Evolution in George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion In the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, Professor Higgins, an expert in the art of speech, bets with Colonel Pickering, another master of phonetics , who can take an ordinary flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, and pass her off as a duchess at an ambassador's garden party. Throughout this story, Shaw uses characters to demonstrate the necessity of human evolution. As Eliza's verbal ability increases, so do her personality and self-esteem; and Higgins' inability to recognize his changes leads to serious tension in their relationship. Eliza begins the story as an unstable and insecure character who recognizes her belonging to the less privileged class but still desperately tries to prevent those above her from thinking badly of her. She feels she must underline the fact that she is «a respectable girl»1, even if she is a little shy. When Higgins is seen taking notes of her speech and is suspected of being a policeman, she becomes defensive and is willing to "swear [a] biblical oath [that] she never said a word" (5) to Colonel Pickering who might be criminal. These things demonstrate Eliza's self-pity and her lack of confidence in any of her actions. Louis Crompton, author of numerous essays on Shaw's works, agrees that "since she belongs to a class which cannot afford lawyers, she had better be strong in her protestations of virtue."2 She is ashamed of the poor area from which she comes . arrived, which Higgins identified from her accent as Lisson Grove. She is often seen crying slightly or even tearing up in the first and second acts, showing the emotion building up that she finds difficult to control when her spirit is hurt. She refers to herself as "a poor girl... center of paper... 3, 103-104.4 Crompton, 143.5 Crompton, 147.6 George Jean Nathan, "Chronicles," TCLC Sharon K. Hall ed. (Detroit: Gale Research, 1980) vol. 3, 387. Works Cited and Consulted Crompton, Louis, Shaw the Dramatist: University of Nebraska Press, 141-151 . Ruth Z. Temple ed. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1966. vol.3, 103-104. Mudrick, Marvin. “Shaw,” TCLC Sharon K. Hall ed. Detroit: Gale Research, 1980. vol. 3, 402. Nathan, George Jean. "Chronicles", TCLC Sharon K. Hall ed. Detroit: Gale Research, 1980. vol. 3, 387. Phelps, William Lyon Shaw," TCLC Sharon K. Hall ed. Detroit: Gale Research, 1980. vol. 3, 384-385Shaw, George Bernard. Pygmalion. New York: Dover Publications, 1994.