Eliza Doolittle Gender Analysis
In contrast, a woman is expected to act feminine, be submissive in the presence of a man and give him proper service. Mrs. Pearce the housekeeper perfectly represents these qualities as she cooks for Higgins, cleans and manages his household. Eliza Doolittle, after her successful transformation into a lady, could also be considered another example. After Act 2, not only does Eliza start to become a proper lady, but she also becomes Mr. Higgins’ personal servant. This idea is further strengthen when Higgins himself said to his mother that “she knows where [his] things are, and remembers [his] appointments and so forth” (Act 3, p. 65). Feminists Delphy and Leonard (1992) assert that men gain “57 varieties of unpaid services” from their wives (as cited in McMahon, 1999, p. 46). However, this can be applied to all women. Mrs. Pearce and Eliza are portrayed as subservient slaves to an active male providing him with unending services even though they are not his wives. Unlike a man who has an active role, a woman has a passive role in society. The active male is expected to manage his environment and dictating the actions and interactions of others around him while the obedient female serves him.