Final answer:
Eliza Doolittle in 'Pygmalion' discovers that her rise in class compromises her independence, as she no longer fits into her old world nor fully in the new one. Alfred Doolittle also finds his new wealth brings unwanted middle-class moral expectations.
Step-by-step explanation:
In George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, it is Eliza Doolittle who discovers that rising in class can lead to a loss of independence. Throughout the play, Eliza is transformed from a common flower girl to a lady with the speech and manners of the upper class. However, her newfound status comes with a cost. As a flower girl, Eliza was uninhibited by expectations and had a degree of autonomy, but as she climbs the social ladder, she becomes subject to societal norms and expectations that stifle her independence.
Eliza realizes that by becoming a 'lady,' she no longer fits comfortably into her old world or the new one she has been thrust into, leaving her in a complicated in-between state where her independence is compromised.
By contrast, neither Henry Higgins nor Colonel Pickering undergoes such a realization, as they remain comfortably within their established social class. Conversely, Alfred Doolittle, Eliza's father, experiences a similar loss of independence when he unexpectedly inherits money and is forced to adopt middle-class morality and its associated burdens, although this circumstance is thrust upon him rather than sought after as with Eliza.