Sheila Birling Flashcards
Sheila Birling is…
Strong-minded: “I don’t believe I will. So you be careful”
Sharp: “He’s giving us the rope - so that we’ll hang ourselves”
Selfish: “You used the power you had… to punish the girl”
Moral: “But these girls aren’t cheap labour - they’re people”
Sheila’s childishness:
Stage directions say she is “Very pleased with life and rather excited”
Uses slang -“Squiffy’ - to remind the audience she is from a younger generation
Looks to her mother for approval “Look - Mummy-“
“Half serious, Half playful”
Sheila’s maturity:
Sheila’s maturity shines through as she shows she has wise instincts, and sees what the Inspector is doing
Proves she not naive and she knows men use prostitutes
Sheila’s morality:
Acknowledges her mistakes shows regret and is eager to learn from the consequences
Feels responsible “Between us we killed her”
Is changed by the experience “You and I are not the same people that sat down here for dinner”
She sees they must change and Priestley shows the audience there’s hope for change in the new generation
Sheila becomes so influenced by the Inspector she become one:
She asks Gerald as many questions as the inspector does
Reveals Eric’s drinking problem to her mum
She reveals to Eric it is Sybil who declined Eva’s help