I get that Henry is a terrible person. He doesn't care about Eliza or what her mission was. I know also think that Eliza doesn't care about her original goal either. In Act 2, Eliza says "I want to be a lady in a flower shop stead of selling at the corner of Tottenham Court Road. But they wont take me unless I can talk more genteel,"(ACT 2-29). A clear goal that she eventually goes through with. Pickering offers to pay for the lessons because he bet Henry that he couldn't make her into a lady. Henry says he can do better and will make her into a "Duchess". The last time we had a discussion in class we were talking about morals and about Eliza then being an object instead of a lady. To me, being a Duchess is like being a Lady on steroids. The definition of a Duke is "A male holding the highest hereditary title in the British and certain other peerages,"(Freedictionary). The duchess is obviously the wife of the Duke. This would make Eliza a person of interest in many citizens eyes. Eliza is concerned because she knows that she is just a project to Henry and Pickering. They don't care what Eliza does after she is a lady and why should they? "She can go her own way, with all the advantages I have given her,"(ACT 3-200). To me, this is perfectly valid and exactly what she came for in the first place. She came to get lessons to be a lady so she could work in a flower shop. At the end of this, Henry has done just that. As Henry educates her, she realizes that she is just the project and says "Ive won your bet for you, havnt I? Thats enough for you. I dont matter, I suppose,"(ACT 425). I wasn't aware that at any point she was supposed to matter beyond teacher/student status. There is a want to succeed from both sides, for Henry to win a bet, and for Eliza to become a flower girl.
I have four quotes that show her, for lack of a better word, stupidity in her decisions following her lessons. "What am I fit for? What have you left me fit for? Where am I to go? What am I to do? Whats to become of me?"(ACT 4-54). "I sold flowers. I didnt sell myself. Now youve made a lady of me I'm not fit to sell anything else. I wish youd left me where you found me,"(ACT 4-56). "The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated,"(ACT 5-135). "Oh! If only I c o u l d go back to my flower bascket! I should be independent of both of you and father and all the world! Why did you take independence from me? Why did I give it up? I'm a slave now, for all my fine clothes,"(ACT 5-219). Starting with the first quote, what is she fit for? Where is she to go? To this I say, exactly what you were intending to do. Her original purpose was to get the skills to work in a flower shop. The same thing goes with the second quote. Henry did exactly what Eliza asked him to do plus more giving her all that was needed to do what she wanted. For the third quote, she claims that the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated is contradicting what she went to Henry for. She said that the flower shop wouldn't take her unless she could talk more "genteel". Lastly, independence. She says that she can no longer be independent of Henry because of what he did to her. However, she stood up to Henry and has all the skills required to get a job and support herself better than she had selling flowers on the street. The very last scene proves her ability to be independent and make decisions for herself. I don't want to side with anyone in this play. Henry is an ass, Pickering encourages him, and Eliza is blind to her original goal. Some could say that Henry and his rude comments took away Eliza's self confidence, however I would tell them to refer to Act 4 and 5 where she completely dominated him in a conversation.
I completely disagree with for one reason: you are reading this through the eyes of a 21st century American. When this story was written, women had no rights. Their station was procured through their association to men. Genteel women had no monetary gain of their own, meaning it was improper for them to hold a job, a concept that is lost on our culture now, as it is common and even expected for women to have a job in order to support themselves. The fact that Higgins made her into a "Duchess", instead of teaching her proper English so she can be a flower girl, puts her into a category of depending on a man in a station that she doesn't really possess. All she is fit for is to marry a Duke, which you already stated was her male equivalent, but no Duke would actually marry her because she is not really a duchess and has no dowery, money, or family connections to allow that to happen. She can't be a flower girl because her appearance and speech disconnects her from that station. She is now in limbo. So Higgins did not do what she asked; he went far beyond that just so he could prove something to himself with no thoughts about what it would do to her station in life. And she's upset because now that he has won his bet he no longer cares about what happens to her. It's actually pretty fucked up and Higgins is a horrible person. Remember, a MAN wrote this story as commentary about the injustices not only afforded to women at this time, but to the poor as well.
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