Sheila Birling Flashcards
“A p g i h e t, v p w l.”
“A pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life.”
Description in the opening stage directions.
“I i t o y w m t h?”
“Is it the one you wanted me to have?”
Initially Sheila is simple and submissive.
“O, h h! W i a a?”
“Oh how horrible! Was it an accident?”
She is the only one that reacts to the news of Eva’s suicide. However, it seems a little superficial which perhaps reflects how women were taught to act at the time.
“G a c l - t p.”
“Girls aren’t cheap labour - they’re people.”
Sheila stands up to her father to defend women. This is her first step towards learning the Inspector’s lesson and turning away from her parents.
“I w a f.”
“I was absolutely furious.”
Sheila has a nasty streak in her that upper class girls so often have as a consequence of being brought up as little princesses.
“H g u t r - s t w h o.”
“He’s giving us the rope - so that we’ll hang ourselves.”
Sheila realised that they are all responsible before anyone else and so attempts to persuade her family to accept responsibility before it is too late.
“M, I t t w c a v.”
“Mother, I think that was cruel and vile.”
Now Sheila takes a stand against her mother as the gap between them widens.
“I f m t w y t.”
“It frightens me the way you talk.”
By the end Sheila is do affected by the Inspector that she cannot begin to relate to her parents or Gerald.
“W t I w i w a b a j.”
“Whoever that inspector was it was anything but a joke.”
Sheila continues to preach the Inspector’s message once he is gone.
“I k I t b - a I d s.”
“I know I’m to blame - and I’m desperately sorry.”
Sheila represents Priestly’s hope for the future generations.
