Eliza has
realized that her education from Professor Higgins wasreally not about social etiquette
(speaking properly, dressing nicely,or dancing gracefully) but rather while Higgins was focusing
on herexterior, she was learning about how humans truly treat one another andwhat that says
about an individual. Near the end of Act 5, Liza thanksPickering and tells him:
"I shall always be a flower girl toProfessorHiggins, because he
always treats me as a flower girl, and always will;but I know I can be a lady to you, because
you always treat me as alady, and always will."
Thus, Liza's words about proper speech and dancing demonstrate her belief that those
skills are not enough to give someone self-respect or to make her feel like a lady. Rather,
someone's treatment of another is what makes that person feel like a lady or a maid. Shaw uses
Liza's observation about human nature to satirize the arrogance of his society's upper class and
to demonstrate that true "class" cannot be taught.
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