Question

higgins: waking up
what do you mean?
liza: i sold flowers, i didnt sell myself. now youve
made a lady of me im not fit to sell anything
else. i wish youd left me where you found me.
higgins: slinging the core of the apple decisively into
the grate tosh, eliza. dont you insult human
relations by dragging all this cant about buying
and selling into it. you neednt marry the fellow
if you dont like him.
liza: what else am i to do?
higgins: oh, lots of things. what about your old idea of a
florists shop? pickering could set you up in
one: hes lots of money. chuckling hell have
to pay for all those togs you have been wearing
today; and that, with the hire of the jewelry, will
make a big hole in two hundred pounds. why,
six months ago you would have thought it the
millennium to have a flower shop of your own.
come! youll be all right. i must clear off to bed:
im devilish sleepy. by the way, i came down
for something: i forget what it was.
liza: your slippers.
higgins: oh yes, of course. you shied them at me. he
picks them up, and is going out when she rises
and speaks to him.
liza: before you go, sir--
higgins: dropping the slippers in his surprise at her

what is the best way to describe the theme of \pygmalion\?

a. expensive tastes lead to financial disaster.
b. old habits can be very difficult to overcome.
c. positive transformation leads to new challenges.
d. having ones own business can be profitable.

Explanation:

In "Pygmalion", Eliza is transformed from a flower - girl to a lady. However, this positive transformation (becoming a lady) leads to new challenges for her. She no longer feels fit to do her old job (selling flowers) as she has been elevated to a new social status. Option A about financial disaster is not relevant to the main theme of the play. Option B about old habits is not the core theme here as the focus is on the transformation and its consequences. Option D about business profitability is also not the main theme.

Answer:

C. Positive transformation leads to new challenges.