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silencing + infantile treatment
Analysis
Context
Intentions
“Look-Mummy-isn’t it a beauty?” ACT 1
abundance of hyphens fragments her speech which emphasises her lack of voice and assertiveness as the fragments are very short and simplicistic
this regressive language reinforces that she has been sheltered from the hardships of life, resulting in her infantilised portrayal
this is indicative of how she is being silenced and examplifies her inferiority as a disenfanchised young woman
this lack of voice could be used to critique the lack of a political voice held be women in the edwardian era
this is further exacerbated by the presence of a question mark, suggesting she is seeking validation and reassurance on the worth of something based on its exterior
she is mesmerised by the ring and estatic about the marriage at the start of the play
this is a reference to the indoctrination she has been subject to by her capitalist parents
this has caused her entire being to be centered around the patriarchal expectations of her to get married in order to advance her family socially
similarly, she also finds comfort in the ring as it is a sysmbol of financial security.
her naivety and opression facilitates this transcational marriage
this makes her emblematic of the typical opression undergone by edwardian women
sheila’s naievety is used by priestley to indict the objectification and dehumanisation that resulted from the upholding of both patriarchal and capitalist structures
Similarity with Eva
Analysis
Context
Intentions
“a pretty girl in her early twenties” - sheila stage direction
“twenty four…very pretty” - description of eva
priestley draws parallels between Eva and Sheila
both are opressed by the patriarchy and have their inherent worth valued on their external appearance - confined to these opressive expectations regardless of class
however, their perceptions of the future are presented as a stark contrast by Priestley and as a
direct result of the divisions in social class. Sheila is “very excited” by her potential life of higher
social status through marriage to Gerald whereas Eva’s suffering was so great that she committed
suicide; she couldn’t bear to experience the future.
this distinction enables Sheila to live carefree whilst Eva was sentenced to a life of constant suffering
The audience is made to realise this to allow Priestley to convey his promotion of socialism through this
juxtaposition of characters, within this didactic play
Alternatively, it could be argued that Priestley creates these similar characteristics between Sheila and Eva as it enables the audience to feel more empathy with Sheila. Moreover, it makes it more believable
that Sheila would change in her beliefs once she is made aware of how similar she is to Eva.
she becomes the most responsive to Priestley’s message as she can empathise the most (out of
the Birlings) for Eva and the working classes.
is also able to see the events through the desperate
perspective of Eva, due to their similar experience
Sheila is not exploited to the same extent as Eva is, yet, Sheila is nonetheless controlled by
men and surrenders her own autonomy at the start of the play.
Liberation through socialism
“these girls aren’t cheap labour - they’re people” ACT1
girls connotes innocence and vulnerability
sheila has recognised that upper class members of society who typiclly possess capitalist ideologies, exploit the innocence of the working class
additionally, sheila is also described as a “girl” and refers to the workers of birling’s factory as “girls”, suggesting that she has become somewhat perceptive to the suffering of the working class and that she isn’t as deeply entrenched in capitalist ideologies
she demontrates the ability to see them as “people” and notice their humanity and worth outside of social class and the workplace. this subverts from the capitalist dehumanisation and she also views them as “girls” just like her, juxtaposing Mrs Birling’s remark of “girls of that class”.
as Sheila is a member of the younger generation, priestley may be suggesting that socialist ideologies are more inherent and natural as even the middle class youth from a capitalist family are still able to display these and also that they are more morally pure and also that her youthfulness is responsible for her assimilation of the inspector’s message.
this is the beginning of her disgust and rejection of capitalists dehumanising and unscrupluous behaviour
her direct indictment of her father’s explotative ways through a confrontational and assertive tone contrasts her previsous feeble presentation and illuminates her liberation through socialism
Sheila’s change in mindset to become more receptive to the Inspector’s message allows her to continue his message and act as his proxy when the Inspector himself departs and therefore continues the role of priestley’s mouthpieace until the end of the play,
Understanding of the omniscience of the inspector
Analysis
Context
Intentions
“you mustn’t try to build a kind of wall between us an that girl. if you do, the inspector will just break it down” ACT 2
sheila goes from being ridiculed in act 1 to mocking and ridiculing her ignorant family
they are completely oblivious to the inspector’s ominscience so she attempts to educate them
through this, she becomes one of the shrewdest characters, despite her previously naive and “hysterical” presentation as she is the first to recognise both the intent and moral message that the inspector was trying to propagate
the metaphor of a wall is symbolic of the barrier the birling’s have placed around themselves in order to differentiate themselves from the plight of the working class and also to keep their pristine reputation untainted by the immorality of their exploitation of the working class as this could be scandalous and destroy their facade.
by extention, this is a microcosm for the class divide and the way that the upper class believe that they are not “members of one body” with the lower classes.
the modal verb “will” gives an implication of certainty which signifies the superficiality and fragility of social class as the divisive “wall” “will” “break”.
when this metaphorical “wall” is broken between the birlings and eva, they are forced to move out of their “pink and intimate” bubble of ignorance and face the harsh reality of their role in eva’s demise and perhaps even recognise that there is nothing really seperating them from them which sheila is very receptive too.
this allows priestley to through the inspector who is a mouthpiece, to further underline that after removing the capitalist facade of social class, we are “all members of one body” and that this socialist view is more fundamental than the superficial capitalist one.
Sheila’s very clear acceptance of this begins to convey to the contemporary audience to face that they too have social responsibility
Realisation of the wider impact of capitalism
Analysis
Context
Intentions
“[rather wildly, with laugh] No, he’s giving us the rope- so that we’ll hang ourselves” ACT 2
become empowered through her development of empathy and responsibility, causing her to be a foil to her remorseless and irresponsible parents
stage direction “[wildly]” - she has become disillusioned with capitalism and proper etiquette of her class - unapologetically free from the contraints
“rope” - intertwined fibres mimick her recognition that everybody in society is intertwined with responisbilities and have a moral obligation to protect “millions and millions” of the less privileged members of society.
she reniforces a motif of death with the vivid diction of “hang” and the reminder to her mother that eva “died a horrible death”
priestley uses sheila to convey to the audience that their careless neglect can, in some extreme cases, lead to death or suicide, they can also prevent it through a more morally aligned way of living which is socialism
rejection of the patriarchy
Analysis
Context
Intentions
in act 1, Sheila is overjoyed about her engagement calling her ring “perfect” as it made her “reaaly feel engaged”
in act 3 gerald “holds up the ring]” to which sheila replies “no not yet it’s too soon. i must think”
An integral part of how Sheila was defined in act one was through her engagement to Gerald, symbolising a typical relationship within a patriarchal society
priestley utilises a cyclical structure throughout the play, most visibly through an inspector arriving at the beginning and at the end. Howevever, he also uses this through the cyclical presentation of Gerald and sheila’s engagement
it would have been atypical at the time for a woman to be doubtful about marriage, even in the case of infidelity and especially when their spouse was of higher class like gerald
this demonstrates a rejection of the patriarchy
liberation reflected through stage directions
Analysis
Context
Intentions
in Act 1, the lighting is [pink and intimate]
once the inspector arrives, it becomes [brighter and harder]
Act 1 [trying to be light and easy]
reflective of her rose tinted and distorted view of the world around her
symbolises how the inspector has shown sheila the [hard] and harsh reality of capitalism in an attempt to ‘bright’en her views on morality
in act one she is trying to play into the expectations of her
in act 2, her tone changes, speaking [bitterly]- beginning of sheila’s scorn of capitalism and its views. as gerald is speaking, she is also [cutting in], reinforcing how she has gained a voice and is even interjecting in the man she was supposed to obey.
act 3 - to her father [protesting] and [scornfully] - goes from bitterly to scornfully - her open cricisim to her father’s exploitative and dehumanising ways
Acts as the inspector’s proxy
Analysis
Context
Intentions
“what he made me feel. fire and blood and anguish” ACT
precise repetition, even of the polysyndeton “and” - sheila is desperately trying to reinforce the belligerent and relentless consequences of having no social conscience
additionally, anguish accompanies remorse
sheila provides a moralistic example for her family to follow, showing her development of empathy as she now “feels” remorse
priestley uses sheila as a recipient of his message and his mouthpiece as she takes on the inspector’s socialist ideologies
thus, sheila becomes a symbol of hope for a 1945 audience; the ignorant, sheltered youth of capitalists are able to repenr and reform when provided with a moral example
Note
Flashcard