Sheila Birling Flashcards
What is Sheila a representation of
How young intelligent women are held back by what society believes they should be like due to dependency on how women need a man because “men are always busy at work”.
What is the evidence that Sheila is a young intelligent woman
“looks mummy”
Distrusts Gerald’s excuses for not seeing her: “yes that’s what you say”
The first to realise Eric is the father of the girl’s unborn baby
What is the evidence that Sheila is childish
Refers to Mr Birling as ‘daddy’ and Mrs Birling as “mummy” furthermore uses colloquial language ‘squiffy’
How is Sheila bitter
Makes a lot of sarcastic remarks about Gerald’s affair -when Gerald says Eva reacted well to the breakup she says ‘(with irony) that was nice for you’
What does Sheila make the audience think about
Makes the audience think about morals - ‘I had her turned out of a job. I started it.’ - shows she realises what she has done wrong and feels genuine remorse. The audience like this as she stands for what is morally right.
How is Sheila used by Priestley
Presents socialism by supporting the inspector and agreeing with his views - ‘between us we killed her’
Evidence that Sheila remain bitter
At the end of the play she is still quite bitter as she makes sarcastic remarks about Gerald’s affair ‘but you’re forgetting I’m supposed to be engaged to the hero’
Why might Sheila stay bitter
To show how the youth must live with the poor decisions of the older generation.
What is the evidence that Sheila has grown up during the play
At the start of the play she is very childish but towards the end she acknowledges her wrongdoings and accepts responsibility which shows she has grown up throughout the play
How does Sheila’s relationship represent separation from the new generation to the old
This gives her and Eric a stronger relationship as they are the only two characters who share the same views - ‘that’s just what I feel, Eric’ whereas at the start they are very argumentative
However, it damages the relationship between her and Mr Birling because their roles switch - Eva grows up and Mr Birling tries to pretend everything is okay ‘it’s you two who are being childish - trying not to face the facts’
