Henry Higgins

Living… a contented life as a confirmed bachelor. Higgins does very well for himself, and he would hate to have his peaceful home interrupted by any sort of noise or bother. The servants respect this, and he’s left to go about his work. That is, until Eliza Doolittle walks into his study.

Profession… phoneticist. Higgins studies all the vagaries of language, and considers himself one of the foremost experts on the English tongue. That’s what leads him to say that he could teach Eliza, a Cockney flower girl, to speak like a princess. He didn’t mean that he would, but she’s shown up to hold him to his word.

Interests… words, reading, the quiet and cultured life. Higgins has an appreciation for art and philosophy, and prefers to leave the rest of humanity to itself.

Relationship Status… single. Higgins doesn’t particularly like women. As he says, “Let a woman in your life, and you invite eternal strife!” Eliza perplexes him immensely. The only people he seems to enjoy spending time with are his mother, and his friend Colonel Pickering.

Challenge… transforming low-class Eliza into the picture of a society lady. She might annoy him to death, but if he sets out to do something, then by Jove he’ll do it. But can he avoid becoming emotionally entangled?

Personality… haughty, intelligent, and absent-minded. Higgins is dreadfully rude, misogynistic, and arrogant. It’s not by choice; he simply doesn’t think better of it. He absorbs himself in his work, and the niceties of society don’t interest him much. Without Eliza and his servants, he’d lose his head if he put it down.