gender roles

Question 1

give a short summary of the theme of gender roles in the play:

Answer 1

• written in 1946, just after men came back from fighting in war, after a time when women had to fill men’s positions. changed existing perceptions - men had to acknowledge women were capable, allowing them freedom to work and earn money.
• however, not all men changed attitudes and stayed stuck in past, such as year 1912, when play was set. a time where women couldn’t vote. women were seen as obedient to husbands or fathers. had little right/power, viewed as mere objects with low intelligence.

Question 2

how does sheila’s (new woman) sense of gender roles develop throughout the play?

Answer 2

• at the beginning of play, Sheila was stereotypical upper class girl.
  - she’s excited to an unbelievable extent about engagement ring: ‘It’s wonderful… Mummy -isn’t it a beauty?’. use of ‘Mummy’ infantilises her, furthering role as stereotypical naïve girl of upper classes.
• women only deemed worthy if beautiful. demonstrates how men made beauty something women had to compete for. Sheila’s jealousy towards eva is as a result of being taught to be most beautiful in room.
  
  • ‘in a furious temper’ and took it out on
    eva because ‘jealous’, presents women
    as petty and cruel. she viewed eva as a
    threat because of her beauty.
• Sheila initially must repress feelings , respectable and conform to societal norms. speaks with ‘mock aggressiveness’ and interrogates Gerald in ‘half serious, half playful’ tone. is afraid of questioning men, the duality in ‘half’ connotes internal conflict between wanting to be assertive but not being able to because she’s a woman.
• after interrogation with inspector, no longer restrained. ‘why, you fool - he knows - of course he knows.’ no longer tolerates Gerald’s lies. challenging dominance and intelligence of a man, goes against patriarchal values.
  - power in relationship
  shifted. Sheila liberated,
  empowers her, making her stronger
  more capable than those still
  trapped in their lies.

Question 3

how do the men refer to the women?

Answer 3

talking about eva smith, birling says ‘she was a lively looking girl - country bred - i fancy.’
- ‘country-bred’ portrays her as animal-
livestock, not human being.
- phrase ‘i fancy’ suggests Birling is
fantasising about her as sexual
object.

‘I think miss birling ought to be excused from any more of this questioning… she’s had a long, exciting and tiring day… now she’s obviously had about as much as she can stand.’
- gerald suggests he knows her mind
better than she does - men stole
women’s voices. erased them from
conversations that concerned them.
- patronising and belittling tone. ‘long,
exciting, tiring’ presents women as
delicate and childlike.

Question 4

how does mrs birling (subordinate female) treat other women?

Answer 4

• her conservative views uphold patriarchal rule, and like Birling, her misogyny is directed at lower class women.
• mocking and reductive to other women, mirrors husband’s sexist condescension. refers to Sheila as ‘over-excited’, ‘a hysterical child’, ‘childish’. terms commonly used by men to undermine women. uses these to invalidate Sheila’s concerns, presenting her as irrational and immature.