Shelia Flashcards
‘i don’t believe I will’
C = Shelia refuses to accept taking second place to her husbands business as her mother has done; reflects differences in generations and rise in suffragettes movement and campaign for equality for women.
‘Fairy prince’
L = metaphor. Shelia is using sarcasm to ‘ puncture’ Gerald’s representation of himself as Daisy’s noble saviour, realising it her vulnerability just appeals to his big ego. Irony = for Daisy as a WC women, life was a nightmare not a fairytale.
‘These girls aren’t cheap labour … they’re people’
C = Shelia begins to realise that her fathers workers are not just a collective workforce, but individual human beings, and deserve to be treated with respect. L = adj ‘ cheap’ normally applied to goods.
She looked as if she could take care of herself. I couldn’t be sorry for her
C = reflects class prejudice. Eva does not appear to be vulnerable or needy therefore S does not regret her actions. R = audience perceives S as spoilt and unsympathetic in abusing her power to get E sacked.
I know I’m to blame
Unlike her parents, S emerges as more mature as she changes as a character. She accepts that she is partly to blame for E’s death. C = reflects Priestly’s belief that hope for social change lies with the younger generation. R = many of the younger generation would be watching his play ost WW2 and want to change society for the better - NHS 1948 etc..
You mustn’t try to build up a kind of wall between us and the girl
L = metaphor. I = could represent the class divide that Mrs B tries to assert; could also represent Mrs B’s denial. Mrs B need to accept responsibility for others and accept the truth
You and I aren’t the same people
S has changed as a person and can no longer marry Gerald even if it would be financially advantageous. I = feminist interpretation - S has become more independent and will only marry on her own terms, not her father’s
You’re beginning ….. to pretend that nothing much happened … you don’t seem to have learnt anything
Unlike her parents, S and E change and learn that they have responsibility for others. L = parents not learning lessons link to inspector’s fire and blood speech and cynical structure of the play which disrupts its naturalism - doomed to repeat mistakes until they learn from them.
