Eliza as a strong, assertive woman in Pygmalion Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion presents the journey of a poor flower girl in early 20th century London society. Professor Higgins proposes a bet to his friend Colonel Pickering that he can take an ordinary street vendor and turn her into a real one. Eliza Doolittle is the pawn in the bet. But Higgins doesn't know that the change will go far beyond his expectations: Eliza will transform from an insecure, defensive girl to a fully confident, strong and independent woman. When audiences first meet Eliza Doolittle, she is a florist selling flowers at 11pm in front of St. Paul's Church. The public's first impression is one of sympathy because she is dressed in rags and pedestrians are rude to her. Higgins calls Eliza "you crushed the cabbage leaf, disgrace to the noble architecture of these columns, you embody the insult to the English language." (p. 21) The audience's sympathy intensifies when we see Eliza's miserable lodgings. These accommodations are very much in contrast to Higgins's in Wimploe S...