Accustomed to My Face.

There is something about playing the role of Eliza Doolittle that makes men fall in love with you. Professor Higgins even warns the audience at the beginning of My Fair Lady by saying "by the time I'm finished with you, there will be men falling for you in droves." Little did he know, he would be one of the masses. But is the reason the male sex flips for the actresses who play this character all a by product of Higgins' creation or are there other forces at play with this cockney turned princess?

First and foremost, there is the character Eliza Doolittle herself. A strong-minded low class flower girl, Eliza originally takes speech lessons in order to better herself and her lot in life. But as the lessons continue, Eliza becomes malleable and meek in order to play the role of the Professor's lady. The classic enjenue changing for her leading man in order to illicit his affection. All too soon, however, Eliza realizes that regardless of how much she changes for the Professor, he cannot show her genuine affection. Lady Eliza is now colored by her strong cockney sense of self and independence. There is something very attractive in that transformation from baudy self-assured feminist (in a manner) to a strong-willed by socially attune lady. Overt cries for women's rights and treatment tend to scare men off whereas strong, confident women who believe in a certain moral system are valued by men who are not looking for a Stepford Wife.

Another character plays a vital role in this affinity for Ms. Doolittle because of his stubborn inability to accept his feelings for her. Professor Higgins, modern literature's narcissist, reminds men to treat a woman that matters to you like she matters to you. The male sex can sympathize with Higgins' inability to express emotions and yet feels a desire to protect Eliza from a man who is hurting her. Men wants women who love them and try to do things that please them but they also want women who are sure in themselves...or at least that's what I've observed...

That all explains why I believe men fall in love with the role of Eliza but what I am claiming here is that this affinity goes beyond the character and to the actress playing the part. Acting, to me, involves assuming the plight of your character to some degree. In the case of Eliza, one must be willing to undergo the rollercoaster of emotions toward self-confidence that the audience witnesses on stage every night. The by product of internalizing this transformation often becomes realizing that it is present in one's self. Most little girls want to be princesses and Eliza ends up realizing that she has been a princess all along, a self confident and strongly independent princess.

This analysis fails to address the role money and class play in Eliza's transformation as well as which men are attracted to this type of woman. Someday in a classroom, I'll have my students do a similar investigation but until then, I am missing a very large segment of Guys and Dolls blocking...