Explain the role of Clara Hill in the play, showing the way she is utilized to express Shaw's social satire.

Clara shows up early in the play, while Eliza is selling flowers on the street. She treats Eliza haughtily, even wanting change from the sixpence her mother has her offer Eliza for a bouquet of flowers. They're only worth a penny Clara says to her mother, annoyed when her mother tells Eliza to keep the change.

Later, Clara and her mother show up at Mrs. Higgins's after Eliza has developed enough of the speech and...

Clara shows up early in the play, while Eliza is selling flowers on the street. She treats Eliza haughtily, even wanting change from the sixpence her mother has her offer Eliza for a bouquet of flowers. They're only worth a penny Clara says to her mother, annoyed when her mother tells Eliza to keep the change.

Later, Clara and her mother show up at Mrs. Higgins's after Eliza has developed enough of the speech and manners of a lady to be introduced into society. Eliza is visiting there during Mrs. Higgins calling hours, and Clara now treats her deferentially as a lady, not recognizing her as the flower girl she once treated arrogantly on the street. Now that Eliza has the accent and dress of a lady, Clara defends her after Eliza bursts out with "Not bloody likely," bloody being a shocking and unacceptable term in polite society. After the surprise that accompanies Eliza's utterance, Clara says

Oh, it's all right, mamma, quite right. People will think we never go anywhere or see anybody if you are so old-fashioned.

This acceptance of Eliza's use of "bloody" satirizes or pokes fun at notions of class. Were Eliza, the flower girl, to use the term "bloody" while wearing her shabby clothes and speaking with a Cockney accent, the word would have revealed her unworthiness, and she would have been judged coarse and crude. However, when she uses the word as a lady, suddenly it is acceptable, the new thing, and not to use it is "old fashioned." We see by this example how unfairly the lower classes are often judged, condemned for what gets a pass if only someone has the right clothes and accent. Shaw thus uses Clara to poke fun at middle class hypocrisy.