Speech And Social Class In Pygmalion

In 20th century English culture, speech and choice of words were a decisive factor in one's social standing. The book Pygmalion illsturates this point by the speech and nature of the two main charaters, Mr. Higgins and Eliza. Pygmalion's satirical viewpoint of social classes is played through the slow movement of Eliza from a simple flower girl to a woman of class and stature. The speech and word choice in Pygmalion play a large role …

…but behave with a remarkable likeness. Higgins, with his lofty social class, treats Liza as nothing more than a common begger even though before his eyes she becomes a cultured and beautiful young woman capable of marrying royal blood. Liza, in becoming such a person of high class, is disheartened by how Higgins still treates her poorly. He is locked into this mindset becuase of his social class, which is the basis of Shaw's satire.