And her face that also needs washing. In the first scene, one of the very first things that happens is that Freddy knocks Eliza and her basket out of her hands on the way for shelter. Eliza, just naming him Freddy, similar to, “Love” or, “Deary” and says,
“Nah the, Freddy: look wh’y’ gowin, deah.”
This instantly gives the readers or the audience the impression that she has a cockney accent in comparison to the Eynsford Hills. This betrays her social origins, which are a lot less wealthy.
Later on, when she has been washed and cleaned up, her father can no, longer recognize her:
“Beg pardon, Miss”
Eliza, shocked yelps back,
“Garn! Don’t you know your own daughter?”
This is one of Eliza’s main changes throughout the play. Her accent has also changed a lot. But when she starts to talk, she talks about the wrong topics such as when she is at Mrs. Higgins’ house,
“But its my belief they done the old woman in”
However, Freddy still falls in love with her.
Eliza works very hard towards her goals so that she can reach them. For instance, when she is taking Professor Higgins’s classes, she tries very hard. Eventually ready to be taken into society. At the embassy, Eliza is wearing:
”An opera cloak, evening dress, diamonds, fan, flowers and all accessories”
Also her speaking has changed immensely, she speaks beautifully:
“An old lady has just told me that I speak exactly like Queen Victoria.”
This is a huge contrast to the Eliza that the audience met in scene one. Her transformation is complete.
The way society can be fooled about Eliza’s social origins shows that Shaw is mocking the way society judges people by their accents and not by their personalities.
However many aspects of Eliza’s character stay the same. She always values her character and she has always been concerned that she has a good name.
She says:
“He’s no right to take away my character. My character is the same to me as any lady’s.”
Eliza still retains these qualities throughout the play.
Eliza also changes a lot throughout the play. At first, she is seen as an uneducated, unclean and cockney woman selling flowers on the corner of streets. Then, slowly and painstakingly she turns into a better figure. At the end of the play, Eliza feels very used and is devastated. She is also furious that now the experiment is over, nothing is to become of her.
When Higgins says, “Thank God its over.” Eliza gets very upset and tries to point out the fact that Pickering treats all people the same with courtesy and respect regardless of their situation in life unlike Higgins:
“He treats a flower girl as if she was a duchess.”
She respects Pickering very much, as well as herself:
“You’re calling me Miss Doolittle that day when I first came into Wimpole Street. That was the beginning of self-respect for me.”
Eliza realizes that she can be respected in life, whatever her position in society is. At one point Eliza says a powerful and true statement:
“The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she’s treated.”
This shows that she is aware and that she can stand up for herself more than at the beginning of the play.
Throughout the play, we can see Eliza sticking up for herself against the intimidating Higgins, “You’re a great bully you are. I won’t stay here if I don’t like. I wont let nobody wallop me.”
But at the end of the play, Eliza speaks more seriously and she stands up for her rights:
“What do I care? I knew you’d strike me one day. Aha! Now I know how to deal with you!”
This shows that Eliza, has not changed fully, she has always stood up for herself. But as the play draws to an end, she is more articulate.
Although Eliza changes from the poor flower girl at the beginning of the play in to a dignified, beautiful and articulate young woman she still retains her strong personal qualities of self-reliance, ambition and a willingness to work hard. These changes show the importance of education and equality of opportunity.
At the start, the audience feels that Eliza will marry Professor Higgins, just like in the myth where Pygmalion marries Galatea. But after reading the epilogue, you find out that they do not marry. Eliza ends up marrying Freddy. Freddy has Eliza for support to a degree. This is where Shaw is trying to provide women watching with a strong role model to follow. This play was written in the same period as the Suffragette movement, which Shaw was in favour of.
To sum up, the character of Eliza Doolittle comes across as being much more instrumental than fundamental. Especially when she decides to make a statement for her own dignity against insensitive treatment. This is when she becomes, not a duchess, but an independent woman; and this explains why Higgins begins to see Eliza not as a mill around his neck but as a creature worthy of his admiration.