8. Consider the character of Henry Higgins. Is he closest in character to Doolittle, Freddy, or the sculptor, Pygmalion? Is Higgins a hero? A socialist with noble aspirations? Or a failure as a human being? Could Higgins be more accurately labeled an “anti-hero?” Research this archetype and discuss.
An anti-hero is a central character in a story who lacks heroic characteristics. In the play Pygmalion, the anti-hero of the plot happens to be Higgins: who is a controlling, arrogant, whiny man child who is of a higher class and teaches phonetics. Parallel Higgins with Mr. Doolittle, a man on the streets who comes into wealth yet complains of ‘middle class morality’ that comes along with it, and you might have the same person. Both characters have questionable behavior and are disgusted by the rigid social class distinctions set in place during the time period.
Higgins is perhaps one of the most disliked characters in the play Pygmalion. That being said, there is something to be said about his socialist side when it comes to division of social classes. We see a more philosophical man when Higgins teases about the frivolity of society’s structures that makes the audience question if maybe Higgins isn’t a failure as human being after all. Mr. Doolittle is the same way, on the surface he is a terrible excuse for a man. However, when we delve deeper into why he is the way that he is, we understand his reasoning for wanting to remain poor. Both men are sickened by society’s structures, and believe that none of it matters. Higgins affirms this by saying, “The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another (Shaw197).” George Bernard Shaw’s rebellious socialist side shines through in the characters of Higgins and Doolittle, for they express something that was completely outside of the norm during this time period. For that reason, they should be classified as ‘likeable’ anti-heroes, for they act in a rude way yet express the burning rebellious side that stands up and defies society.
An anti-hero is a central character in a story who lacks heroic characteristics. In the play Pygmalion, the anti-hero of the plot happens to be Higgins: who is a controlling, arrogant, whiny man child who is of a higher class and teaches phonetics. Parallel Higgins with Mr. Doolittle, a man on the streets who comes into wealth yet complains of ‘middle class morality’ that comes along with it, and you might have the same person. Both characters have questionable behavior and are disgusted by the rigid social class distinctions set in place during the time period.
Higgins is perhaps one of the most disliked characters in the play Pygmalion. That being said, there is something to be said about his socialist side when it comes to division of social classes. We see a more philosophical man when Higgins teases about the frivolity of society’s structures that makes the audience question if maybe Higgins isn’t a failure as human being after all. Mr. Doolittle is the same way, on the surface he is a terrible excuse for a man. However, when we delve deeper into why he is the way that he is, we understand his reasoning for wanting to remain poor. Both men are sickened by society’s structures, and believe that none of it matters. Higgins affirms this by saying, “The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another (Shaw197).” George Bernard Shaw’s rebellious socialist side shines through in the characters of Higgins and Doolittle, for they express something that was completely outside of the norm during this time period. For that reason, they should be classified as ‘likeable’ anti-heroes, for they act in a rude way yet express the burning rebellious side that stands up and defies society.