Mrs. Higgins says her son has no manners. He is uncivilized, first, from his inability to make small talk, such as when, at her home, he says, "what the devil are we going to talk about until Eliza comes?" Second, he is cynical, criticizing her guests by calling them uncivilized and asking of the guests, what do they know of science, art, poetry or anything else? Third, he curses: Mrs. Higgins says Eliza will never learn to speak like a lady around him because his language is fit only for a "canal barge" and not a garden party, and he threatens the furniture: he sits on the edge of the writing table in a way that worries Mrs. Higgins, he stumbles into the fireplace fender and he throws himself so hard on the divan that he almost breaks it. But his behavior might be most uncivilized in her eyes in terms of what he has done to Eliza: fitted her up to be a lady, which means she can no longer earn her own living, without providing her with the income that will allow her to live as a lady. When Higgins says he has given Eliza advantages, Mrs. Higgins gets upset and asks, what advantages?
The manners and habits that disqualify a fine lady from earning her own living without giving her a fine lady's income! Is that what you mean?
Mrs. Higgins might not like the lack of small talk, rude, cynical comments, curses or battering of the furniture, but using Eliza as a doll to play with incenses her more than anything else. "Oh, Men! Men! Men!!" she says.
No comments:
Post a Comment