In Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics, loves his student, Eliza Doolittle, a poor flower girl. Let us see how this is true.
First, let's look at the love Higgins feels for Eliza right after he finishes teaching her. Whereas before he has thought of her as a "squashed cabbage leaf" (27), six months of teaching young and beautiful Eliza how to speak and spell proper English have changed the way Higgins sees her and made him love her. Clearly, Higgins is in awe when he exclaims, "What's that? This!" (60) as soon as the lovely Eliza shows herself dressed in a Japanese kimono instead of her dirty old clothes. As Higgins spends more time with Eliza, he feels more and more drawn to her appearance and personality. As he admits to his mother and his friend Pickering, he is always, "thinking about her, and watching her lips not to mention her soul" (81). So, Higgins already feels some love.
Second, let's look at the love Higgins feels for Eliza after he wins his bet with Pickering and passes Eliza off as a duchess. As Eliza is free to leave, Higgins thinks of how much he has enjoyed her company and therefore admits to her, "I hadnt quite realized that you were going away" (102). Higgins also tells Eliza that she's "not bad looking" (102), that's "it's quite a pleasure to look at" (102) her, that she's attractive. When Eliza, who is upset after the ball, takes off the ring that Higgins bought her and tells him she doesn't want it anymore, Higgins, acting like a rejected lover, becomes furious and violently throws the ring into the fireplace. Indeed, he's so attached to her that he tells her, "You have caused me to lose my temper, a thing that has hardly ever happened to me before" (104). So, after the ball, Higgins is showing more signs of love.
Third, let's look at the love Higgins feels for Eliza once she leaves his house forever. As soon as Higgins finds out Eliza has gone, he wants her back with him and, he immediately starts looking for her and also calls the police to help him find her.
