Biography of Professor Higgins by Colonel Pickering

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                Written task 1 – Internal Assessment (poetic communication)

                                                           Biography

                                                            (1st draft)

A passage from the biography of Professor Higgins by Colonel Pickering

In the previous chapter of this diary entry, I came to discuss about professor Higgins’ considerable contribution to phonetics, and particularly the influence of Henry Sweet on his work. I have also tried to show that Higgins also saw his work as his hobby, since phonetics and calligraphy were his passion in life.

           Higgins is famous for his professional skills; far less however is known about his private life and particularly his attitude to women. Without doubt his mother bore the most important influence on his life. Mrs. Higgins was an outstanding woman; kind, charming, witty and especially able to deal with Higgins’ eccentric behaviour, which was very clear when he was in company. A word from her would achieve a turnaround of his behavior in society. Still, it was truly because Higgins was imbued by her that was not interested in women; after all, she fulfilled all his needs in terms of female companionship. She was to him the impersonation of perfection on the face of the earth; so much so that no other woman could take her place, not even Eliza. Eliza Eynsford-Hill’s (Nee Doolittle) walk into Higgins’ life to become his live scientific experiment did not go unnoticed by Mrs Higgins who, under a state of shock, would snap at him and would counter his ecstatic plans for Eliza with sarcasm.

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As Higgins himself would say: -“Eliza has come to be something like a daughter to me and I hope I have made up for my earlier mistakes by helping her in her life.” I must add here that the story is well known by now and the success of Higgins’ experiment can only lead us to override class distinction in England, with its rigid rules about pronunciation and manners. Higgins’ experiment has proved that exceptional individuals may reinvent themselves through hard effort. Eliza’s only concern was her survival as she was born poor. She is the living proof ...

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