Pygmalion 2 Essay, Research Paper

During the time of the play, Pygmalion, classes in England were

seemingly artificial. It is shown very well in Act III during one of Mrs.

Higgins s at-home days the differences between classes. Mrs. and

Miss Eynsford Hill claim to be of the upper class and they act as if

they are in the upper class to try and impress Henry Higgins during

this scene.

Eliza Doolittle is being tutored by Henry Higgins, a professor of

phonetics, to speak clearly and correctly; to change from her old

flower girl way to a lady of class. Having not been eduacated fairly

well and not having learned this new language quite well a remark

from Freddy Eynford Hill sends her back into her old ways.

At the being of the conversation, in Act III, Eliza is speaking

with pedantic correctness of pronunciation and great beauty of tone.

How do you do, Mrs. Higgins?[she gasps slightly in making sure of

the H in Higgins]…. Eliza starts to go off and loses control of her

emotions later on during the conversation when she misconstrues

the remark of Freddy Eynsford Hill. She starts to get like her old

flower girl self and gets so comfortable that she doesn t even realize

it. Henry jumps into the conversation and stops her and she finally

realizes what happens. The Eynsford Hills still seem a little bit

puzzled because they have never heard a person of such high class

speak in such a manner.

Henry goes on to explain that she is just talking the new small

talk and that everybody who is anybody is doing it. The Eynsford

Hills being the rocket scientist that they are don t realize that Higgins

is not telling them the truth about Eliza and who she really is. They

want to be accepted so much by him and his upper class friends that

they believe him and start talking in the same way. On the way out

the door Clara imitates the silly nonsense and laughs as she says

goodbye.

Alfred Doolittle is another character in the play that doesn t

really show a class distinction. When you first see Alfred in Act II he

is a trash man. He is an elderly but vigorous dustman , clad in the

costume of his profession, including a hat with a back brim covering

his neck and shoulders, states Shaw (the author of Pygmalion).

While his clothing and his appearance are disapproving, his

language of persuasion is very appealing. Higgins is surprised by the

way that Doolittle speaks and becomes somewhat interesting. He

says to Pickering, if we were to take this man (Doolittle) in hand for

three months, he could choose between a seat in the Cabinet and a

popular pulpit in Wales. As you can see, Higgins believes that even

though Alfred Doolittle is of the lower class he could be transformed

into a member of the so-called upper class in just a short time.

The class distinctions in the play are evident but you can see

that people can behave differently in different situations when under

stress; or just people behaving the way they do regardless of class,

money, or position in society.