Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw depicts a willful lower class woman living in a capitalist society. At that time, women and the lower classes were considered unequal to men and the upper classes and, as a result, had to find their own means to survive. As a result many women were forced into prostitution and even this was normally not enough to survive. Eliza breaks free from social standards, proving herself superior to those of the upper class, and also elevates the lower class and women. Eliza lives in a society that views her, other women, and the lower class as dirty, ignorant, and incompetent. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One of the ways Shaw shows this perspective in the show is by deliberately creating Eliza's last name "Doolittle." When they separate, we see that this word becomes “do little” and this gives the idea that Eliza and her family are lazy and “do little”. Even Higgins, although he cares for Eliza, still uses terms to describe Eliza such as "crushed cabbage leaf", "impudent slut", and "horribly dirty". Higgins, being an upper class man, is a part of society that views the lower class and especially women as undeserving of any respect. Eliza is regarded as someone who has no emotions or opinions, not only by Higgins, but also by her father. When Eliza first arrives at Higgins' house, he torments and intimidates her, saying that he has no feelings that they "need to worry about". Later, Alfred Doolittle states that Eliza is “only a woman and doesn't know how to be happy anyway” (Shaw 60). This is shocking given that these words come from the mouth of Eliza's father, who should be supporting her instead of degrading her. So Eliza is not only devalued because she is lower class, but also because she is a woman. Contrary to the opinion of the upper class, Eliza proves to be superior to those higher up in society and, even if her transformation occurs externally, she remains independent and stubborn. Before meeting Higgins and Pickering, Eliza is free and independent of any dominant male figure. She does not have to depend on anyone to make decisions for her or provide her with money. He goes out every single day and makes a living; no one does it for her. The fact that she got this far without her parents supporting her is already proof of her superiority. Eliza lives alone, makes her own choices, and doesn't let anyone tell her what she can and can't do, and she does all this before she even turns twenty! Throughout the show, Eliza does not receive the respect she deserves, constantly being insulted to her face by the people around her. Eliza, however, does not take the abuse in silence. Instead, she stands up for herself by declaring that she has “the same feelings as everyone else.” Throughout the play we can see Eliza become, outwardly, less like the flower girl from Act I, with her speech and appearance changing; however, the burning spark within her remains there, as strong as it was at the beginning of the play. Eliza has the courage to stand up to Higgins when he confronts her and says, “I don't care how you treat me. I don't care if you insult me…. But I refuse to let myself be bypassed." He tried so hard to do his best for Higgins, and what does he get? Nothing. Not even a word of praise from the men. Eliza tries to behave like a lady, but Higgins does not treat her like one, and so he realizes that: “...[speaking to Pickering] apart from things that anyone can understand (dressing and the correct mannerof dressing) speaking, and so on), the difference between a flower girl and a lady is not how she behaves, but how she is treated. I will always be a flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me like a flower girl, and always will; but I know that I can be a lady to you, because you always treat me like a lady, and always will.” This means that "if a flower girl can, apparently, be transformed into a duchess in six months, the only things that distinguish a duchess are inherited social prestige and money, neither of which she has earned." This shows that every person from the lower class is the same as anyone from the upper class. This capitalist society forces women into prostitution due to insufficient income; however, Eliza does not put herself in the situation, making her choice and marrying Freddy instead of Higgins. For many women, prostitution was one of the only sufficient ways to earn money to support themselves. Many women around Eliza's age were forced into prostitution as it normally offered better pay than a woman's regular job. This takes away their independence as they depend on other people to provide them with money, and it also takes away their purity as they sell themselves to another person. Eliza does not want to be involved in such situations, which is why she finds herself on the streets in terrible conditions instead of earning money and having the physical security of prostitution. Shaw expressed these concerns by speaking through Higgins who observes that: "A working-class woman of Eliza's age 'looks like a threadbare fifty-year-old slave a year after getting married'" and the same character's graphic description of Eliza's life if should return to the sewer. : 'Work until you become more brute than human; and then cuddle and argue and drink until you fall asleep.” Further echoing Shaw, Higgins warns Eliza that marriage to an upper-class person is not the solution to her feelings of insecurity: "If you're going to be a woman, you'll have to stop feeling neglected if the men you know don't spend half their time to whine." above you and the other half gives you black eyes'”. This is one of the reasons why Eliza does not want to marry Higgins since it would be legal prostitution and would only mean having economic advantages anyway. Although most girls usually have no choice whether to go into prostitution, Eliza finds a way to make it work, marrying Freddy and dealing with money problems instead of marrying Higgins and having all the money she wants. Bernard Shaw shows that women, especially those of the lower classes, can only push the limits in a capitalist society; even Eliza, who has proven to be an exceptional woman, still needs financial support to finance her flower shop. Freddy, Eliza's husband, is also poor and neither of them has a job of their own, so they have no way to support themselves. Even though Eliza has proven to be strong and independent, this is not enough to get her a job, especially since she is a woman. Their response is to turn to the two men who have money: Higgins and Pickering. Now they have to depend on the two men to make ends meet; Eliza and Freddy "would have had a penniless honeymoon if it had not been for a wedding present of £500 from the Colonel to Eliza" (Shaw 139). Higgins and Pickering now see Eliza as equals, but the rest of society does not, meaning that Eliza would most likely be unable to advance her career further and will likely be forced to run a flower shop for the rest of her life . Remember: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay The Problem of Capitalism.