Pygmalion - Higgins' Problem

Choose a play in which there is a character who suffers from a human weakness such as ambition, selfishness, lack of self-knowledge, jealousy, pride, or lust. Show how the weakness is revealed, then explain how this weakness affects both the characters and the events of the play.

Higgins' Problem

Pygmalion, written by George Bernard Shaw, is a play written in 1912, and the tale of a certain Professor Henry Higgins, who makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess by teaching her the art of impeccable speech. It becomes apparent, however, that the afore-mentioned Higgins has a grave problem- selfishness. His selfish and often thoughtless actions affect those around him negatively, and it is evident that Eliza is not the only one who has some serious changing to do.

Higgins, author of Higgins' Universal Alphabet, and firm believer in concepts such as visible speech, is a very intelligent man, and yet his intellectual brilliance unfortunately only extends to his profession. Obsessed with his work, Higgins does not bother himself to be polite or considerate of others' feelings, and consequently is insensitive and intolerant. As a result, Higgins views people in a very interesting light. When Eliza shows up at his house unexpectedly and Higgins realises he has already studied her accent, he has no time for her, impatiently brushing her aside:

"Pickering, shall we ask this baggage to sit down, or shall we throw her out of the window?"

Higgins refers to Eliza as if she were an object, although she is a human being, just as he is, with feeling and a soul. Eliza herself leaves us in no doubt about this:

"I got my feelings, same as anyone else!"

She clearly does not appreciate being referred to in such a manner, and tries to defend herself.

But Higgins' enthusiasm and passion for his job eggs on this selfishness, and he reduces people to phonetic studies which can be discarded as soon as he has obtained everything he wants from them.

As the book progresses, we see that Eliza not only learns to deal with difficult people such as Higgins, but she does so with a becoming dignity which was lacking at the start. By his selfish and arrogant ways, Higgins unknowingly teaches Eliza how to stick up for herself, even when others would walk over and mistreat her.

Henry Higgins, at forty years old, is a bundle of paradoxes. In spite of his brilliant intellectual achievements, his manners are usually those of a petulant, whining child, and moves in completely the opposite direction from the rest of society in most matters. He is socially incompetent; his manners are so bad that his own mother does not want him around when she has company, and his behaviour so offensive that she will not attend the same church at the same time. The unacceptable manner in which Higgins treats people completely overshadows his brilliant intellectual achievements and exceptional brain in his profession. This is demonstrated clearly in Act 2, when Higgins tells Eliza that,

"You shall be dragged around the room three times by the hair on your head..."

And later at his mother's house, he addresses a lady in a way that could hardly be described as courteous:

"I've seen you somewhere. I haven't a damned notion where; but I've heard your voice. (Drearily) It doesn't matter. You'd better sit down."

No proper or respectable gentlemen would ever say such things, but from this we see that Higgins is most certainly not a gentleman. Higgins is a bully. Despite being a celebrated professor, Higgins is impatient with high society, forgetful in his public graces, and poorly considerate of normal social niceties, which offends and confuses his acquaintances. And although Higgins is a renowned moralist, Pickering mentions that he is never asked to speak a second time at meetings of any kind. Even though genteel society may let themselves be bullied and manipulated. Eliza will not. From Higgins' behaviour, Eliza herself learns how to manipulate tricky situations, as shown at the end, when she turns the tables on Higgins, and successfully beats him at his own game.

Henry Higgins is a confirmed bachelor. In addition, he is so set in his ways that he announces to Eliza that if someone doesn't want to get run over, they had