From a rather wealthy family, Clara is fed up with all of the rules of proper manners for her class. In Act Three, she enjoys Eliza's inappropriate conversation (and tells her mother that it is a new, fashionable form of small talk). She comments that manners are simply a matter of habit, and that there is no such thing as right or wrong manners.
Clara Eynsford Hill Quotes in Pygmalion
The Pygmalion quotes below are all either spoken by Clara Eynsford Hill or refer to Clara Eynsford Hill. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Penguin Classics edition of Pygmalion published in 2000.
Act 3
Quotes
It's all a matter of habit. There's no right or wrong in it.
Related Characters:
Clara Eynsford Hill (speaker)
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Clara Eynsford Hill Character Timeline in Pygmalion
The timeline below shows where the character Clara Eynsford Hill appears in Pygmalion. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
...pedestrians seek shelter under the portico of a church, including a wealthy woman and her daughter, Clara. The mother and daughter are waiting impatiently for Freddy, Clara's brother, to get a...
(full context)
Freddy says he has looked all over for a taxi, but the mother and daughter are insensitive to his efforts and tell him to go look again and not come...
(full context)
...Freddy because that is how she would refer to any random person she doesn't know. Clara is exasperated at the waste of money. An elderly gentleman comes under the portico for...
(full context)
...where everyone is from, to all the bystanders' surprise. The rain begins to stop and Clara and her mother wonder where Freddy is. The man guesses where both of them are...
(full context)
Act 3
...friends arrive: Mrs. and Miss Eynsford Hill, who turn out to be the mother and daughter from the first act. Higgins thinks he recognizes Clara, but doesn't remember from where. Colonel...
(full context)
...but can't remember why. He wonders what everyone will talk about until Eliza arrives, and Clara agrees that she hates small talk. She says she wishes people would say what they...
(full context)
After Eliza leaves, Mrs. Eynsford Hill is distressed over Eliza's manner of speaking, which Clara tells her is merely the new fashion. Mrs. Eynsford Hill still doesn't like it, and...
(full context)
The Eynsford Hills prepare to leave, and Higgins encourages Clara to try out the new fashion of speaking (Eliza's). Clara calls the Victorian obsession with...
(full context)
As she leaves, Mrs. Eynsford Hill laments to Pickering that Clara is annoyed when she is not up to date with "the latest slang." Higgins asks...
(full context)