Gender

Question 1

intro

Answer 1

In AIC, gender is shown to have a large impact on how people behave and are treated by society, and by doing this Priestley conveys how gender stereotypes actively prevent society from progressing.

Question 2

para 1

Answer 2

Towards the start of the play, Priestley explores the effect of gender roles within Birling’s patriarchal household

Priestley explores the behavior and lifestyle of a stereotypical upper class woman through Mrs B

• ‘when you’re married you’ll realise that men with important work sometimes have to spend all their time and energy on their business.You’ll have to get used to that, just as I did’-the phrase ‘just as I did’ suggests that this is tradition and how things should be, while ‘important work’ suggest that she she’s the men as the money makes, ‘adjective ‘important’ implies that she accepts that men are superior
• she references her husband’s positions as ‘Lord Mayor only two years ago’ – she doesn’t have her own identity or or power- her status was dependant in her husband’s position

Sheila represents the result of upbringing as an upper class female- an ignorant and immature character

• Use of childish colloquialisms ‘mummy’ and ‘daddy’ reveals her immaturity -
• ‘oh I wish you never told me’- the lack of ‘morbid curiosity’, protection of females leads to ignorance

Question 3

para 2

Answer 3

Explores Sheila as an unconventional female-allegory for woman’s suffrage

• ‘hysterical’ behavior seems very feminine, ‘in a furious temper’ – unable to control her emotion
• but she is able to speak more (str) and does so somewhat confidently ‘half serious, half playful’ – conflicting assertiveness and inability to be completely outspoken due to being a woman
• later she is no longer restraining, ‘why- you fool- he knows.Of course he knows’- shocking to call her fiancé a ‘fool’ in a patriarchal society, challenging his dominance and intelligence
• ‘she looks at him almost in triumph.He looks crushed’- shift in power, empowering the female in the relationship
• ‘hands him over the ring’ rejection of ownership of her

Eva represents the exploitation of women (especially lower class) society

‘There are a lot of young girls living that sort of existence in every city…if there weren’t, the factories and warehouses wouldn’t know where to look for cheap labour’- emotional use of the adjective ‘young’ reveals how even the most stereotypically vulnerable people in society ‘young women’ are exploitated for cheap labour.This is because women could be paid lower wages than men.

-Gerald ‘insisted her’- the verb implying that he forced her, he had intentions of making her his mistress

Question 4

para 3

Answer 4

Mr Birling represents the patriarch of his family, viewing his daughter merely as a possession to give away

• ‘she’ll make you happy,’ alludes told the belief that Sheila’s role if to please her her husband.She is like a gift to Gerald, in order to build a relationship between crofts and birling and co for ‘lower costs and higher prices’
• Structural talks a lot representing his power in the household, but Inspector takes over

Gerald and Eric saw Eva as a possession-

• Eric claims ‘She was pretty and a good sport’ – valued for a her looks, sport makes her seem like entertainment
• Gerald “set her up as his mistress and then dropped her when it suited him” - verbs ‘set up’ and ‘dropped’ portray Eva as an object
• “young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things”- Gerald’s selfish hypocrisy revealed- this clearly is not the case with what he has done to Eva by exploiting her

He does this to criticise the sexual exploitation of these young vulnerable women

However, they show emotions, which may seem hysterical, but Priestley does this to show that emotion is needed for people to empathise therefore see the need for change

• ‘[involuntarily] my god!’
• ‘sorry- Ive suddenly realised-…- she is dead