Pygmalion and Galatea; Higgins and Eliza
The play connects to the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea through the characters of Higgins and Eliza. While Higgins represents Pygmalion, Eliza represents Galatea. In the myth, Pygmalion is not interested in women (as Higgins is not interested in femininity), but he comes to love the statue of a woman he has carved out of ivory. Pygmalion adorns the statue with jewels and clothes and puts great care into refining it. Higgins also takes care in refining Eliza, teaching her how to pronounce words correctly and fooling society into seeing her as a regal woman.

Although there is a possibility of romanticism between Higgins and Eliza, it is impossible for there to exist a fundamental love between them due to their diverse outlooks on life. Higgins buys a ring for Eliza, grows to depend on her for his domestic wants, and becomes adapted to her face and voice. The romantic relationship that may or may not exist between Higgins and Eliza is not important. What is signficant is Eliza's final independence and Higgins's pleasure when Eliza is no longer a "millstone" around his neck.

Characterization and Symbols
Henry Higgins is an unconventional, amoral professor of phonetics who represents Pygmalion to Eliza's Galatea. He seems to be a child in an adult's body. Higgins has no moral standards or restraints and is indifferent to questions of right and wrong. He does not see a distinction between appearance and reality and does not see the importance behind feelings over appearances. Irony exists in the fact that Higgins is refining Eliza, but his manners are no more polished than hers are, even after having been exposed to an education. Society, however, views Higgins as a gentleman despite his offensive outbursts and abominable manners, which is Shaw's way of criticizing society. In society's eyes, the professor's wealth and ability to speak well define him more than do his stirring actions. Higgins is a symbol of Pygmalion, who falls in love with the ivory statue he has carved in the Greek myth, even though he is not fond of women. Although it is not explicitly stated that Higgins acquires feelings for Eliza, it is a possibility.

Eliza, a flower girl with an unrefined dialect, is transformed (at least in society's eyes) into an acceptable woman by Higgins. Eliza realizes that appearance is not everything and knows that after being physically changed, she is still just a flower girl. The girl's real transformation occurs not when Higgins refines her, but when she asserts her own dignity against Higgins's uncaring nature. He does not treat her with the respect she desires and deserves, and she becomes a mature, liberated woman as she makes her statement. Eliza is a symbol for the statue, Galatea, in the Greek myth. She is shaped and refined, as is the statue. Her appearance consisting of her clothes and jewelry represents the shallow nature of love that Shaw believes in.

Alfred Doolittle, a drunk, is Eliza's father. He is not an admirable character, can be considered a scoundrel, and sells Eliza to make a few pounds. He is changed from a dustman to a middle class citizen, but this transformation does not result in his ultimate happiness.

Mrs. Higgins, Henry's mother, mediates some of the conflicts between Eliza and Higgins. She sees her son's plan as pure stupidity.

Point of View, Tone, and Theme
The play is presented from a third person point of view. It is evident that Pygmalion is a representation of Shaw's own thoughts on the concept of love. Love was an entity that did not prevail in his own life, and the author thus approaches it with a cynical tone in the play. Shaw examines the motives of each of his characters and treats them with scorn, finding every character in his play (and in the world itself) guilty of a degradation of society. In the play, the characters associate love with physical appearances as opposed to a sincere, passionate, fondness of a character's self. Taking a step back, however, Pygmalion does have a comical tone and witty characters. A theme present in the play is that of social roles. Shaw criticizes these class distinctions and unequal opportunities. These social barriers become evident in Act I, where people of different backgrounds and classes interact with each other in the midst of inclement weather. A theme that coincides with that of specified places in society is that of appearance versus reality. Eliza is able to fool society about her true identity based on her apperance as transformed by Henry Higgins. With Eliza's comment to Pickering in Act V, "You see, really and truly, apart from the things anyone can pick up (the dressing and the proper way of speaking, and so on), the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how shes treated" (97), this theme is enforced. Also clearly present in the play is a theme of Shaw's idea of romanticism. True, pure love did not exist in Shaw's life, and true, pure love does not exist in Shaw's play.