Eva Smith Flashcards
First impressions - Eva Smith
“She was a lively good-looking girl - country-bred”
“A very pretty girl too-with soft brown hair and big dark eyes”
“She had been pretty-very pretty”
‘What was she like? Quite young? Pretty?’
Each time when Eva is introduced the first thing that is mentioned is her appearance - this shows that she was being objectified and is still being objectified after her death - even women view her as this object, thinking her death is a shame purely because she is pretty - so she is still lucky in some ways because she wasn’t ugly-> impacts Sheila
“She’d had a lot to say - far too much” - Eva was outspoken and stood up for her rights to help her and the others around her - she did not want to be mistreated and lets this be known
Gerald and Eva - Eva Smith
“You were the wonderful fairy prince. You must have adored it, Gerald” - G takes advantage of a lonely young girl in danger as someone to rely on him, making him feel good about himself because he saved her - he is upper class, so can get away with this.
“She looked young and fresh and charming…wedged her into a corner”
“I’d hate you to know all about port - like one of those purple-faced old men”
Sheila has the power to talk back to G, but G seems to prefer a more subservient woman like Eva (Daisy) who relies on him and seems not to have her own thoughts/opinions (We dont see any opinions of hers at least)
Never shown to be inherently good or bad. Sees himself as her saviour only wanted to give her “a little friendliness” due to her being “pretty” - showing his more surface level desires.
He took advantage of the situation to feel better about himself through the guise of supporting her. He “didnt ask for anything in return”, but didnt actively oppose any advances she made. “I suppose it was inevitable”
Even S can see that D was positively impacted “happier than she’d ever been”
He disposed of her without much thought but he gave her genuine joy, so the interpretation of his impact on her is left up to the audience as we never hear from D herself, apart from excerpts from her diary told to the Birlings by the Insp
Eric and Eva - Eva Smith
“Well, I’m old enough to be married, aren’t I?”
“Broke out and had a bit of fun sometimes”
Double standard between Eva and E. Both are young yet only one of their lives has been ruined as a result of the same situation. Eva ended up committing suicide due to getting pregnant out of wedlock however E stole, got a woman pregnant, possibly assaulted her and frequently got drunk and this is easily dismissed. Shows the contrast between them, largely based on gender but also class.
“And that’s when it happened” “I couldn’t remember her name or where she lived” “the hellish thing” “my God!”
“And this time we talked a bit… Told her my name and what I did”
Eva acts as more of a mentor to E. She looks down on him, thinking of him as immature and helping to save his reputation so he dosent waste his life with her despite it being implied that he harmed her - “in that state when a chap easily turns nasty”
Class - Eva Smith
“One Eva Smith has gone-but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us”
Eva is representative of the larger population. Priestley uses the character of Eva to convey his message of social responsibility during The Inspector’s exit speech. Priestley’s use of repetition and a triplet develops rhythm and momentum, building up to his point about the quantity of poor still living.
Eva is used as a symbol to show that the working class are united in their suffering, transcending needs for divisions based on gender as class is the cruelest divide in society based on nothing but ego and hunger for power.
“She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl in her position.”
Drives the plot - Eva Smith
Eva Smith never appears on stage and has no dialogue, - “She kept a rough sort of diary.” - this is immediately symbolic of the working classes lack of voice in society. Priestley signals to the audience through the symbolism of her name that she represents all working class people that suffer the effects of inequality in society. “Eva” referencing “Eve” - the mother of all women and Smith being the most common surname in Britain. It is the lack of voice that first signals the imbalance of power.
Despite having such an insignifcant affect on the others around her (being a regular ‘replacable’ working class woman), she causes these middle class and upper class people to crumble under the weight of guilt and remorse for what they have done. Eva is also representative that responsibility will be taken by these people, but it will be taken far too late, after someone has already died, and they will do everything they can to resist this responsibility because they have never had to take accountability for their problems unlike Eva - her problems with the child, being dismissed etc.
Every character has a connection with her in some way, showing how the working class were intrinsically connected to the upper class and our society shouldnt rely on these divisions because they are not as strong as they seem.
