Mrs. Pearce’s Character in Pygmalion by Barnard Shaw

Mrs. Pearce’s Character in Pygmalion by Barnard Shaw

Keywords: Company, Sensible, Mature

            Mrs. Pearce is Higgins’s house keeper. She is plain, blunt kind of woman through her we come to know some of Higgins abnormalities. Higgins is untidy in his habits and makes plentiful use of objectionable words like damn, devil or bloody. She strikes us as a woman considerable knowledge of human nature and much sound sense. She seems to have been in Higgins’s service for the past many years. She has accustomed to all his oddities and eccentricities although she is critical of certain habits of her master. Besides she has a lot of respect for her master.

            Mrs. Pearce is a maid but her mental level is high than her capabilities as a servant. There are several aspects which distinguishes her from other characters.  

            By living in company of learned professor Mrs. Pearce has sufficient knowledge about phonetics. She also knows well what will be the effects on Liza in coming future. What would be the possible problems if she becomes successful. She is sensible and mature. She thinks her responsibility to tell Higgins possible hindrances in the way to success.

            She states as, “I ask you not to come down to breakfast in your dressing-gown, or at any rate not to use it as a napkin to the extent you do, sir. And if you would be so good as not to eat everything off the same plate, and to remember not to put the porridge saucepan out of your hand on the clean tablecloth.”

            She advises Higgins to be careful about such things while teaching the girl. She knows well what things should be adopted and what should be avoided in teaching a flower girl. She also has courage to express what she realizes. Higgins admits that she is quite right and he would be particularly careful before the girl.