Eric Birling Flashcards
Eric is..
Irresponsible: “I didn’t even remember — that’s the hellish ti Unloved: “You don’t understand anything. You never did.”
Sensitive: “My God — I’m not likely to forget”
An alcoholic: “I was in that state when a chap easily turns nat
Eric
Priestley’s stage directions say that Eric is “not quite at ease”
He’s described as being “half shy” and “half assertive”
2) He interrupts Sheila and Gerald when he “suddenly guffaws”, but says he doesn’t know why he’s laughing. He finds things his family say funny, even when there’s no joke.
3) When Gerald says, “Unless Eric’s been up to something,” Eric acts suspiciously and seriously — “I don’t think it’s very funny,” he says
“still uneasy”, and also answers “defiantly”.
Eric’s been hiding some dirty secrets
Eric’s drunkenness and bad behaviour represent the dark side of family life.
1) He’s a heavy drinker, and has been for a while. You can see his “familiarity with quick heavy drinking” in the way he pours his whisky in Act Three. The rest of the family sees it too.
2) He got a prostitute pregnant — his first encounter with Eva/Daisy results in her getting pregnant and there’s a suggestion that he forced himself on her.
3) He has stolen money from his father’s business to support her.
“(Involuntarily) My
God!”
Eric’s emotional response to the news of Eva’s death as Priestley demonstrates his innate rectitude (morality) through the stage directions. Priestley’s use of the adverb
“involuntarily” demonstrates the moral nature of Eric as he could not suppress his emotional reaction; it is involuntary. Eric would not choose to reveal his emotions, within a patriarchal society which condemns feminine traits, such as excessive emotion.
“you said yourself she was a good worker”
Eric questions “why shouldn’t they try for higher wages?” as he believes that the capitalist system ought to be fair to both employers and employees. He puts forward a moral form of capitalism, pointing out to Birling,
“you said yourself she was a good worker”, implying that she should be financially rewarded
“in that state when a chap easily turns nasty”
Priestley demonstrates Eric’s subconscious attempts to distance himself from his actions by switching from first person to third person as he refers to himself as “a chap” rather than ‘”.
Eric’s trivialisation of such violence of a possible rape, through the colliquial use of “a chap” is an attempt by Eric to soften the harshness of his actions.
“I threatened to make a row”
Eric’s violent language, “I threatened”, is softened through the euphemistic use of “a row”. Priestley demonstrates Eric’s attempts to convince himself that his actions were to a lesser extent of immorality than they actually were.
“She wasn’t the usual sort”
“She didn’t know what to do”
Priestley reveals Eric’s previous experiences with prostitutes, as Eva “wasn’t the usual sort’.
The adjective “usual’ implies that visiting prostitutes is the norm for Eric. Eric’s
observation that “she didn’t know what to do” implies both that he is attracted to Eva’s innocence, and also that he might realise that she is a woman he can exploit because of her ignorance.
