Pygmalion

Overall, it was a bittersweet relationship, yet we see that Eliza is eternally grateful to Pickering and Higgins. At the end of the play, a distraught and emotionally strained Eliza escapes to Mrs. Higgins house seeking refuge. In her conversations with Pickering, we see how much she appreciates and how her education has come full circle. She is not the flower-girl she originally was in their first meeting, uneducated and rough. She is now a polished gem. In either case, regardless of her status or her appearance, Colonel Pickering stands up to his gentlemanly ways, treating her the same, respectfully and courteously. She explains how grateful she is not because of the material gifts she received, the dresses, but because she learnt nice manners. All the small marks of a gentleman that went unnoticed by Pickering taught her to be gentle and to have self-respect. On the other hand, the final words between Eliza and Higgins depict two people who appreciate and admire each other, yet their personalities are so conflicting. Eliza is very honest and straightforward about her feelings; she is hurt that Higgins would not accept her for who she was; yet her sole request was for him to pay attention to her. "What I did was not for the dresses and the taxis: I did it cause we were pleasant together and I come - came - to care for you." Emotionally strained and very desperately trying to get her point across. Higgins however is still ignorant, careless and insensitive to other people's feelings. His perception of attention is different from Eliza's. He feels that she should be grateful to him for he took her out of the gutter and made her what she is. She is undoubtedly eternally grateful towards him, yet she just wants the warmth and attention like they where friends, not of a person of lower status. As the play is about to end, Higgins reminds Eliza to do some chores for him. She acknowledges. This scene is ironic, for even after all their squabbles, they are still friends.