Shaw has often been criticized for his inability to create well-developed round characters. His characters are usually seen as mere puppets driven by the crisis of the plot or as spokespersons for his socialist point of view. However, in Pygmalion Shaw defends himself from these accusations by creating complete and realistic characters such as Higgins and Eliza. They are clearly not the author's minions. They have a peculiar quality that leaves a lasting impression on the reader's memory. But there is some truth in the accusation that Shaw created a mouthpiece for his own ideas and the character of Alfred Doolittle is a case in point. While Doolittle is undoubtedly a basic comic character, he is artificial and flat. Doolittle is there for one purpose: to serve Shaw's teaching needs. As such it is in the exaggerated vein of Dickens. The character of Doolittle is drawn with the sole purpose of ridiculing the Victorian philosophy of the "undeserving poor". It is impossible to imagine that such a character exists in real life. Overall, however, Pygmalion is populated with imaginative and lively characters. While Higgins and Eliza are excellent, even the minor characters are well drawn. Henry Higgins Higgins is an extremely interesting character and represents the life of the play. Although the obvious concern of the play is the metamorphosis of a common flower girl into a duchess, the development of Higgins' character is also important. The show isn't just Eliza's story. Changes are also noted in Higgins or, to be more precise, he finally appears to the reader in a new light. This is seen when he tells Eliza that he has gotten used to seeing her face and hearing her voice. This is not a very sensitive display of emotions, but it is quite different... middle of the card... despite Higgins' character. It is obvious that Higgins' manners are not much better than those of the Covent Garden flower girl. Indeed Higgins fares much worse due to the fact that he has had all the civilizing benefits of wealth and education, yet he is rude to the point of being boorish and rude, is prone to frequent inflammatory outbursts, and possesses abominable table manners. The fact that such a rude person is accepted by society as a "gentleman" provides Shaw with the opportunity to expose the superficiality and hypocrisy of such a society. Shaw thus criticizes a society that sees wealth and the ability to speak correctly as constitutive criteria of a prescriptive gentleman. It is one of Shaw's most masterly ironic strokes to make such a rude and uncouth selfish bully the principal agent in transforming an ordinary flower girl into a lady..