In opposition to what others think, I feel Freddy's obsession with Eliza is charming. The fact that he peers through Eliza's window, stalking her, is somewhat disturbing. But, give the guy a break, he's in love. I believe Freddy's infatuation with Eliza is more of an innocent and childlike crush, as opposed to him being an deranged stalker.
It is understable why he is infatuated with Eliza. The two women in the opening scene abuse their feminine position, and manipulate Freddy into getting them a cab. One even calls him a "selfish pig." Every woman in Freddy's life is demanding and disrespectful towards him, that is, until Eliza comes into his life. Her kindness and compassion led him to be attracted to her.
Freddy and Eliza's relationship is sad. The one tragic thing about Freddy's feelings for Eliza is that his love for her is unrequited. In my opinion, Eliza is in love with Higgins, whether she realizes it or not. In the end she settles for Freddy because she states, "maybe he'd make me happier than my betters that bully me and don't want me." Instead of being with someone who she truly desires, Eliza chooses Freddy who cherishes her more than she loves him. Is it better to be alone, wanting the person you desire, or to settle for being with the person who desires you?
I agree with you when you say that Freddy's affections for Eliza are essentially harmless. However, I say this purely because I do not believe Freddy to be a psychopath. Do I think Freddy wants to cause Eliza any physical harm? No. Do I think he has motives other than just love? Well...
ReplyDeleteI am unsure if I believe he honestly loves her. As you had said, the only two other noted women in his life are so demanding and demeaning toward him, that I feel that perhaps when he met Eliza, he saw her kindness and saw it as a simple target for his sexual desires. Eliza is not smart. At least not in the same sense as the other characters. I highly doubt that Eliza had ever had a lover or any kind of romantic relationship. Therefore, if Freddy were trying to take advantage of her she would probably not realize it. I don't think that Freddy has cruel intentions, but I think that he finds her in a moment of pain and used it to his advantage. He may not even consciously realize it, but I doubt that his affections for her are legitimate. He just focuses all his feelings toward her in an attempt to escape his overbearing mother and sister.
As far as his stalking goes, perhaps he's just that desperate. I think that Freddy may find himself incapable of staying in his own home (i.e. with his sister and mother), and leaves to be at peace on his own. But because he knows where Eliza is living, he chooses to pursue her in order to find a partner that he can stand to be around. Whether his affections are real or not is difficult for me to decide, but I think he just loves the idea of loving someone that's not related to him.
I agree with you peter, but i believe that there is no "love" in this play at all. I think that the feelings readers interpret are wrong. Instead of love, i think it is vulnerability. As you said, poor Freddy has been mistreated and manipulated by women his whole life for his kindness, as well as Eliza. I do not think Eliza showed any compassion or kindness towards him, but i feel that his infactuation grew for her because he can relate to her. I also think Eliza's feelings for professor Higgins are not true, for he was her teacher and it is more of a "puppy dog crush" than actual love. If she chose either man, i do not think she would have been happy at all. Higgins treated her more as an object and Freddy viewed her as a goddess. I feel that she wants someone to actually treat her like a regular person, just like Pickering did. Has anyone ever thought that maybe the right suitor for Eliza was Pickering? Unlike Higgins or Freddy, Pickering treated her like a lady should be treated. When she first came to Higgins' house, Pickering was considerate enough to offer her a seat and even address her as "Miss Doolittle." Also, in act II, Pickering reminds Higgins to treat her with dignity and to keep his intentions honorable. Higgins dismays his comments and continues with his crude comments about Eliza. Yes, i know both Higgins AND Pickering made the bet, but i always wonder what would happen if a relationship between Pickering and Eliza began to form?
ReplyDeleteKellie between the three men toward the end of the play, if any of them I was hoping that she would have gotten together with Pickering. Her and Higgins together makes no sense to me and even though I find Freddy harmless I still don't like him. So I thought Pickering was an excellent match for her.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kellie, I believe that Eliza never had the motives of finding love in the whole play. I beleive she was just looking for honest respect. If one was to take a look at Eliza's background one would find that she lived a life where no person respected her.As the reader can later infer, her parents never gave her respect as a human, which becomes evident when Mr. Doolittle sells his daughter for no more than five pounds.
ReplyDeleteWhen Eliza meets any person that treats her like a human being, it is seen that she almost takes an immediate liking towards that person.This is the reason why I dont belive the idea of Higgins and Eliza being in a relationship could have been possible. Even though Eliza may have never had a lover or has ever felt loved or most importantly respected , she has defintly felt harsh reticule and criticism and that is all Higgins has to offer. Thats why it would make sense that if anyone was to be the potential suitor for Eliza it would certaintly be Pickering for he showers her with politeness and respect. Although in choosing Pickering , Eliza may still have to interact with Higgins, which is certaintly a possibility because it is obvious that Pickering and Higgins have a bro-mance. Freddy is just the next best thing to her because he cocoincidentally
adores her and she happens to run into him on the way to commit suicide.
In regards to Freddy, a multitude of red flags become prevalent. If one were to look at his infamous night scene with a perspective other than hopeless infatuation, a monstrous Freddy is spawned. I partially agree with Kellie's comparison to Freddy as a puppy dog; however my Freddy is an evil puppy dog with mange. Freddy is a shady guy, he holds a secondary role but his purpose is of the primary nature. Freddy lives his life dominated by feminism which I believe gives him an unparallelled understanding of the female rationale. This abolishes my doubts on Freddy's "cute naiveness". Freddy is a professional. Given Freddy's masterful understanding, I agree with Peter in that Freddy is obsessed. Extrapolating on this idea, Freddy is a predator. Freddy's characterization and background is ambiguous and empty enough to leave most of his life in the jurisdiction of the reader. Unfortunately, the reader often fills this void with cuteness, vulnerability, and love. I substitute this with planning, professionalism, and practice. Eliza is also fragile requiring little manipulation from Freddy the Predator. By falling into Freddy's trap in her fragile emotional state, Eliza potentially turns from broken feelings to victim and broken beyond all recognition. So what is a semi-grown man doing late at night in his "happy place"? I believe he is less likely to sift rocks to throw at Eliza's window, and more likely to sift through her garbage for insight into her daily routine. All I know is, when Eliza runs out with the intentions of drowning herself, Freddy's eyes must have lit up as he thought his job was half done.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to Freddy i dont think Shaw wants his readders to accept the ending. Shaw does not follow proper expectations for his readers. Shaw decided to create a story where no one would approve of the ending. He did not want Higgins and Eliza to get together in the end and be happy. Shaw created this ending to shock his readers, and I think out of spite, Shaw put Freddy and Eliza togther.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think Shaw wants his readers to ralize Freddy is no good for Eliza. That Freddy is a creep and only stalks Eliza because she has moved up in her social status. Freddy does not love Eliza, he is trying to improve his social rank by using Eliza.
Freddy cannot love Eliza because the reader does not hear about Freddy until the last few pages of the story. Freddy appears in the begining of the story and disappears until the end. Once Freddy realizes Eliza has improved her social skills and has moved up in rank in society is he only interested in her.
I do not think there is any true love in this story and Shaw created this story to infuriate people who were expecting the usual cliche ending of most books.
Peter, I respect your view on Freddy’s love for Eliza, but I have to disagree. I feel his gestures are not romantic. Having pondered the situation, I came to the conclusion that Freddy is a stalker. Eliza and Freddy do not know each other well. I imagined myself in Eliza’s position and became uncomfortable. If a man were to tell me he sits outside my window every night, I would fear his sanity and my safety. Had she known him well and began to develop some sort of relationship with him, I may feel otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with your statement of Eliza being in love with Higgins. I also feel as though Higgins fancies Eliza. Despite the two’s stubbornness on the matter, they are indeed an unofficial couple. Higgins demonstrates many signs of his adoration towards Eliza. His obsession with her grammar, his worry when she leaves him, as well as their bickering, proves his interest. For a person to care as much as Higgins does for Eliza, there is no doubt he thinks of her as something more than a possession. Their banter reminds me of a couple as well. Higgins needs Eliza for he states, “But I can’t find anything. I don’t know what appointments I’ve go…” (1000) when Eliza has gone missing. This reminds me of a husband’s dependence on his wife.
I like the question you proposed, “Is it better to be alone, wanting the person you desire, or to settle for being with the person who desires you?” It took me a while to develop an answer. While it may seem difficult in both situations, for one is never satisfied in either scenario. Rather than being alone, I feel a person will benefit more from being with someone who adores them for in time, in seeing that person’s love and dedication towards them, they too may grow to return the same affection. A person will experience no progress in his or her life while admiring someone from afar. As that person sits back and contemplates a fantasy relationship, the other person will progress in their life leaving the dreamer in a trance.
Oh so very good ladies and gentleman. I want to side with Duffy. Truly I do. But Delia and Jonathan make excellent cases that I unfortunately think I have to side with. The story just feels creepy in spots. I want it to be romantic, but something feels... off.
ReplyDeleteI think another thing we need to consider is that this story takes place over a long-ish period of time. Six months occur between Higgins taking in Eliza and us seeing her at the party with Mrs. Eynsford Hill. It's possible Freddy and her have developed a relationship somewhere in between (although even this seems unlikely).