A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. -- Confucius

     In Act III of Pygmalion, Professor Higgins proves that as always, actions speak louder than words (or linguistic style, in any case). Professor Higgins goes to visit his mother, who is a bit startled, as well as apprehensive, at his visit. She believes him much too eccentric to be brought in front of the respectable company that she is expecting. He explains that he wants to bring the subject of his experiment to her home, as he has a bet with Pickering. Although Mrs. Higgins is none too pleased to hear that a common flower girl will soon be entering her home, she allows it. Through out the visit to his mother's house, both Higgins and Colonel Pickering come off as enthusiastic, ineffective little boys, rather than the men of science they previously proves themselves to be. Mrs Higgins is constantly rebuking Higgins for his lack of manners, his behavior towards the guests, and his clumsiness. Overall, I believe that Act III proves that Higgins cannot be the romantic hero of Pygmalion; his attitude towards women has not changed at all. He tells his mother, "My idea of a lovable woman is somebody as like you as possible. I shall never get into the way of seriously liking young women: some habits lie too deep to be changed."

     Act IV opens with the trio's return to Higgins home on Wimpole Street. Higgins and Pickering are talking and interacting as though Eliza is not there. Higgins is bothered by the fact that he cannot find his slippers. Eliza is kind enough to find his slippers and set them down in front of him, but Higgins pays her no mind. Higgins and Pickering go on to talk about the experiment and how glad they were that it was over, as it had become boring. This really made me sad, as well as also angry on Eliza's part. Higgins and Pickering used Eliza and then tossed her away, as if she wasn't a human being with feelings. Later in the act, Eliza and Higgins argue, with Eliza making the point that to Higgins, she is not important -- "not so much as them slippers."

     I was very happy to see Eliza stand up to Higgins in the face of his bullying superiority. She forced him to recognize her as a person, and not just a cog in the machine of his experiment. She even says that she won't sell herself, in reference to Higgins saying that with her new way of speaking, she could get married. I'm glad that Higgins and Eliza argued; it made Higgins reconsider what women were capable of, and what they could be.