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| re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? | |
| Last Edit: FrauPeter 02:22 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
| Posted by: FrauPeter 02:21 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
| In reply to: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? - clothedboysinging 01:02 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
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| Because he doesn’t see Eliza as a human being who played a huge part in their victory that night but instead only sees her as a part of his own victory with Pickering. The joke of the song is the “you” in “you did it” is not Eliza but they are saying it to each other. | |
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| re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? | |
| Posted by: ms721 03:13 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? - FrauPeter 02:21 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
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| "Because he doesn’t see Eliza as a human being who played a huge part in their victory that night but instead only sees her as a part of his own victory with Pickering. The joke of the song is the “you” in “you did it” is not Eliza but they are saying it to each other." You're describing Higgins, not Pickering. My take on it is that Pickering is telling the staff what he was thinking at the moment when he was standing next to Higgins and Eliza was dancing. So of course he's going to tell Higgins "You did it." at that moment and repeat it later. I don't think it's meant to reflect on his feelings towards Eliza, who he has always treated well as a foil to Higgins. |
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| re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? | |
| Posted by: lordofspeech 02:57 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? - FrauPeter 02:21 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
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| Although the latest revival tried to have it that Higgins was unforgiveable, it’s perfectly natural for the director of a production (Eliza’s debut) to be celebrated as much or more than Eliza herself. I imagine Jerome Robbins was celebrated with at least as much vigor as Carol Lawrence when West Side Story opened. | |
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| re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 04:08 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? - lordofspeech 02:57 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
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| Of course, Eliza's success at the ball is a product of the hard work of all three characters, even Pickering, who's likely the unsung hero of the project, paying the expenses and being a moderating influence on Higgins, as well as a trusted friend to Eliza. But, at this moment, the writers need to hammer home the point that these men consider this triumph to be THEIR success and don't seem to care a bit about or even acknowledge their little dress up doll. If Eliza doesn't witness this classic scene of male privledge and assholery, then the stakes for her will not be as high in the second act. She has to think that she's about to be dumped back into the gutter again by these men, and that the safety and privledge provided by them over the past few months or weeks or however long is about to end and she will have to fend for herself again. She has to figure out what the rest of her life is going to be now. There has to be no doubt in her mind that these men do not consider her a part of the equation at all. That's what drives her in Act II. I've always thought that Pickering's actions here are a bit out of character and that he'd be the one taking Eliza's side during that scene. But he can't for dramatic purposes. If Eliza has any doubts that these two are done with her and never cared about her at all beyond their little project, that's a whole different second act for her. |
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| re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? | |
| Last Edit: mikem 11:36 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
| Posted by: mikem 11:27 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? - JereNYC 04:08 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
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| I don't know the text of My Fair Lady that well -- is Pickering paying the expenses for the "Eliza experiment"? Higgins is apparently quite wealthy in his own right, since he has a large house and multiple servants even though he lives by himself (and, if we believe his songs, the thought that he would buy a large house in case he would find a romantic partner is out of the question). My only experience with large houses and servants is from Downton Abbey, but it's not clear to me why a single man who is not part of the nobility and who is a bit of a misanthrope would need so many servants for a single house in the city. I don't see Higgins regularly hosting large social gatherings that require servants to staff and to clean up afterwards, although he invites Pickering to stay with him with great ease. I agree with JereNYC that Pickering's disregard of Eliza is out of character. Pickering is useful to the writers in the pre-ball scenes as a counterpoint to Higgins's behavior. But, as JereNYC says, the plot is smoother if he pivots suddenly, so pivot he does. I think Pickering could take more of a middle ground during "You Did It" and still make it clear to Eliza after the song has ended that the experiment is over and she needs to leave the house and return to her old life. He could say something to her like, "What did you think would happen after the bet was over?" with empathy rather than scorn. Perhaps if My Fair Lady was written a few decades later, that would have been the way it would have played out. |
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| re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 10:32 am EDT 08/23/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? - mikem 11:27 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
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| Eliza comes to Higgins in Act II and asks if her clothes belong to her or to Colonel PIckering, who, presumeably, paid for them. My assumption has always been that Higgins is providing the house and the staff and the food (for both Pickering and Eliza) and that Pickering is paying for everything else having to do with the project. | |
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| re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? | |
| Posted by: mikem 09:59 pm EDT 08/23/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? - JereNYC 10:32 am EDT 08/23/22 | |
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| JereNYC, thanks for the reminder about the clothes comment, which seems to indicate Pickering is paying for some of Eliza's expenses. | |
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| re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? | |
| Posted by: CCentero 10:17 pm EDT 08/23/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? - mikem 09:59 pm EDT 08/23/22 | |
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| It's clearly stated in Act 1. Pickering proposes the bet with Higgins, saying that he'll pay all expenses and for the lessons. | |
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| re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? | |
| Posted by: CCentero 04:37 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Why is Pickering so oblivious to Eliza during YOU DID IT? - JereNYC 04:08 pm EDT 08/22/22 | |
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| Yes--it's heartbreaking for Eliza but dramatically important that Pickering isn't there to hold her hand as he usually is. When it's well staged, she hopes "a lot of the glory goes to you" to her, rather than Higgins. | |
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