Repetition is used by writers to direct the attention of the reader or audience to that particular phrase; the repetition helps emphasize its importance because it stands out. This is an indicator for the reader or audience to pay closer attention to what the writer wants them to figure out.
We first see the phrase “what is to become” twice in Act 2 by Mrs.Pearce and once by Higgins- she is concerned about how Higgins and Pickering will treat Eliza and tries to draw the lines for the men who are clearly not thinking about her as a human being but an experiment. She is pragmatic enough to think ahead, and be aware of what is to come after the bet is over. Pearce tries to figure out the terms of Eliza living in the house, which the men have ignored to think about and also asks what will happen after the bet is over to which Higgins replied, “Well, when I've done with her, we can throw her back into the gutter; and then it will be her own business again; so that's all right.”. This is the first warning that Higgins receives to think about Eliza’s future after he is done with her. The first time he was approached to think about it, he is insensitive to the situation and jokes about it to procrastinate on his responsibility to take care of her. In Act 3, Mrs. Higgins’s asks Pickering and Higgins what is to become of Eliza after the bet is over and they once again dismiss it by saying this time that, “She can go her own way, with all the advantages I have given her.”. What they fail to see because of their ignorance is that with her advantageous persona, no one will hire Eliza because it would dishonor her to be working. She wouldn’t even be able to sell flowers anymore because people would see her as a lady and it is improper for ladies to be selling flowers. When Mrs.Higggins brings this to light, Higgins and Pickering just shrug it off by saying they will figure it out later. The next time we see the phrase is in Act 4 when Eliza herself asks Higgins. Third time is a charm, but he still does not understand the magnitude of his experiment on her life. Eliza did not even think about what would truly become of her until after she was transformed- Higgins tries to reassure her and tell her that they can work out some arrangement for her to own a flower shop or get married to a man who is well off. This is where Shaw makes his point about society- when you move up in the social hierarchy, you have to give yourself up and not be known for what you truly are, but how you follow the class morals.
Eliza is now a lady and to take up a job at the flower shop would be a role that is beneath her class and therefore dishonoring to her. Eliza can no longer do what she wanted to do because of her new stand in society; she is subjected to their terms and is expected to follow them. For her to make a life for herself, she can no longer sell her flowers, she has to sell her independence and settle down to be a wife. The lower class allows more freedom from rules and morals, and they have a freedom that no one in the upper class has. Marriage in the upper class is a business arrangement that is advantageous, and not purely always based on true love. For women to have a future being well off, they have to marry a man who can take care of them. The reliance of men in the upper class is a worry that is not necessarily visible in the lower class because the women are expected to also take care of themselves.
We first see the phrase “what is to become” twice in Act 2 by Mrs.Pearce and once by Higgins- she is concerned about how Higgins and Pickering will treat Eliza and tries to draw the lines for the men who are clearly not thinking about her as a human being but an experiment. She is pragmatic enough to think ahead, and be aware of what is to come after the bet is over. Pearce tries to figure out the terms of Eliza living in the house, which the men have ignored to think about and also asks what will happen after the bet is over to which Higgins replied, “Well, when I've done with her, we can throw her back into the gutter; and then it will be her own business again; so that's all right.”. This is the first warning that Higgins receives to think about Eliza’s future after he is done with her. The first time he was approached to think about it, he is insensitive to the situation and jokes about it to procrastinate on his responsibility to take care of her. In Act 3, Mrs. Higgins’s asks Pickering and Higgins what is to become of Eliza after the bet is over and they once again dismiss it by saying this time that, “She can go her own way, with all the advantages I have given her.”. What they fail to see because of their ignorance is that with her advantageous persona, no one will hire Eliza because it would dishonor her to be working. She wouldn’t even be able to sell flowers anymore because people would see her as a lady and it is improper for ladies to be selling flowers. When Mrs.Higggins brings this to light, Higgins and Pickering just shrug it off by saying they will figure it out later. The next time we see the phrase is in Act 4 when Eliza herself asks Higgins. Third time is a charm, but he still does not understand the magnitude of his experiment on her life. Eliza did not even think about what would truly become of her until after she was transformed- Higgins tries to reassure her and tell her that they can work out some arrangement for her to own a flower shop or get married to a man who is well off. This is where Shaw makes his point about society- when you move up in the social hierarchy, you have to give yourself up and not be known for what you truly are, but how you follow the class morals.
Eliza is now a lady and to take up a job at the flower shop would be a role that is beneath her class and therefore dishonoring to her. Eliza can no longer do what she wanted to do because of her new stand in society; she is subjected to their terms and is expected to follow them. For her to make a life for herself, she can no longer sell her flowers, she has to sell her independence and settle down to be a wife. The lower class allows more freedom from rules and morals, and they have a freedom that no one in the upper class has. Marriage in the upper class is a business arrangement that is advantageous, and not purely always based on true love. For women to have a future being well off, they have to marry a man who can take care of them. The reliance of men in the upper class is a worry that is not necessarily visible in the lower class because the women are expected to also take care of themselves.