Pygmalion

I need comment for this excerpt by Pygmalion.

LIZA Not a bit. It never did him no harm what I could see. But then he did not
keep it up regular. [Cheerfully] On the burst, as you might say, from time to
time. And always more agreeable when he had a drop in. When he was out of
work, my mother used to give him fourpence and tell him to go out and not come back until he’d drunk himself cheerful and loving-like. Theres lots of
women has to make their husbands drunk to make them fit to live with. [Now quite at her ease] You see, it’s like this. If a man has a bit of a conscience, it always takes him when he’s sober; and then it makes him low-spirited. A drop of booze just takes that off and makes him happy.

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In context, Eliza is referring to her father's propensity for anger and/or guilt at home. During this period women did not generally leave their abusive husbands because of abuse, neglect, or unhappiness, but rather, did things like provide them with alcohol to take their minds off their problems. Note, the provision of alcohol didn't always solve the problem... it often made it worse.