AIC: quotes + analysis Flashcards
Why are the stage directions for the set of the play so meticulous ?
play is propaganda, so elements must be carefully controlled to avoid people misconstruing the point of the work
“pleased with life and rather excited”
- “pleased” = content, nothing want to change; refers to the fact that the ruling classes in 1912 were content with their lives and there wasn’t much widespread demand for social change save for the Great Unrest
- “excited” = makes Sheila seem juvenile, as if she doesn’t understand things deeply and overly emotional; from a feminist reading could be stereotyping women
“half shy half assertive”
“half” and half description of Eric’s mental state reflects the generational schism of the time; Edwardian generation beginning to emerge and branch away from their Victorian parents’ ideas
“well-bred young man about town”
- “well-bred” = of an upper class background; breeding means to specially select species of an animal and root out any unfavourable characteristics; may be a nod to upper class culture
- “man about town” = promiscuous (?), knows many people
“Giving us the port, Edna? That’s right.”
- Birling asks a question but doesn’t allow Edna time to answer; removes her autonomy and shows his lack of care for her own POV
- no thanks for her service; sees being served by the working class as a fact of life
- from a feminist perspective, could be a comment on how women ought to be seen not heard, or how women ought to be obedient to men (Edna mainly speaks to Mrs Birling and serves Mr Birling w/o more words than necessary)
“the same port your father gets”
- Gerald’s father is upper class (a lord); “same” shows that Birling wishes to be like Gerald’s father (capitalist ideals - wants to climb instead of do his best where he is)
- trying to appeal to Gerald for his own interests; alternatively, could be read as simply wanting to secure a good husband for his daughter but he seems to care more for Gerald regardless of this
“mummy/daddy”
- Sheila as juvenile
- infantilises her despite her being in her early 20s and thus an adult
- a feminist may critique this portrayal of a female character as it is misogynistic, presenting women as knowing less than men
“Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things-“
- “supposed to” = the strict rules of Victorian etiquette and the class system; confines people from even complimenting those ‘below’
- Sybil is his social superior; despite being younger and a woman, class is treated with more weight in terms of who has authority
“(with mocking aggressiveness)”
- “mocking” = childish
- leads the audience to take her character less seriously at first and simply regard her as a brainless young woman with nothing of substance to say; feminists may critique this as misogynistic, but this is probably intentional on Priestley’s part to better show how her character develops later in the play
- alternatively shows that she is not entirely subservient to men and has the potential to grow and develop her own articulated ideas
“Of course [Sheila] does.”
- Sybil answers for Sheila
- infantilises Sheila and strips her of autonomy and power
- “Of course” = without a doubt, no room for Sheila to object, takes for granted that Sheila should follow the ‘rules’
- demonstrates Sybil’s internalised misogyny and illustrates how the patriarchal system trains women to put each other down in deference to men as well as men putting women down, oppressing them further
“you’ll realise that men with important work to do”
- “realise” = Sheila doesn’t know it now, even though it is already in front of her; makes Sheila seem as if she has no foresight or is unintelligent/incapable of thinking for herself (this works in favour of patriarchy)
- alienates women’s work from men’s work and keeps in place restrictive gender stereotypes
- ironic, as during the WWs, women took on primarily male jobs whilst men were fighting
“You’ll have to get used to that”
“have to” = Sybil treats it as a firm fact with no room for change; keeps old oppressive systems in place
“the things you girls pick up these days!”
shows Sybil to be sheltered/naive
“She’ll make you happy, and I’m sure you’ll make her happy.”
- “make” = to do things to make him happy; implies that she will serve Gerald in their marriage somehow; conforms to sexist and patriarchal views of marriage
- Sheila’s happiness is regarded as an afterthought by Birling
- could imply from a FEMINIST reading that he does not care about his daughter in deference to Gerald due to sexist attitudes or patriarchal standards
- alternatively could show that he cares more for his own economical interests from a CAPITALIST reading
“working together - for lower costs and higher prices.”
- Birling used to portray a typical capitalist; cares so much about his enterprise that he brings business and his own monetary interests into even personal settings such as a celebration of an engagement for his daughter
- demonstrates how capitalists only tend to collaborate when it is in their own interests and how this allows the bourgeoisie to maintain their power over the proletariat and further exploit their labour (MARXIST THEORY)
“You be careful - or I’ll start weeping.”
- “careful” = presents Sheila as easily broken, needing to be handled gently and with care
- from a feminist reading, could be seen as sexist as it portrays women as weak or overly emotional
- “weeping” = a dramatic way of crying; misogyny
“the one you wanted me to have?”
- it is a gift yet is still controlled by Gerald’s desires, not Sheila’s
- ring is representative of the power that Gerald holds over Sheila as a result of the patriarchy
“Be careful with [the ring].”
Sybil infantilises Sheila again, treating her like a child who doesn’t know how to treat fragile things delicately
“hard-headed business man”
- “hard-headed” = brings to mind a helmet; worn on the head to protect from damage
- could refer to how Birling is closed-minded and thinks only he and his ideas bear merit
- the helmet or “hard” could be representative of things such as the class system or the state apparatuses from a marxist reading which protect Birling and thus the ruling classes from losing their power or delusions of importance over others
“wild talk about possible labour trouble”
- “wild” = frenzied, unreliable
- makes Birling seem like a fool, as there WAS labour trouble (the Great Unrest) and there was labour trouble in his very own workplace when Eva Smith and other workers went on strike
- presents Birling and thus capitalists as unreliable, making the audience discredit his views and ideas more
“unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.”
the Titanic is the most famous shipwreck in modern history; makes Birling seem idiotic and with little foresight or reliability
“we’ve had experience, and we know.”
- “experience” = a past event
- illustrates how Victorians and capitalists tend to base their present ideas off of past trends and as a result are closed-minded and lack innovation (which is what society yearned for at the time of writing)
- makes audience dislike Birling and side more with socialist, forward-thinking characters
- presents capitalists as arrogant
“has to look after himself and his family too”
- selfish nature of capitalist ideology
- emphasises selfishness of capitalists as punctuates one’s own importance before even their own family
“cranks”
- shows Birling attempting to discredit anything that socialists or the working class have to say
- from a marxist reading, ideological state apparatus, as reinforces the belief that the proletariat are uneducated/unable to think independently or have foresight thus keeping them below the bourgeoisie and stripping them of a voice
- dramatic irony, as one of these “cranks” ruins Birling’s reputation straight after
“pink and intimate”
- “pink” = soft colour, evokes peace and calm; reflects the mood of the Birlings before the inspector arrives
- alternatively could reflect the Birlings’ (and thus the ruling classes’) lives up until then, surrounded by their luxuries and sheltered from the realities of harsh life that the working class faced
- “intimate” = sheltered, close, without much care for the outside world; reflects capitalist attitudes of only looking for oneself and the close-knit nature of the ruling classes in order to maintain their power (marxist theory)
“brighter and harder”
- “brighter” = light, linking the inspector to light
- could be biblical allusion
- could be linking inspector to truth as light illuminates things otherwise hidden by darkness
- could be a testament to the inspector’s moral character
- the fact the inspector’s character is “brighter” means that the others before his arrival were somewhat shrouded in darkness/evil/moral badness
- “harder” = hard to face the truth, no sugar coating or continuing of pretences
- nod to his interrogations being thorough and putting chars on the spot
“You’re new, aren’t you?”
- Birling undermines inspector
- repressive state apparatus supposed to be under bourgeoisie’s control
“Sit down inspector.”
- Birling undermines inspector
- repressive state apparatus supposed to be under bourgeoisie’s control
“what happened to her afterwards, and what happened to her afterwards… a chain of events.”
- repetition hammers in that this is a common theme throughout life and the play
- things happen “to [Eva]”; passive role in her own life; commentary on the intrusion of the ruling classes on working class lives and how they are controlled by the people above them/stripped of autonomy due to their powerlessness
- “chain of events” = socialist idea of responsibility being communal, not solely on one person and for the most direct cause but also taking longer-term factors into account
“If we were all responsible… it would be very awkward, wouldn’t it?”
for Birling, taking responsibility is simply “awkward” despite the fact that it would change the lives of millions of people if the ruling classes did take responsibility; doesn’t want to inconvenience himself for the good of others even a little bit so resists
“A good worker”
- reification of the proletariat
- Birling has no measure of Eva’s actual personality and simply views her as a worker/a means to earn profit
“Did you say why?”
repressive state apparatus supposed to be under bourgeoisie’s control
“it’s my duty to keep labour costs down.”
- capitalist idea of responsibility; loyal to the capital and oneself only
- when trying to run a successful business, looking for cheap labour is essential to making a profit; Birling isn’t being especially cruel for no reason
- sees it as a fact of the industry and nothing more
“We were paying the usual rates”
- Birling not being especially cruel or different to any other capitalist manager
- demonstrates how capitalism festers institutionalised oppression of the working class that cannot be gotten rid of unless the entire economic system is changed
“Pitiful affair.”
irony; Birling is supposed to mean what he says but doesn’t and instead treats the situation with flippancy and mere annoyance
“she’d had a lot to say… so she had to go.”
- commentary on how women are expected to be subservient and quiet
- commentary on how the bourgeoisie abuse their power to keep the proletariat beneath them and maintain the established hierarchy
“better to ask for the earth than to take it.”
- reference to marxist theory dictating that the proletariat will eventually rise against the bourgeoisie
- sinister undertones; fearmongering and an incentive to the audience to consider changing their political attitudes sooner rather than later
“It isn’t [a free country] if you can’t go and work somewhere else.”
- Eric begins to establish socialist values
- underlines how capitalism festers institutionalised oppression of the working class by paying people too little to get good transport or good housing and forcing them to stay in one area with one job even if it pays badly
“Why shouldn’t they try for higher wages? We try for the highest possible prices.”
- working class only want to try for “higher” wages not “highest”
- highlights how the bourgeoisie are ruthless in denying any increase in power to the proletariat, as won’t even allow a marginal bettering of their financial situation
- highlights how integral oppression of the working classes is in order to be a successful capitalist; makes capitalism seem needlessly cruel and inhumane when compared to socialism
“Well we don’t need to tell the inspector about [his public-schooling]”
- Eric is a champagne socialist
- embarrassed of the privileges he possesses but shows signs of unwillingness to give them up entirely despite socialist views
“[Did she] Get into trouble? Go on the streets?”
bias created by class system that proletariat are only proletariat because of their own inability to stay out of trouble (IDEOLOGICAL STATE APPARATUS) and thus all proletariat are immoral and should not have a voice to speak against the ‘righteous’ bourgeoisie
“Nothing to do with you Sheila. Run along.” -> “(coming farther in)”
- shows Sheila rejecting her father’s wishes and listening to the inspector
- representative of the generational schism between the Edwardian and Victorian generations and the Edwardians’ preference for socialism over capitalism, proved later in 1948 by the establishment of the NHS (a socialist institution in nature)
“I’ve been so happy tonight. Oh I wish you hadn’t told me.”
- wishes to live in ignorance
- thinks of herself first
- shows capitalist ideas and naivety as cares about frivolity more than others’ health at this point
“Quite young?… Pretty?”
- shows how society has conditioned Sheila to think of women; as needing to be attractive to men first and foremost in order to succeed in life or have value; from feminist reading, SEXIST
- naivety and lack of depth in Sheila’s thoughts in terms of what actually matters in a person
“no work, no money… few friends, lonely, half-starved”
repetition of “no” emphasises the direness of Eva’s situation and encourages the Birlings and the audience to be empathetic towards her situation and feel bad for their own actions or transgressions against the working class
“these girls aren’t cheap labour - they’re people.”
- Sheila portrays socialist values
- rejects the reification of the working class from her father and mother and instead views them as equals to herself in terms of emotions and human rights
- generational schism
“recognises [the photo] with a little cry… runs out.”
- from a feminist reading, this quote may be critiqued for its stereotypical presentation of a female character as overly emotional/controlled by their emotions and thus is a wild card/unstable/unreliable
- alternatively may just be to illustrate how deeply the situation has affected Sheila as she feels compassion for Eva Smith and thus feels horrible for how she acted towards her (socialist values)
“Why… do you want to go upsetting the child?”
infantilisation of Sheila
“we’re respectable citizens and not criminals.”
bias created by class system that proletariat are only proletariat because of their own inability to stay out of trouble (IDEOLOGICAL STATE APPARATUS) and thus all proletariat are immoral and should not have a voice to speak against the ‘righteous’ bourgeoisie
“She was the right type for it, just as I was the wrong type.”
portrays Eva as not actually having done anything wrong and thus being innocent and needlessly made a victim of oppression, challenging the bias that the proletariat are only proletariat because of their own faults
“If she’d been some miserable plain little creature, I don’t suppose I’d have done it.”
- shows that Sheila only lashed out because she felt threatened in her power
- if she had not felt threatened by Eva’s beauty, she wouldn’t have abused her class power to get rid of her
- MARXIST THEORY
“why had this to happen?”
- passive voice
- still not fully accepted responsibility
- lamenting her own loss of happiness not the death of Eva
“D’you mind if I give myself a drink, Sheila?”
- “D’you” = informal language, contrasts the usually formal language that Gerald uses due to being upper class and refined etc.
- flips tables and gives control to Sheila whereas it ‘should’ lie with Gerald due to gender and class
- emphasises how shocked Gerald feels
“why - you fool - he knows.”
- portrays the inspector as omniscient/having all information at hand
- presents socialism as more informed and logical than capitalism
- makes Goole seem god-like
- makes Sheila (socialist values) seem more mature and knowledgeable than Gerald
“She’s had a long exciting and tiring day”
- speaks as if she’s a child who cannot advocate for herself or handle difficult situations
- strips Sheila of autonomy; sexism, misogyny
- Gerald attempting to hide behind a facade of chivalry as if his true intention is to care for Sheila, when in fact it is to silence her; from a feminist reading, Gerald is extremely misogynistic and upholds many patriarchal standards
“He means that I’m getting hysterical”
- “hysterical” from the Greek work “hystera” meaning womb
- the appropriation of this word into a word used derisively against someone emotional illustrates the misogyny present in the patriarchy and in Gerald’s actions by extension from a feminist perspective
“you think young women ought to be protected against… disturbing things?”
challenges patriarchal beliefs and actions of sheltering and thus alienating women which only perpetuates their oppression and viewing of as weak no matter how well-intentioned the sheltering is
“Mrs Birling… quite out of key”
shows Mrs Birling’s lack of willingness to understand and be compassionate by extension of her inability to read a room
“the young ones. They’re more impressionable.”
- mirrors Priestley’s hope that the Edwardian generation will lean towards socialism more and attempt to create a better society in the UK founded on community
- Edwardians are Priestley’s main audience; subtle nod to the fact that he hopes to persuade them through his writing
“Girls of that class-“
bias created by class system that proletariat are only proletariat because of their own inability to stay out of trouble (IDEOLOGICAL STATE APPARATUS) and thus all proletariat are immoral and should not have a voice to speak against the ‘righteous’ bourgeoisie
“you mustn’t try to build up a kind of wall”
- “wall” = brick, solid, opaque; class system builds walls between classes, not allowing them to see each other as equals or even human
- pits members of different classes against one another, causing division instead of community and making it easier for the bourgeoisie to maintain power (ideological state apparatus; marxist theory)
“Eva Smith”
- “Eva” sounds like “Eve”
- “Eve” in the Bible is the first woman to exist and the mother of the human race
- Biblical name links her directly to God and thus innocence, perfection etc.
- Eve ate the forbidden apple after being tempted by the devil which ultimately destroyed her position; possible nod to Eva drinking the disinfectant to commit suicide as a result of all the evil she had to withstand in life
- “Smith” was the most common last name in 1912, linking her with the everyday person and allowing her to be representative of the whole working class
“Daisy Renton”
- “Daisy” = a common weed that is valued due to its beauty; nod to how Sheila, Gerald and Eric seem to value Eva only because of her beauty despite her being proletariat
- daisies have yellow centre (bright colour, remind of the sun, goodness, pollen is food), and white petals (purity, innocence); the flower image allows the audience to view her as a needless victim
- “Renton” = refers to how at this stage of the play it is suggested she “rents” her body out for money
- objectifies her and conveys the true nature of her relationship with Gerald
“the stalls bar at the palace.”
- “palace” = royalty, makes Gerald sound refined and chivalrous; ironic as the bar is a place for prostitutes
- illustrates the way ruling class men often rely on their class as a shield to allow them to get away with bad behaviour that would not be expected of the ruling classes
“altogether out of place down there.”
bias created by class system that proletariat are only proletariat because of their own inability to stay out of trouble (IDEOLOGICAL STATE APPARATUS) and thus all proletariat are immoral - Eva is good and innocent and beautiful so looks “out of place” being a working class girl according to this bias
“wedged her into a corner with that obscene fat carcass of his”
- “wedged” = forceful, Eva trapped between Meggarty and the wall; could be a metaphor for how most working class women are forced into sex or prostitution by their circumstances as a result of capitalism/the ruling classes
- could also be a metaphor for the general way in which the ruling classes control the working class
- “obscene” = reprehensible; makes Meggarty sound despicable and Gerald looks heroic in comparison
- “carcass” = dead body, usually connotes rotting, smelling etc.; again creates the effect of Gerald looking chivalrous for “saving” Eva from the situation
“surely you don’t mean Alderman Meggarty?” -> “notorious womaniser”
- Sybil is so naïve and wilfully blind that she doesn’t even spot “notorious” transgressors
- subscribes to the bias that class=morality
- appears to believe that titles and social responsibility=morality also, as mentions he is an “Alderman”
- resistant to change her views; “surely you don’t mean”; reflects the insistence on tradition of the Victorian generation
“a little friendliness” (contrasted with “few friends, lonely”)
- portrays Gerald as earnest and kind/having taken pity on a working class girl
- paints Gerald as the hero
- illustrates how upper class men shirk responsibility by manipulating people into believing they did nothing wrong due to hiding behind a pretence of chivalry and the idea that class=morality
“I made her take some money”
- seems like a chivalrous gesture
- “made” = forced; was Gerald’s will not Eva’s
- Machiavellian in nature
- men in control
- made Eva feel in debt to him so she’d be forced to give her body as repayment since she had nothing else
“I want you to understand that I didn’t install her there to make love to her.”
- still focuses on his wants and needs
- tries to maintain his chivalrous persona via manipulation so that he doesn’t have to take any responsibility for what happened to Eva
- “install” = set up an object to be used; objectifies Eva and betrays his true feelings towards her
- from feminist POV: comment on how men use women for their own gain and are ultimately in control of them; strip autonomy
- from Marxist POV: shows how the bourgeoisie may manipulate situations in order to exploit the proletariat for monetary gain or personal (sexual) gain
“I suppose it was inevitable. She was young and pretty… and intensely grateful.”
- “inevitable” = inescapable; DOESN’T TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS OWN PART IN THINGS; treats it like fate
- also shows from feminist POV how men feel entitled to women’s bodies and love and can take without consequence
- “young and pretty” = the most important things in a woman in 1912; sexist, alienates all women who don’t conform to these standards leading to the further oppression of women as infighting occurs so easier to take control of
- if women don’t conform to these standards, shouldn’t expect their partner to remain faithful
- “intensely grateful” = manipulated Eva into sex by making her feel indebted to him and having to give body since she’s poor and w/o many possessions or skills
“Your daughter isn’t living on the moon.”
- “moon” = celestial body, in space, no gravity, far from earth
- telling Birling that Sheila is no longer sheltered as an adult, has the ability to be grounded instead of naïve and childish due to the infantilisation she faces from the men around her as well as her mother
- Sheila is affected by real-world events just as much as anyone else
- shatters the idea that the ruling classes have the privilege to choose whether the get involved with working class problems or not and fosters a need for community and helping other people unlike what is pushed in capitalism
“the wonderful fairy prince”
- “fairy” = mythical creature OR a reference to fairy tales
- could represent Gerald being so caught up in perpetrating the false, made up chivalrous image of himself and how upper class men hide behind this
- could represent how he expects to be viewed as the chivalrous hero who saves the day like in a fairy tale or children’s story
- “prince” = royalty, reflects both how Gerald regards himself and his façade of chivalry
- this description of Gerald by Sheila is mocking, yet Gerald is shown to believe it as true regardless of her intentions
She was - very gallant - about it.”
- chivalry = moral code amongst upper class gentlemen
- imbuing Eva Smith with this attribute makes her seem “out of place” in the working class and challenges the idea that there is any real difference between the moral character of people in different classes
“I’m not defending him. But you must understand that a lot of young men-“
- comment on how toxic masculinity incentivises men who perceive each other as “good” to cover up for one another, (un)intentionally preserving the patriarchy by protecting even men who have harmed others, especially women
- shows how capitalists defend their own interests (it is heavily implied that Birling may also have been unfaithful to his wife at some point, so if Sybil sees that Sheila takes the cheating seriously, she may be inclined to question her husband as well)
“a prominent member of the Brumley Women’s Charity Organisation”
irony; charity workers should do all that is in their power to help others, however Mrs Birling looks for reasons to deny help rather than grant it; cold, lack of compassion and collaboration among the upper class and capitalists
“deserving cases”
- illustrates the prejudice rampant in the ruling classes
- abuse of power
- shows how bourgeoisie keep proletariat in place by only extending a hand to those who do not threaten them in any way
- cruel
“First, she called herself Mrs Birling-“
- family names carried a lot of importance in Victorian era
- Birlings feel threatened, as a working class girl essentially equated herself to them raising her power (marxist theory)
- ironic as if she had married Eric, she would’ve been Mrs Birling
“I did nothing I’m ashamed of”
- Sybil is so steeped in classist ideology that she genuinely believes that she did nothing wrong
- shows that she knows that society agrees with her as she is not scared of the inspector’s legal powers, implying that no one of her social sphere would judge her actions
“Sybil”
means ‘oracle’ or ‘prophet’ in Greek; irony, as means that she is wilfully blind to the truth that she can see very well
“when this comes out at the inquest”
Birling still thinking only of the consequences for his own reputation, not anyone else
“claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl in her position.”
- “claiming” = a claim is the statement itself without any evidence; makes it seem as if Eva Smith was lying though the audience knows she was being perfectly truthful
- “absurd” = due to the bias caused by the class system that the working class are only working class due to their own fault of lacking intelligence and morals, Sybil believes that Eva cannot possibly have any incentive not to take the stolen money and do the right thing
- alternatively, Sybil has reified the proletariat so far that she cannot imagine them having the full scope of human emotions
- alternatively, Sybil believes that the working class are so fundamentally different to the ruling classes that they could not possibly be similar in any way including in range of emotion
“it sounded ridiculous to me.”
- only “sounded” ridiculous “to [her]”; indicates that it was Sybil’s own opinion and not fact that prevented Eva from getting help
- demonstrates the power that the ruling classes have over the working class’ lives
- marxist theory (keeping proletariat in place when bourgeoisie feel threatened)
“I don’t understand you” -> “You mean you don’t choose to”
- Sybil as wilfully blind to the truth
- shows how the ruling classes have the privilege to isolate themselves from the struggles of the majority and instead live in luxury and blissful ignorance
- capitalist ideologies, though not the most relevant piece of context to Sybil
“don’t you see-“
- socialist-leaning characters as having more foresight than capitalist characters
- Edwardian generation presented as being more aware of the present and current events than the Victorian generation; makes Edwardian audience feel smarter and more inclined to branch away from the beliefs of their parents politically
“I don’t believe it. I won’t believe it.”
- Sybil as wilfully blind to the truth
- shows how the ruling classes have the privilege to isolate themselves from the struggles of the majority and instead live in luxury and blissful ignorance
- capitalist ideologies, though not the most relevant piece of context to Sybil
“If you’d had any sense of loyalty-“
- irony
- Priestley shows capitalists as only valuing community when it benefits themselves
- demonstrates how the bourgeoisie band together to keep the proletariat in place and rely on each others’ powers to do so due to the bourgeoisie being the minority in actuality (marxist theory)
“I was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty”
- blames his actions on the “state” he was in; lack of taking responsibility for the fact that he was the one who put himself in that state
- attempting to save his image; this is arguably a result of his upbringing as he does change this and takes responsibility fully later on, even exposing his actions to Gerald for full transparency
“I don’t even remember… how stupid it all is!”
- cared so little that has no clear recollection of the event
- demonstrates how men like Eric fail to take responsibility and end up paying twofold for their actions once they do
- demonstrates how middle class men reify women to exploit them for sex
- “how stupid it all is!” = anguish, shock and disgust at his own carelessness; shows that he does in fact care about her now and has changed his attitudes since the rape
“I wasn’t in love with her or anything… she was pretty and a good sport-“
- shows Eric’s immaturity
- raped Eva Smith, then slept with her again just because she was pretty (superficial attitudes of men in 1912, sexism)
- “good sport” = a term much too informal for the mother of one’s child, a term one may use to describe a friend or colleague
- shows his lack of care at the time to get to know Eva better as a person rather than objectifying her and simply using her for her body/exploiting her via reification (marxist theory)
“she treated me as if I were a kid”
- “kid” = informal language to say child; illustrates the point Eva had made about Eric’s immaturity
- children often cannot or don’t take responsibility for their own actions/themselves even if they may want to; comment on how men like Eric have trouble taking responsibility but differentiates him from Gerald in the sense that he does try to take responsibility eventually
- children rely on their parents to do things for them; Eric at that point was so immature that he had no job of his own, no real responsibilities and thus spent his days drinking and hooking up with women at bars; not a good father or person to spend one’s life with, hence Eva’s unwillingness to marry him
- illustrates how shielded the ruling classes are from daily things such as hard work/responsibility
“You’re not the kind of father a chap could go to” -> “(angrily)”
- demonstrates how Birling lashes out at any who threaten him even if the threats are the truth
- illustrates the behaviour of the bourgeoisie to stamp out any resistance to their power over others
“please - I didn’t know - I didn’t understand-“
Sybil only cares when she hurt a member of her own family
“though [Gerald] at least had some affection for her”
- shows Gerald as having successfully convinced people that he didn’t do much wrong
- presents him as the most chivalrous again
- illustrates how upper class men rely on facades and manipulation to get away with incorrect behaviour
“there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths”
- repetition of “millions” emphasises how common the tragic experiences of Eva Smith are in reality
- John and Eva and Smith were the most common names in 1912, showing that the majority of people were working class and yet the bourgeoisie still remained in power due to their own selfishness and lack of compassion (marxist theory + capitalism)
“We don’t live alone. We are members of one body.”
- echoes ‘body of Christ’ aka the Church
- reminds the audience that socialist values reside even in the Bible and that they should live out these values to avoid going to hell/sinning
- makes Goole seem more trustworthy and thus socialism seems more attractive to the audience
“if men will not learn… they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.”
- imagery of “fire and blood and anguish” echoes Christian ideas about hell
- presents Goole as all knowing and god-like, making him more reliable as a source to an audience in 1945 (largely Christian)
- imagery designed to scare people into action and changing their ways/political beliefs
“You don’t seem to care about anything [Eric].”
- ironic, as Eric technically cares about the more important thing (other people) whilst Birling cares only about himself
- illustrates the different ideas about responsibility between socialists and capitalists
“be quiet so your father can decide what we ought to do.”
- Sybil’s internalised misogyny
- infantilises Eric and Sheila despite both being adults capable of making their own choices because she views their socialist views as immature
- attempt to strip them of a voice
“That man wasn’t a police officer… That’s what I came back to tell you.”
- demonstrates Gerald’s lack of ability and will to take responsibility
- spends time immediately after being exposed attempting to find evidence to save his reputation instead of simply taking accountability and being mature
- upper class capitalist men as more concerned about their reputation than the people they may have harmed, especially if they were women
“It’s still the same rotten story”
- deontological morality
- “rotten” = corrupt from the core, smelly, reprehensible; makes their actions seem too bad to side with and still seem good, convincing the audience to side with socialist characters such as Sheila, Eric and the inspector
“They just won’t try to understand our position”
- irony, as the Birling parents don’t try to understand anyone else’s position either
- illustrates the self-entitled nature of the ruling classes to be served by others and protected by others despite doing nothing for others themselves
“soft brown hair and dark eyes”
- the only description of Eva Smith in the whole play besides being called pretty
- extremely common features
- allows Eva to be representative of the working class/average person
“If it didn’t end tragically, then that’s lucky for us. But it might have done.”
display of deontological morality and how the inspector has affected Sheila/matured her over time
“And they can’t even take a joke-“
- treats the situation as a joke
- illustrates how lightly they take the situation as it has not affected them; jab at capitalist attitudes and the self-isolation and lack of empathy present in the ruling classes
- makes Arthur, Sybil and Gerald seem morally reprehensible for ceasing to care as soon as the situation didn’t affect them and so makes the audience less likely to sympathise with their beliefs and follow socialism more readily
cyclical narrative
- proves the inspector’s point
- makes the inspector seem like a prophet or omniscient, like God
- makes the inspector’s warnings credible and reliable, allowing the audience to believe him more readily and be persuaded by his words
Eva Smith having no lines
- marxist theory: if the proletariat threaten the bourgeoisie, they should be disposed of/put into their place
- Eva having no lines means she has no control over her own story or how she is presented during the play, instead being at the hands of the repressive state apparatus and the bourgeoisie; commentary on how the proletariat/working class have extremely little control in society
- from feminist POV, could be a reference to the suffragette movement between 1903 and 1912 as many activists were jailed to silence them in the media
- comment on how working class women are treated as if they have no voice
Edna having very few lines
- capitalist idea that the working class should only speak when they are serving the ruling classes
- demonstrates how the class system works to keep the proletariat in their places below the bourgeoisie (marxist theory)
“favourite haunt of women of the town”
- “women of the town” = prostitutes; Gerald knew fully that the bar was a place to pick up women and cheat etc. and went anyway; fully aware of his actions and the implications yet still fails to take accountability for them
- “haunt” = ghosts haunt, ghosts are dead; there is no life or soul to the place, simply people trying to survive
- alternatively, literally means that the women are at the bar a lot
