Character Analysis Professor Henry Higgins Pygmalion By George Bernard Shaw
In Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw creates a character who is a bundle of paradoxes. Professor Henry Higgins, a forty-year-old phonetician, is brilliant but rude, creative but insensitive, and confident but ignorant. He treats all people alike, but also rejects middle-class moralities. He is devoted to improving the human race but also acts like a childish tyrant. He is Shaw's creative rebel who challenges the traditional gender roles and social norms of the Victorian era.
Higgins' personality is revealed through his actions and his speech. He is a master of the English language, but he uses it to insult and mock others, especially those who are lower in class or education than him. He does not care about the feelings or the dignity of other people, but only about his own reputation and pride. For example, when he first meets Eliza Doolittle, a poor Cockney flower girl, in Covent Garden, he takes down her vocal sounds without her consent and then berates her for her depressing and disgusting speech. He says: "A woman who utters such depressing and disgusting sounds has no right to be anywhere — no right to live. Remember that you are a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech . . . don't sit there crooning like a bilious pigeon" (Act I). He shows no respect or compassion for Eliza, but only contempt and ridicule.
Higgins' actions also show his brilliance and his dedication to his scientific work. He makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can transform Eliza into a lady who can pass as a duchess in high society by teaching her how to speak and behave like one. He takes Eliza to his laboratory and subjects her to grueling training sessions, where he corrects her pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. He also teaches her how to dress, walk, and act like a lady. He does this not out of love or kindness, but out of curiosity and pride. He wants to prove his skill and his theory that anyone can become a lady or a gentleman by changing their speech.
Higgins' actions also show his creative rebellion and his rejection of middle-class moralities. He admires Alfred Doolittle, Eliza's father, who is a dustman and a do-nothing. He praises him for his honesty in admitting that he is one of the undeserving poor and that he does not want to be respectable or moral. He says: "You are one of the most original moralists in England" (Act II). He also gives him five pounds as an experiment to see what he will do with it. He does not care about the consequences of his actions, but only about the results of his experiment.
Higgins' actions also show his interest in the soul of his creation (Eliza-Galatea) and not in her pronunciation. He is not satisfied with making Eliza speak like a lady; he also wants to make her think and feel like one. He says: "The great secret . . . is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven" (Act V). He implies that he wants Eliza to rise above the superficial distinctions of class and gender and become a human being with a soul.
However, Higgins' actions also show his flaws and his limitations as a character. He is socially inept; his manners are so bad that his own mother does not want him in her house when she has company, and his manners are so offensive that she will not attend the same church at the same time. He is insensitive; he does not realize or care how much he hurts Eliza's feelings by ignoring her achievements, taking her for granted, or treating her as an object. He is ignorant; he does not understand or appreciate Eliza's love for him or her desire for independence. He is childish; he throws tantrums when he does not get his way or when he loses something that he values.
Higgins' character relates to the theme and the message of the play. The play explores the themes of language, class, gender, and identity in the Victorian era. The play criticizes the social inequalities and prejudices of the era, especially the rigid distinctions between the upper and lower classes. The play also challenges the traditional roles and expectations of men and women,
showing that they are not fixed by nature or birth, but shaped by culture and education. The play also shows that love and respect are more important than appearance and status.
Higgins' character reflects Shaw's creative rebel who floats through many of Shaw's dramas. Higgins rejects middle-class moralities and is devoted to improving the human race through his own scientific methods. He also challenges the traditional gender roles and social norms of the Victorian era by transforming a flower girl into a lady. He is Shaw's mouthpiece for expressing his views on language, class, gender, and identity.
In conclusion, Professor Henry Higgins is a bundle of paradoxes. He is brilliant but rude, creative but insensitive, and confident but ignorant. He treats all people alike, but also rejects middle-class moralities. He is devoted to improving the human race but also acts like a childish tyrant. He is Shaw's creative rebel who challenges the traditional gender roles and social norms of the Victorian era. He is a complex and fascinating character who attracts and repels the audience at the same time.
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