Topic > What pushed Eliza to change? What it means to be...

In George Bernard Shaw's Victorian educational play Pygmalion, linguistics professor Henry Higgins' perceptive ears are offended by the sound of Eliza's low Cockney accent, so he wishes to transform it into a flawless voice and pleasant who would blend in with high society. Higgins is a sarcastic and rude character who treats Eliza badly throughout much of the show, sometimes without even acknowledging her presence. This raises the question of why she tolerates his rudeness. What pushed Eliza to change? Change is desirable when we are faced with conflicts that need to be resolved. Another question this show asks is: what does it mean to be high class? Is it just like Henry Higgins says, which is just the right way to talk? Can the “right” sociolinguistics, money or heritage give someone high status? We may desire to change when we want to improve ourselves, to satisfy others we value, to satisfy demands placed on us, but, most importantly, successful change must come from self-motivated reasons. A change forced on a person is like no change at all. Once the pressures, the expectations, the possible threat that comes from authority are removed, a change can last only if the person being changed wanted to be changed in the first place. Initially, he wanted to improve his speaking voice so he could find a better job, and with a better job, better prospects in every part of his life. She realizes that she can do it with Higgins' help: he recognizes her expertise in this subject, but he is not willing to help her until she pays him a large sum that she cannot afford. Higgins' colleague Colonel Pickering's attention is brought to Eliza's plight and he takes pity on her, so he makes a bet with Higgins and... in the middle of the paper... sees any kind of challenge in Freddy, so she wasn't very interested in him. George Bernard Shaw's message, however, is that affection for another person should not be disguised as disgust, because eventually the person we love will move on to someone else who treats them as they deserve to be treated. In a way, Eliza's plan to marry Freddy is a kind of poetic justice against Higgins, who, although he exhibits the proper grammar and language of politeness, is not truly a gentleman. Her behavior and attitude are simply unforgivable for a heroine like Eliza. From Pygmalion's irony and dark humor, we learn that we should be genuine and eventually reveal our true feelings for a love interest, even if slowly to avoid being hurt: we do not want to meet Higgins' lonely fate. He could have had Eliza, but her caustic behavior kept them apart.