Does Shaw believe that men are superior to women, or does he exaggerate Professor Higgins's dialogue in act 5 in order to highlight the idiocy of what...

Shaw does
not believe that men are superior to women, and he does exaggerate Professor Higgins's dialogue
in act V in order to highlight the idiocy of what he has to say.

By act V,
Eliza has more than proven her worth. She has convinced the aristocrats that she is indeed a
high-born lady. She has fought with Higgins over the way he treats her and has thrown his
slippers in his face. In every way, she has shown herself a competent, intelligent person, and
she is distressed that Henry cannot bring himself to treat her as a full human being because of
her class background.

In act V, Eliza, who has taken shelter with Henry's
mother, confronts Henry about his cruelty. Rather than understanding her point of view, he
belittles her, saying,

"You call me a brute because
you couldn't buy a claim on me by fetching my slippers . . ."

Eliza tells him that her intent was not to "buy a claim" and states that it
is not dress or accent that makes a lady, but being treated with respect. Nevertheless, Higgins
has a virtually impossible time understanding that he owes her anything or that she is anything
more than the flower girl he found on the streets. Shaw is critiquing Henry's attitude as
cold-hearted, snobbish, and narrow-minded.