Sheila Quotes Flashcards
‘Look Mummy - isn’t it a beauty’
- act 1
- superficial
- steryotypical, young, pre-war class woman
- her role in society is to marry + produce children
- so she is materialistic = showing off her expensive ring
- ‘mummy’ - childlike + immature
infantile noun choice - ‘look’ imperative verb seeking approval and attention
- symbol of wealth - lens of materialism has no moral conscience
‘ But these girls aren’t cheap labour - they’re people’
Foreshadows the potential for her to develop Condemning father’s treatment of working class but fails to acknowledge her own treatment of the same people - for the first time in the play a Birling is beginning to show an underatanding and express empathy for the working class. Recognises they have rights as well. - image of ‘these girls’ and ‘cheap labour’ makes them seem like machines, simply a tool for the upper class to use - challenges objectification and dehumanisation of women - plural ‘girls’ shows they have no individual identity. Sheila recognises they have value as individuals + younger characters are beginning to see all people deserve to be treated fairly - noun ‘people’ has associations with community + responsiblity to one another. Juxtaposes to what Birling was saying earlier in the play and shows a growing generation gap between parents and children.
‘But i can’t believe- i won’t believe - it’s simply my fault that in the end she - she committed suicide. That would be too horrible’
- act 2 - we have no sympathy for Sheila.
- relishes in the attention and melodrama
- early part of interrogation shows her selfishness
- wants to displace the blame
- I won’t believe it’ wilfully ignorant
- ‘too horrible’ shows her sheltered up-bringing
- Broken + stuttering showing her true feelings- contrasts greatly with the staged speeches duriny the engagement party.
Rep pronouns ‘I’ + ‘my’ foccusing almost entirely on herself - selfishly seeing the situation from her pov - egocentric behaviour
‘You talk as if we were responsible’
- Priestely alerts the audience to the possibility of the character’s involvement which foreshadows inspectors later stream of accusations
- she is defending herself + is self absorbed
- tone is defensive
- feels threatened by the inspector
- she views her actions in a vacuum so cannot connect ‘cause and affect’ fails to understand the chain of events that leads to Eva’s death
- wilful ignorance - incredulous
‘Mother, I think it was cruel and vile’ (shows her development use in last para)
-‘mummy’ now become ‘mother’
- refuses to be treated like a child = matured
- changing relationships with her family
- illusions of her parents have been shattered no longer perfect
- openly disagrees with her mother
- condemning mother’s continued callousness
—> completely unacceptable in post-war society
- voicing her opinion she is blunt, direct SHE APPROPRIATES THE VOICE OF THE INSPECTOR - WHICH IS VOICE OF MORAL JUDGEMENT
‘I suppose we’re all nice people now’ (end of play when Inspectors left realising he was not real)
- sees her parents in a new favourable light
- tone of sarcasm
- she realises that they all need to become more socially responsible whether or not you want to
- she is in stark contrast to her father who has not learned this lesson
- Sheila holds on fact that they all committed moral crimes
- genuine as she is not affected by potential repercussions
- maintains moral integrity
‘ I remember what he said, how he looked, and what he made me feel. Fire and blood and anguish
(Polysendetic list)
- shows the impact the inspector had a Sheila
- she has headed his warning
- Inspector lives on in younger generation as they want to create a more moral and equal society)
- She learnt the lessons the inspector wanted her to. Through this Priestly is promoting hope for future genrations
- reiterating the inspectors message. Priestly warns the audience of the potential consequences of failing to accept responsibility. Relates this to his Christian duty, reminds the audience that their actions on Earth will dictate how they are judged in the afterlife
- face repercussions in after-life
- selfishness is exactly what lead us into war so we need to become more compassionate + supportive of one another we will end up in the same situation over and over again
- attributes Mr Birling has is the characteristics
- household no longer is an echo chamber of Mr Birling’s views
- deeply resounded with her through (tricolon) ‘how he looked, and what he made me feel’
‘ It frightens me the way you talk’
She is becoming more socially aware
- upset + frightened by her familes acrions + refuses to accept responsibility
- worried her parents haven’t learnt anything + are not going to change
- feels helpless as she can’t convince her parenrs to recomsider their attitudes
‘I’d persuade mother to close our accounts with them’
- at Milward’s
- act of malevolence showing her egocentric + infantile behaviour
- being a woman (of a high social class) she has very little power which is financial power
She is absuing her limited power to supress + manipulate other women due to her jealousy + insecurities
‘ How could I know what would happen afterwards?’
- her actions catalysed more suffering for Eva
- egocentric behaviour
Priestly’s lesson: - nothing happens in a vaccum, all our acrions have reprocussions + we need to be held accountable for them
‘I was furious with her. I’d been in a bad temper anyhow’
- shows her infantile behaviour
- justifying her poor acrions
- her reaction is inproportional to what has actually happened due to her paranois + insecurities
‘At least, I’m trying to tell the truth. I expect you’ve done things you’re ashamed of too’
- deflecting her blame
Priestly is encouraging collective responsibility
‘She was very pretty too’
- paranoid
- she feels threatened by a girl of a lower social class, as she is expected to be better as she is of a higher social class.
- Priestly criticses society as they have taught women they are only desired for their appearance causing jealousy + insecurities. Which leads to women seeing each other as competition instead of uplifting each other.
‘ (miserably) So i’m really responsible?‘
Ostensibly she seems to feel gulity however that guilt and misery is misplaced and insincere. She is pitying herself instead of Eva showung her self - seeking behaviour and level of melodrama.
Asked a question - trying to get people to comfort + side with her
Mr Birling says ‘Now you have brought us together, and perhaps we may look forward to a time when Crofts and Birling are no longer competing but are working together - for lower costs and higher prices’
she is used as a bargaining chip
Mr Birling uses Sheila’s marriage to socially and economically advance
