One important motif in Pygmalion is the clothing that Eliza is given during her transformation from uneducated lower-class flower vendor to member of high society. Eliza’s new wardrobe is an important part of her ability to blend into the upper class: it is given to her as an afterthought because the clothing that she arrives in is unusable. Mrs. Pearce mentions this to Mr. Higgins in Act 2, after he and Pickering have decided to take her on as a pupil. She is concerned that Eliza won’t have proper dress and knows that that Mr. Higgins won’t have thought of it. Mrs. Pearce says:
Might she use some of those Japanese dresses you brought from abroad? I really can’t put her back into her old things.
In this initial scene, Eliza is inheriting clothing from Mr. Higgins as part of his decision to educate her and help her pass in high class society. The clothing therefore initially represents the power and wealth that has been invested in her. Because they intend to teach her how to come across as a wealthy woman, the clothing is just one example of their contributions toward her transformation. The clothes given therefore symbolize wealth itself, and the investment of Pickering and Mr. Higgins.
In Act 4, after Eliza has lost her temper at Higgins’s ego, she accuses him of undervaluing her contributions toward the success of the experiment and decides to leave. She asks Higgins whether she is expected to return the clothing, saying:
Do my clothes belong to me or Colonel Pickering?
Eliza’s question betrays the deeper symbolism of the clothing. Not only does it represent the wealth and power that the men have invested in her, it also demonstrates her newfound privilege of "passing" within upper class society. Because Eliza isn’t sure whether she can truly belong to this new world, she isn’t sure whether or not she owns the clothing—and the version of herself associated with it. The motif of the clothing given to her is therefore complicated by her desire to claim agency over her own life.
One important motif in Pygmalion is the clothing that Eliza is given during her transformation from uneducated lower-class flower vendor to member of high society. Eliza’s new wardrobe is an important part of her ability to blend into the upper class: it is given to her as an afterthought because the clothing that she arrives in is unusable. Mrs. Pearce mentions this to Mr. Higgins in Act 2, after he and Pickering have decided to take her on as a pupil. She is concerned that Eliza won’t have proper dress and knows that that Mr. Higgins won’t have thought of it. Mrs. Pearce says:
Might she use some of those Japanese dresses you brought from abroad? I really can’t put her back into her old things.
In this initial scene, Eliza is inheriting clothing from Mr. Higgins as part of his decision to educate her and help her pass in high class society. The clothing therefore initially represents the power and wealth that has been invested in her. Because they intend to teach her how to come across as a wealthy woman, the clothing is just one example of their contributions toward her transformation. The clothes given therefore symbolize wealth itself, and the investment of Pickering and Mr. Higgins.
In Act 4, after Eliza has lost her temper at Higgins’s ego, she accuses him of undervaluing her contributions toward the success of the experiment and decides to leave. She asks Higgins whether she is expected to return the clothing, saying:
Do my clothes belong to me or Colonel Pickering?
Eliza’s question betrays the deeper symbolism of the clothing. Not only does it represent the wealth and power that the men have invested in her, it also demonstrates her newfound privilege of "passing" within upper class society. Because Eliza isn’t sure whether she can truly belong to this new world, she isn’t sure whether or not she owns the clothing—and the version of herself associated with it. The motif of the clothing given to her is therefore complicated by her desire to claim agency over her own life.
