In terms of social class, power is mostly distributed among male characters in the play regardless of whether they are rich or poor as they display dominant roles, especially over women. For example, Mr. Higgins, a man of high social status, demonstrates his influence over Eliza by being her teacher, molding and instructing her on how to speak like a duchess. Higgins himself can be compared to Pygmalion the sculptor in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”, an active male who carefully constructs his ideal woman, Galatea, and breathes life into it. In Act 2, Mr. Doolittle of the “undeserving poor” (p. 45) advises Higgins that “if [he] want[s] Eliza’s mind improved ... [he should] do it ... with a strap [of a belt]” (p. 49). His quote emphasises that despite
