Pygmalion

Pygmalion A. Pygmalion 1. When we are first introduced to Eliza Dolittle, her status is that of a flower girl with a strong, cockney accent. She has limited or no education. This was the norm for people, women in particular, of the lower classes in English society. The transformation that would eventually take place at the end of the novel is that of Eliza turning into a “Gentle Lady”, educated and refined. What Eliza originally wanted was just for Henry Higgins to teach her phonetics, to correct her cockney accent. She had a dream to work as a lady in a flower shop instead of a flower girl on the streets. “They won’t take me unless I talk more genteel”, she explained to Higgins. From this initial humble request, she would unknowingly get more then she bargained for. What she would acquire over the course of her relationship with Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering was more then just phonetics; it was the middle-class way of life, etiquette and lady-like manners. Her education over the first six months where originally intended solely for the experiment, yet it would stick with her forever. Eliza’s education began with cleanliness, to be dressed properly so eliza, higgins, yet, society, education, very, pickering, girl, classes, women, status, flower, first, grateful, upper, play, people, never, manners, lower, lady, just, even, english, class, trying, treated, taught, respectable, phonetics, pay, over, originally, mr, life