Gender Flashcards
Not only something to make ‘em look prettier but well, a sort of sign or token of their self-respect
Birling has a patronising, stereotypical view of women, suggesting that he does not see him as individuals
I hate those hard-eyed dough-faced women
Gerald is shown to be very superficial in his view of women, as if they don’t meet his standard, he immediately dislikes them
After all I don’t often make speeches at you
Birling suggests that the reason he doesn’t make speeches at Sheila is because, as a women, she would not understand them. At the time, women were seen as being the weaker gender, of little intellect, so they would often be left out of situations like this
She’d had a lot to say - far too much - so she had to go
Mr Birling was shocked that Eva Smith, as someone of a lower class and a women, would dare to challenge his authority as her boss
And you think young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things
Gerald has the belief that women need to be protected against emotionally challenging situations, being too mentally weak to handle them. He thought emotions would cloud their judgement
It would be much better if Sheila didn’t listen to this story at all
Once again, women are being protected from distressing situations as they cannot emotionally handle it
Young, fresh and charming
The use of the adjective ‘fresh’, when describing Daisy dehumanises her. He implies that she was just someone who could amuse him until he no longer cared for the relationship. He knew that she was vulnerable and lonely and used it to his advantage, reinforcing the power men had in society.
Just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she was an animal, a thing, not a person
The audience is told how each man abused Eva, showing the men to be callous in exploiting women. However, Eric’s remorse also shows that Priestley believed if men changed their attitudes towards women, things would become better for everyone.
