The Relation between Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins
"Oh, Lord knows! I suppose the woman wants to live her own life; and the man wants to live his; and each tries to drag the other on to the wrong track. One wants to go north and the other south; and the result is that both have to go east, though they both hate the east wind. So here I am, a confirmed old bachelor, and likely to remain so." (Henry Higgins)

At the beginning the relationship between Higgins and Eliza is based on two different objectives: Eliza wants to be taught to speak proper English in order to get a job in flower shop and Higgins wants to meet the challenge to convert Eliza from a working class girl to a lady. If he won the bet, and transformed Eliza into a sophisticated lady, he would have yet another proof that he is excellent in his profession. For Higgins Eliza is just a subject for an experiment at the beginning, nothing more. He treats her badly and hurts her feelings almost all the time. But Eliza is not always the victim of Higgins's verbal attacks. She protects herself ("I am a good girl!") and because she is angry with him, she even protests unreasonable against his words: "You see the difficulty?" […] "To get her to talk grammar. The mere pronunciation is easy enough.", says Higgins and Eliza answers: "I don't want to talk grammar. I want to talk like a lady." Only the perspective of achieving their goals makes it bearable for them to live together.

As time goes by, Higgins and Eliza get used to each other, although they don't admit that to anyone, not even to themselves. Higgins might be a friend, a father, or even a lover to her, and in the course of the play they begin to show feelings for each other and their relationship develops beyond their professional interests.

In Act 4 the conflicts between the two begin to prevail and both, especially Eliza, show their anger! Her pride is wounded, because Higgins never thanks her for anything and Higgins is offended by Eliza, because she throws his slippers into his face and says that in Higgins eyes she would be just one of the girls he and Pickering pick up to experiment on. When she gives Higgins back the ring, which he has bought her as a present, he looses his temper, which has never happened to him before, and he says: "You have wounded me to the heart."

This is the turning point in their relationship, because for the first time Higgins has to defend himself and Eliza seems to be in control of the situation, she is happy but also confused with her own triumph. When Eliza leaves Higgins he is furious and tells his mother, that he needs her, because he can't find anything and wouldn't even know his dates without Eliza's help. Henry Higgins is not worried about her, or disappointed that she left him and that she can live without him, he just