gerald Flashcards
1 “young man about town” “a pretty fortunate young man”
-irony concerning the repetition of adjective “young” to describe G
-within play, youth becomes associated with being “impressionable” + adopting socialist views
-G fails to live up to this ‘ideal’ that priestley proposes
-reinforces disappointment the audience feel towards G’s character
-we almost forgive MB + MSB as a result of their age
-G seems more consciously adhering to tropes of capitalism
1 “lower costs and higher prices” “Hear hear! And I think my father would agree to that”
-G ultimately stands for + supports capitalist beliefs perhaps even deeming them more important than his marriage seeing it as a business deal
-G is the product of his parent’ belief - internalised his capitalist upbringing
-exclamation after “Hear hear!” portrays G’s overzealous excitement at the prospect of money
-priestley ridicules him as he already has an excess of wealth - highlights excessive greed associated with capitalism
2 “she didn’t blame me at all. I wish to God she had now”
-G puts a facade of remorse so he appears respectable
-G temporarily seems to understand morality, but we later learn he doesn’t wish for any blame at all + is still actively trying to deny himself responsibility at the end of the play
-example of irony, the audience later become aware that his claims are false portraying him as deceitful
2 “he means I’m getting hysterical now”
-hysteria was a diagnosis used to marginalise women
-G colloquially uses this to exercise his power + establish a higher status
-G also wishes to silence S so he can manipulate the situation to make himself seem less responsible
2 “you think young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things” (said by I)
-ironic as E was exposed to an onslaught of “unpleasant and disturbing things” - G played a role in this
-his ‘protection’ of women is an example of sophistry as he’s hurting them
-direct address of pronoun “you” is accusatory
-reminder from priestley that the play is also questioning views of audience
3 “Everything’s all right now, Sheila. [Holds up the ring] What about this ring?”
-G wants to rid himself of responsibility by erasing events of evening
-metonymy of “ring” exposes his materialistic + capitalist views
-seems less emotionally invested in marriage
