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Describe the significance of Mrs. Pearce warning Higgins about his manners and dress in relation to Shaw’s message (theme) about social class.

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Answer:

Step-by-step explanation:

In George Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion," Mrs. Pearce's warning to Professor Henry Higgins about his manners and dress serves to highlight the theme of social class and its impact on individuals' behavior and perception.

Mrs. Pearce, who is Higgins' housekeeper and serves as a motherly figure to him, is concerned that Higgins' behavior and appearance may be inappropriate and offensive to the upper-class individuals with whom he interacts. This is because Higgins, despite being a brilliant linguist and a well-respected member of the academic community, comes from a lower-middle-class background and has not had the same upbringing and social training as the wealthy people he interacts with.

Through Mrs. Pearce's warning, Shaw is highlighting the idea that social class is not just a matter of wealth or income, but also of behavior, manners, and cultural capital. This means that individuals from different social classes may have different ways of speaking, dressing, and behaving, which can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts.

Furthermore, Shaw is suggesting that social class is not a fixed or inherent characteristic of individuals, but rather a social construct that can be manipulated and changed through education and training. Higgins, for example, is able to transform Eliza Doolittle, a poor flower girl, into a refined and elegant lady through intensive language and etiquette lessons.

Overall, Mrs. Pearce's warning to Higgins about his manners and dress is significant in highlighting Shaw's message about the fluidity and social construction of social class, and the importance of behavior and cultural capital in shaping individuals' social status and interactions.

A very vague question with not a lot of context but i hoped this helped :)

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