Pygmalion Journal #1

     At the beginning of Pygmalion, they don't use the characters' names, but roles in the story so far (GENTLEMAN, NOTE TAKER, FLOWER GIRL, etc). I suppose this is because we have no need to know, for instance, Eliza Doolittle's name; her role in the story at that point is just to be the poor flower girl. I found the MOTHER going to such lengths to find out how Eliza knew her son's name was very interesting. I think it is because she's a snobby old upper class lady who wanted to make sure her son wasn't associating with riffraff like a poor, uneducated flower girl. I think at that point, many of us can associate with Freddy because people (not necessarily our mothers) put labels on us based on class, etc. and try to dictate who we can hang out with based on that. I also find it strange that the woman protagonist is introduced as "not romantic at all" and Higgins seems to have no concern for romance, as a romance seems to be the general pattern for stories such as this.

     When Eliza first comes to ask for Higgins's help and her father drops by, I think Higgins is further characterized as uninterested in anyone but himself. When Eliza came by, he was disappointed because he already had tapes of people with her accent. When Alfred Doolittle came by, he was excited to let him in and meet him because he wanted to hear a new accent. He only seems to care about his work in linguistics and how people can be of service to him, not how he can be of service to other people. This is strange because he is not the traditional male protagonist, who is generally heroic and unselfish.

     I like the addition of Colonel Pickering to Higgins's one-man-team because as a gentleman, he is a strong  character foil to Higgins. I wonder why they put up with one another, seeing that they're so opposite, but the friendship seems to be purely in the interest of linguistics. It makes me glad that Pickering is there when Higgins picks on Eliza and he is there to comfort her. I think if he wasn't there, readers would focus too much on the treatment of Eliza, and not on the real major issues of the book because they would be so shocked at her abuse.