her own - sank out of reach; night after night, she fell asleep.”

Pygmalion had by his own “labor” created his first wife in his second and is caught in a circle. He won't be happy until he realizes that he is part of the problem. His attempt at creating the perfect wife will never be successful. He must learn to accept people for themselves and accept the qualities and faults of people.