A Healer’s Geste

Poor Professor Higgins

I’m listening to My Fair Lady while messing around on the computer. When I was growing up I — quite literally — memorized the whole movie word for word. And although it’s been years since I’ve watched it, I can still give every line verbatim. Well, “Poor Professor Higgins” just came on. I can remember quite vividly this being the only part of the movie that I detested, and Dad thinking it was funny — or probably thinking I was funny for being so vehement against it (come to think of it). He played devil’s advocate in defense of the veracity of the song. I resisted any such reasoning as Dad simply being purposefully vexing.

Not that I doubt that he was being purposefully vexing, but he might also have had a point.

As a child, I identified with Eliza and deeply felt the injustice done to her.

As a parent, I can identify with Dr. Doolittle about how exhausting and difficult Eliza was being. It seems like she’s not even paying attention and is being stubbornly stupid.

Of course he’s a jerk, but um — so can I sometimes be.

So can his behaviour (he is English, so it is behaviour) really be inexcusable?

[....cricket....cricket....]