Pygmalion

While transcribing conversations of passers-by one evening, Higgins is mistaken for a policeman, triggering protests from Eliza Doolittle and bystanders. Colonel Pickering, a fellow linguist from India, arrives to meet him. Higgins flatly asserts that with his method he could teach Eliza to speak so well that she might pass as a duchess.

Eliza arrives at Higgins' house the next morning to request elocution lessons. Colonel Pickering offers to pay all expenses if Higgins can fulfill his boast. Higgins outlines his plan to transform Eliza's speech, setting up the challenge. Eliza's father, Alfred Doolittle, then arrives to demand compensation for the loss of his daughter; Higgins offers him £10, but Doolittle insists on only £5, arguing his status as part of the 'undeserving poor'.

Eliza is taken upstairs to be bathed by Mrs Pearce, while Alfred Doolittle remains downstairs, pressing for compensation. Higgins teases the moment with a grudging offer and explains how the lessons will shift Eliza's place in society. The contrast between Higgins's experimental approach and Doolittle's roguish pragmatism underscores the social stakes of Eliza's transformation.

Eliza attends an at-home gathering hosted by Mrs Higgins and speaks with a refined accent, yet she punctuates her conversation with slang and profanity. Freddy Eynsford-Hill, a young admirer, is drawn to her despite the social faux pas. Mrs Higgins expresses disgust that Eliza's guardians treat her like a plaything rather than a person.

Over several weeks, Eliza undergoes rigorous coaching as Higgins and Pickering escort her to an embassy reception. Higgins fears that the Hungarian Count Aristid Karpathy, famed for identifying origins of high society by speech, will expose Eliza. To everyone's relief, Eliza deceives Karpathy and is mistaken for a Hungarian heiress rather than a native speaker.

On the return from the embassy, Higgins and Pickering congratulate themselves on their 'success' while neglecting Eliza's contribution and feelings. Eliza quarrels with Higgins, throws his slippers at him in anger, and declares she has become unsuited to her former life. She leaves to take refuge with Mrs Higgins.

The following morning Higgins visits his mother and learns that Eliza remains with her. Alfred Doolittle arrives to complain about how Higgins has disrupted his life. He reveals that a bequest from an American millionaire has forced him into the role of a respectable moralist, and plans to marry his unwed partner with Eliza, Pickering, and Mrs Higgins's support.

With the bequest looming, Doolittle prepares for a fashionable London church wedding to his unwed partner. He pleads for the support of Eliza, Pickering, and Mrs Higgins to see him through the ceremony. The group contemplates the social implications of reputation and respectability.

Meanwhile, Eliza rejects Higgins's insistence that she return home and asserts she wants independence. She explains she would prefer to marry Freddy, who is charming but has no income, highlighting the tension between romance and economic security.

After the group departs for the wedding, Higgins returns to his study and accidentally plays a recording of Eliza's first visit. He is stunned by hearing the real Eliza, who mockingly quotes her former self. She then appears at his door, asks for her slippers, and their future relationship is left purposefully unresolved.