“ If you're going to be a lady, you'll have to give up feeling neglected if the men you know don't spend half their time snivelling over you and the other half giving you black eyes. If you can't stand the coldness of my sort of life, and the strain of it, go back to the gutter. Work til you are more a brute than a human being ”
George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion (1913). copy citation
Author | George Bernard Shaw |
---|---|
Source | Pygmalion |
Topic | coldness work |
Date | 1913 |
Language | English |
Reference | |
Note | |
Weblink | https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3825/3825-h/3825-h.htm |
Context
“And how Pickering feels. Eliza: you're a fool.
LIZA. That's not a proper answer to give me [she sinks on the chair at the writing-table in tears] .
HIGGINS. It's all you'll get until you stop being a common idiot. If you're going to be a lady, you'll have to give up feeling neglected if the men you know don't spend half their time snivelling over you and the other half giving you black eyes. If you can't stand the coldness of my sort of life, and the strain of it, go back to the gutter. Work til you are more a brute than a human being; and then cuddle and squabble and drink til you fall asleep. Oh, it's a fine life, the life of the gutter. It's real: it's warm: it's violent: you can feel it through the thickest skin: you can taste it and smell it without any training or any work.”
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