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“Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years of reflection, and began to look round me and take stock of my progress and position in the world, I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life.”
Jekyll kept the sinful side of his personality repressed in favour of appearing to be a socially respectable man.
“He came out of his seclusion, renewed relations with his friends, became once more their familiar guest and entertainer; and whilst he had always been known for charities, he was now no less distinguished for religion.” (6)
Hyde disappears for a while, and Jekyll starts to come out of his seclusion and become his old social self: he visits friends and entertains people, goes to church and acts like a religious man.
Regains social side
“A fortnight later, by excellent good fortune, the doctor gave one of his pleasant dinners to some five or six old cronies, all intelligent, reputable men and all judges of good wine”. (3)
Jekyll is a sociable man. He holds dinner parties and he is well-known in the community for his reputable character. He behaves in a socially acceptable way, and he is very aware of how other people see him, especially amongst the upper class.
“My devil had long been caged, he came out roaring.”
The inner devil that Jekyll speaks of here is a manifestation of his unconscious desires and repressed pleasure-seeking elements.
The “devil” is a deliberate contrast and religious allusion to the Christian ideals of morality, goodness and purity.
The animalistic continuous verb “roaring” suggests that the creature within has been repressed so much that it's now aggressive and angry.
“I looked down; my clothes hung formlessly on my shrunken limbs; the hand that lay on my knee was corded and hairy.” (10)
Reveals the creature underneath the façade of Jekyll’s well-respected character
The “hairy” creature has been allowed to grow hair freely - an unrestrained and uncontrolled creature that is unlike Jekyll.
Jekyll is shocked at the uncontrollable transformations as he looks down upon his own body and sees the results of his experimentation.
The hand is a symbol of respectability and honour - and this is invaded by the hair that grows underneath his skin.
"He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something down-right detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why.”
This shows us that he is an unidentifiable character that does not blend in with the rest of society.
Hyde is deliberately described as vague and ambiguous to make the reader anxious about who this character actually is.
The idea that Hyde evokes fear in the other characters, but there is a non-specific reason for this, builds tension for the reader, and also leaves the reader to paint an image of Hyde that aligns to their own personal fears.
Hyde poses as a mechanism to revive the inner terrors and sins that exist within us.
“The other snarled aloud into a savage laugh; and the next moment, with extraordinary quickness, he had unlocked the door and disappeared into the house.”
Utterson is the omniscient narrator - the reader views the events of his investigation through his perspective. This is the first time we hear a description of Hyde from this well-trusted character.
Hyde is described as a “savage” character that we cannot describe - the adjective “savage” implies he is a degenerate without morals, and he also moves like an animal would.
The verb “snarled” is usually applied to animals, and has a sinister undertone.
The sibilance in this quotation also suggests that there is a sinister aspect to Hyde’s character.
This connotes to the context of Darwinism, and the idea that humans could possibly degenerate into the inner savage if the veneer of society were removed.
“There was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature”.
Hyde is described as “abnormal” which differentiates him from the other well-respected gentlemen in the novella.
Hyde is frequently referred to as a “creature” rather than a human and this evokes animalistic imagery.
We get the impression that Hyde is a pre-human troglodyte (caveman) that exists without civilisation and the laws and morals that dictate the civilised being.
“A man who was without bowels of mercy” (2).
Merciless
“He gives a strong feeling of deformity”
Strange and uneven
“His every act and thought centered on self” (10).
Selfish
“A dismal screech, as of mere animal terror, rang from the cabinet”
Primitive/ Non-human
“Snarled aloud into a savage laugh”
Primitive/Non-human
“ Clubbed him to the earth…with ape-like fury”
Primitive/Non-human
“Satan’s signature upon a face” (2)
Primitive/Non-human
“like a monkey jumped from among the chemicals“
Primitive/Non-human
"A rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile" (1).U
Serious and represses emotions
“The last good influence in the lives of down-going men" (1).U
Trustworthy gentleman
“I shall consider it my duty to break in that door” (8).U
Investigative and rational
“I felt bound to do as he requested” (9).
Faithful friend (to Jekyll)
"Welcomed him with both hands" (2).L
Kind
"Jekyll became too fanciful for me" (2).
Traditional scientist
“one a little man who was stumping along eastward at a good walk, and the other a girl of maybe eight or ten who was running as hard as she was able down a cross street.”
This strange recount of events starts the investigation into Hyde, and invokes Utterson’s curiosity.
“Well, sir...there's a rather singular resemblance; the two hands are in many points identical: only differently sloped.”
Utterson locks the letter into his safe that night, and thinks "Henry Jekyll forge for a murderer!" His blood runs cold in his veins.
“Sense of strangeness”
Jekyll’s house shows both sides of his character: the Hyde half has a “sense of strangeness”.
Jekyll’s house is divided, like his character - with the laboratory representing the shame and the hidden unconscious desires that Jekyll represses.
This is why the door is “blistered and distained” which indicates the decay that Jekyll hides from society.
"Barred with iron"
Jekyll’s house is described as “three dusty windows barred with iron”. The windows are blacked out, which could represent the unconscious part of his mind that he has suppressed and crushed from releasing.
“ Dingy windowless structure”
The laboratory is also described as a “dingy windowless structure”, which further suggests that his house is sinister.
“Voluntary bondage”
As Hyde becomes more powerful, this increases.
The house becomes a “house of voluntary bondage”, which shows that Jekyll has chosen to lock himself in the house. Just as he has tried to hide from Hyde emerging, so the house has become a vessel for harbouring his unconscious and hidden self.
“district of some city in a nightmare”.
The streets are often empty, creating a sense of silence and mystery.
Hyde’s attacks take place there, and there is therefore a nightmarish atmosphere around London’s streets.
This is also emphasised by the use of pathetic fallacy (when weather is used to reflect the mood) and metaphors that describe the fog and the streets as frightening places.
“Embattled vapours”
The lack of characters makes the streets seem isolated and mysterious. Instead of being highly populated, there is a movement of “embattled vapours”.
We also hear: “a fog rolled over the city in the small hours”.
These dynamic metaphors suggest that there are clandestine (secret) forces working within London, and these sinister forces of evil manifest in the weather and the conditions of fog and vapours in the air.
“Blistered and distained”
Jeykll’s door
“A fog rolled over the city in the small hours”
Threatening place
“Not truly one”
Jekyll is a well-respected gentleman, so he has to keep his sins and desires well-hidden and secret from the rest of society.
The repressive society Jekyll lives in convinces him that man is "truly two".
Jekyll’s struggle with his evil side leads him to create Hyde, but this experiment does not go to plan and his evil side ends up overriding his good side
“Perennial war among (his)members”/ “contended in the field”
Stevenson uses language associated with battles and wars to illustrate and allude to this internal conflict within Jekyll.
"For any drug that so potently controlled and shook the very fortress of identity, might, by the least scruple of an overdose or at the least in opportunity in the moment of exhibition, utterly blot out that immaterial tabernacle which I looked to it to change
This references the Israeli tabernacle, which was said to house God.
Jekyll uses it to reference his body/soul. It suggests he wants to use his body for experimentation.
In many ways, he is experimenting with God himself
“Captives at Philippi”
After the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, the victors, Antony and Octavius, released the captives. The captives were those who had supported Brutus and Cassius (the defeated), Julius Caesar's assassins.
Hyde is unexpectedly freed from his prison and causes more trouble.
“This inexplicable incident… seemed, like the Babylonian finger on the wall, to be spelling out the letters of my judgment”.
King Belshazzar was a Chaldean King. Because he did not bow to the Israeli (Judeo-Christian) God, a ghostly hand appeared and wrote out his death sentence on a wall with his finger.
The kingdom was invaded that night. Jekyll alludes to this biblical scene because it explains his mental state of conflict, and how he has set himself up against God.
It also foreshadows Jekyll’s death and evokes a feeling of doom.
“Trampled calmly“
In Chapter 1, Enfield reports seeing Hyde “trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming”.
The juxtaposition of "trampled calmly" indicates how Hyde feels no remorse for his crimes, and how the act of violence is a habitual event that he fulfils without much contemplation.
"Delight from every blow"
It is shocking how much pleasure Hyde gets from the murder of Carew.
He feels “glee” and tasted "delight from every blow" as he attacked him.
“O brawling love! O brawling hate!” And “Misshaped chaos of well-seeming forms!
At the start of the play when Romeo thinks that he is in love Rosaline, he speaks in oxymorons (opposite ideas)
He feels that his love for Rosaline is ‘brawling’ because it feels like an internal battle for him- he cannot stop himself loving her, so he feels physical pain because of how strong his love is
He describes the situation as ‘loving hate’ because he hates the situation he fins himself in, but he still loves Rosaline
‘Do my heart love till now..For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night’
As soon as he sees Juliet at the party, he stops feeling any love for Rosaline
He realises that what he felt for her was not real love and that no one else can compare to Juliet
He also uses hyperbole to comment on Juliet’s beauty, her appearance, and says how he has fallen in love with her because of that. This could suggest he is still immature at this point.
‘Good Capulet- which name I tender as dearly as my own- be satisfied’
In the previous scene, Romeo and Juliet were married. But Tybalt does not know that Romeo is now related to him.
IN this quote, Rome is trying to calm Tybalt down by saying that he values the Capulet name as much as he values his own name- he gives this as his reason for refusing to fight Tybalt
He begs Tybalt to ‘be satisified’ with his explanation and to stop trying to provoke (encourage) him into a fight.
This highlights Romeo’s growing maturity at this point
‘Mercutio’s souls is a little way above our heads.. either you, or I, or both must go with him.’
Immediately after Tybalt murders Mercutio, Romeo loses control of his own emotions and attacks Tybalt to get revenge
In this quote, he tells Tybalt that one, or both, of them must die and join Mercutio in heaven.
This shows how Romeo’s personality dramatically changes in an instant
He becomes obsessed with vengeance. He suddenly cares very little for himself or for Juliet
‘Shake the yoke of inauspicious stars from this world-wearied flesh’
inauspicious- unpromising, deceiving
He feels that he must kill himself to stop his unlucky fate from happening. He sees no other way out.
Shake the yoke- to discredit Alliteration of ‘world-wearied’ being buried with Juliet will make him forget about all of his troubles.
‘I’ll look to like, if looking liking move.’
Shakespeare uses some wordplay to take advantage of two possible meanings of “look”: In the first sense, "look" means "expect." Juliet expects to like Paris, after she sees him. In the second sense, "looking" simply means "seeing." Once she sees Paris, if she likes what she sees, she'll like him.
Juliet first scene establish the dysfunctional hierarchy of her family and the Elizabethan era contrast to her outburst and disobedience later on in the play
‘too rash, too unadvis’d, too sudden, too like the lightening, which doth cease to be…”
Triadic structure to tell him that their love is happening too quickly and that there could be some bad consequences if they let it get too serious too fast.
In this simile Juliet is comparing their exchange of vows to lightening. She describes it as something that is too rash, too sudden, like lightening which ceases to be before anyone can even say it is there.
‘If that thy bent of love be honourable, thy purpose marriage’
Although she had bad feelings at first, Juliet is the one who suggests marriage to Romeo (a few hours after they meet).
She is still a bit unsure about Romeo’s motives, so asks him if his intentions are serious.
She says that he should be thinking about marriage if he loves her.
This could suggest that she is emotionally immature. They barely know each other and she is rushing towards marriage.
‘I have bought the mansion of a love, but not possess’d it’
This quote shows Juliet’s sexual maturity. She talks of her desire to consummate her marriage to Romeo by having sex with him on their wedding night.
She understands that (in her Catholic society), she must wait until she is married to have sex, but also that sex is an important part of marriage.
She wants to consummate her marriage because she wants to feel ‘properly’ married.
‘What if it be a poison, which the friar subtly had minister’d to have me dead,lest in this marriage he should be dishonour’d’
Shakespeare brings out the tragedy of Juliet’s character here. Juliet is more and more isolated from her family and from anyone who could help or advise her.
She now has no choice but to rely completely on Friar Laurence for help. This leaves her vulnerable, as she doesn’t know his motives.
She wonders if Friar Laurence actually intends to poison her, so he can hide that he married Romeo and Juliet. This causes audiences to feel great amounts of sympathy for Juliet.
‘Where is my Romeo’
As Juliet wakes from her prolonged sleep, her first thought is to ask where Romeo is. This emphasises the tragedy in the story - the audience has just watched Romeo kill himself because he thought Juliet was dead.
Juliet is now completely alone – her family and friends think she is dead, her husband is dead, and Friar Laurence is about to run away.
This question shows that all she wants is to be with Romeo (calling him 'my' Romeo to show how possessive she feels about him). But the tragic truth is that her future with him is now over.
‘If love be rough with you, be rough with love. Prick love for pricking and your beat love down.’
This quote highlights the difference in personalities between Romeo and Mercutio.
Romeo is a romantic and loves the idea of love; Mercutio feels that love is momentary (lasts moments) and purely sexual – he does not take love seriously.
‘Dishonourable, vile submission’
Tybalt insults Romeo by calling him a 'villain'. During the Elizabethan era, this word was very insulting to someone’s honour.
We would expect a man at this time to reply and defend himself. Mercutio steps in and fights Tybalt because Romeo does not defend his honour. This fight leads to Mercutio’s death.
“ A plague o’both your houses.”
Mercutio fights to defend his best friend’s honour. This is part of the reason why Mercutio wishes a 'plague' on both families as he dies.
The noun 'plague' has very negative connotations. England had experienced several waves of bubonic plague. The plague killed thousands of people.
So, Mercutio wishing such a horrible fate on these two families adds to the tragedy. Even Romeo’s best friend (and an ally of the Montagues) has had enough of the feuding (fighting).
‘Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes’
At first, Friar Laurence does not believe that Romeo’s love for Juliet is genuine (real).
He is confused about Romeo’s quick change of heart – up until the night before, he had been pining over his unrequited (not returned) love for Rosaline.
In fact, he suggests that men love with 'their eyes'. This implies that Romeo’s love is shallow (not deep) and only concerned with Juliet’s beauty.
'this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households’ rancour to pure love'.
This quote shows Friar Laurence’s reason for agreeing to marry Romeo and Juliet – he wants to join them together to link their families and turn their anger and aggression towards one another into love for each other
‘Take thou this vial, being then in bed, and this distilled. Liquor drink thou of’
Friar Laurence’s use of the imperative (ordering) verb 'take' shows that he and Juliet have started to form a trusting relationship. He can advise her to take a mysterious potion and she will do it.
Friar Laurence is Juliet’s only confidant at this point. He tries to help her – perhaps naïvely (showing not much judgement or experience), without really thinking his plan through.
'Romeo, there dead, was husband to that Juliet'.
It is Friar Laurence who tells the Prince, the Montagues and the Capulets the whole story after Romeo and Juliet have died.
He reveals the secret marriage and the events leading to the deaths. This makes the families realise the parts they played in the deaths of their own children.
‘Hie you hence to Friar Laurence’s cell./There stays a husband to make you a wife’
The Nurse knows that Juliet’s parents would definitely have forbidden Juliet’s relationship with Romeo. But the Nurse seems to only care about Juliet’s happiness. This supports the idea that she has a closer relationship with Juliet than her own mother does.
Although the Nurse does not understand Juliet’s feeling of romantic love, she supports her desire to be with Romeo as his wife.
‘For Juliet’s sake, for her sake, rise and stand.’
The Nurse plays an important role in Act 3. She talks Romeo out of killing himself when he is very upset. She reminds him to think about Juliet and to live for her.
This is futile (has no effect) as both characters commit suicide in Act 5. But the Nurse makes sure that they have the opportunity to spend their wedding night together before their untimely (happening early) deaths.
“ I think it best you married with the county
This simple statement is complete betrayal in Juliet’s mind. The Nurse, who had worked so hard to help Romeo and Juliet be together, seems to have changed her mind.
But this emphasises Juliet as a heroine - she doesn’t listen to the advice as she refuses to commit bigamy (marry someone new while already being married to someone).
This increases sympathy for Juliet because it is when Juliet loses her only real support.
‘Go girl, seek happy nights to happy days’
Could be suggested that is simply a light hearted sexual reference put in the play by Shakespeare to amuse the uneducated groundlings at the front.
Much of the Nurse’s language contains sexual banter and innuendo. She sees no problem in letting Romeo into the house for Juliet’s wedding night.
“ Part fools! Put up your sword; you know not what you do”
Benvolio enters the first scene and immediately shows that he is a peaceful character. He tells the servants to stop fighting and calls them 'fools'.
He tells them 'you know not what you do'. He is one of the few characters in the story who thinks before he acts.
He knows that the Prince is not happy with the families (as they have already had two huge fights on the streets of Verona).
He worries that the servants’ fighting will have bad consequences for the rest of the Montagues and Capulets.
‘Deaf to peace.. come back to Romeo”
Benvolio informs the Prince that Tybalt became obsessed with vengeance on Romeo, so much so that he became 'deaf' to all reasoning and killed Mercutio. After that, he fled but then came back for Romeo.
This tale allows the Prince to determine that Romeo is not the only one at fault; Tybalt started the fighting and would not stop.
This means that the Prince decides to banish Romeo to Mantua, instead of putting him to death (after threatening this in Act 1 as a consequence to any further fighting in the streets).
‘What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word as I hate hell, all Montagues and thee’
Tybalt repeats the abstract noun 'peace'. He refers to it as just a 'word'. This suggests he is mocking Benvolio’s suggestion that they stop fighting. To him, 'peace' is meaningless and pointless.
The repetition of the pronoun 'I' suggests that Tybalt only cares about how he feels. It also suggests that he is not thinking about the possible consequences of fighting.
'Now, by the stock and honour of my kin / To strike him dead, I hold it not a sin'.
Tybalt does not use rhyming couplets very much in the play. This suggests that he is not a loving character.
Whenever Tybalt does use them, he is usually talking about killing other people. This could suggest that the only love Tybalt feels is the love of revenge and murder.
Tybalt reinforces this when he says that he does not think it a sin to murder Montagues. He may think of them as less-than-human or evil.
‘Thou art a villain’
Tybalt shouts this insult at Romeo.
This phrase is meant to insult and anger Romeo because it suggests that he is dishonest and of a lower-class.
During the Elizabethan era, honour was very important. So Tybalt uses this insult to try to make Romeo fight back.
It actually causes Mercutio to leap in to defend his best friend. This ultimately causes Tybalt’s own death.
‘A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life’
. It also refers to destiny and the inevitability of the two characters' paths crossing.
Its claim was that everything in human life is controlled by the movement of the stars. It was very complicated and a very powerful influence still in Elizabethan life. Human beings who tried to defy their stars always failed because the power lay entirely with the stars
‘My mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the stars’
Links with ‘star-cross’d lovers’
‘O, I am fortune’s fool’
After Tybalt and Mercutio die, Benvolio tells Romeo that Prince Paris will probably doom him to death if he's caught.
Romeo calls himself Fortune's fool. Romeo is discreetly referencing the prologue, where the audience learns that Romeo and Juliet are fated for misfortune.
But Romeo also feels Fortune is being especially cruel; he just got married, and he might be put to death. His words bring the idea of fate and destiny back into the audience's mind.
‘From ancient grudge
break to new mutiny’
“The violent delight have violent ends’
Such extreme emotions about that kind of pleasure often end in disaster.
‘With a club, dash out my
desperate brains?’
‘If I profane with my unworthiest hand’
Romeo refers to his "unworthiest hand," suggesting that he does not have the right to take Juliet's hand, and that to do so is disrespectful (line 92). Profane may therefore mean "treat disrespectfully."
“My only love sprung
from my only hate!’
“Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch!’
This tells the reader that Lord Capulet thinks his daughter doesn't realize how lucky she is to marry Paris, someone who has such great qualities. Capulet also uses the adjective "disobedient" to describe Juliet, as she is failing to obey her own father
Contrasts with ‘let two more summers wither in their pride,ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.’
“ I can’t accept any responbility’
Throughout the play, Mr Birling refuses to accept that he played any part in Eva Smith’s death.
He argues that his involvement with Eva was so small and unimportant that it could not have led to her death.
He implies that Eva’s misfortune was her own fault.
Birling shows upper-class pre-war attitudes of denial (not accepting blame) and refusing to acknowledge the consequences that their actions had on lower-class people.
‘A man has to make his own way - has to look after himself – and his family too’
Priestley uses Birling to highlight selfish capitalist views.
Right before Inspector Goole arrives, Birling is seen trying to educate Gerald and Eric on how he feels the world should work – he encourages them to only think about themselves and not to help anyone else in society.
He feels that people can only be responsible for themselves – he feels that everyone is responsible for their own fate.
He thinks if people fail, it is their own fault.
‘Well, it’s my duty to keep labour costs down, and if I’d agreed to this demand for a new rate we’d have added about twelve per cent to our labour costs.’
Negativity of capitalism:
Mr Birling is used to show the capitalist viewpoint throughout the play.
His primary aim is to succeed in business, and so he cares about money more so than people.
He argues with Inspector Goole that he could not have raised Eva Smith and the others’ wages, as he needs to run his business effectively – he needs to make as much money as possible, which he cannot do if he pays the workers more.
This highlights the selfishness of capitalism. Capitalism was designed to reward the business owners, not those actually doing the work
‘Is there any reason why my wife should answer questions from you, Inspector
Patriarchal head of the household:
This quotation highlights Mr Birling as the patriarchal (male ruling) head of his household.
Mr Birling assumes a protective role over his wife.
He tries to defend her while treating her as if she cannot defend herself. This power struggle returns between the two men, while Mrs Birling is not directly addressed, even though the conversation is about her.
Entitled upper-middle-class man
Alternatively, this could be more about Birling highlighting his expectations as a member of the upper middle class – he does not feel that the Inspector’s questions deserve any sort of response from his upper-class wife.
He feels that she is above this interrogation.
The tone of this seems quite condescending on Birling’s part, and is designed to put the Inspector in his place.
Mrs Birling will not even respond to him herself because he is beneath her.
'You! You don’t seem to care about anything. But I care. I was almost certain for a knighthood in the next Honours List’
Mr Birling uses the second person pronoun ‘you’ to verbally (with words) attack his son and show how he is separating Eric’s ideas from his own – they have become ‘you’ and ‘I’, two very different people who have completely opposite ideas about life.
Eric wants the family to take responsibility for their actions and think of other people, while Birling is obsessed with his reputation and is desperate to get his knighthood.
This shows a huge crack in the façade (fake image) of the Birling family
Mr Birling exclaims this at Eric.
The irony here is clear – Mr Birling repeatedly says that Eric doesn’t care about anything; in reality, it is Mr Birling who does not care about anyone but himself.
‘This makes a difference, y’know. In fact, it makes all the difference
As far as Mr Birling is concerned, the most important factor in the story is that Inspector Goole is not a real police inspector.
This is vital for Birling because he knows that the story of Eva Smith is now unlikely to end in a scandal for him.
He doesn’t care about his actions on the girl’s life or the effect of these actions on the girl herself.
If the Inspector has no connection to the police, he has no power to cause problems for Birling, and so Mr Birling is prepared to forget the whole story and continue with life as before.
‘ I’ve got to cover this up as soon as I can’
Mr Birling, as is consistent (stays the same) with his character throughout the play, only cares about covering up this story so it doesn’t affect their reputations, social status, or his chance at receiving a knighthood.
He consistently shows a selfish, self-centred attitude. He obsesses over his reputation. He is not very concerned with the consequences of his actions
‘When you’re married you’ll realise that men with important work to do sometimes spend nearly all their time and energy on their business. You’ll have to get used to that, just as I had.’
Mrs Birling highlights the gender differences in pre-war Britain – women generally had much less power and place in society than men.
Even upper-class women had to live by the rules of men.
Mrs Birling highlights this by trying to teach her daughter about the expectations for women.
‘Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things’
Mrs Birling has strong views about appropriate conversation topics, both at the dinner table and in front of company.
She scolds (tells off) Mr Birling many times for what she thinks are inappropriate comments or topics.
But although she is of a higher social class than him, she still has very little power over him because he is the male.
This means he is the head of the household and in charge of the family. The rules of a patriarchal (male-ruled) society were more important than the rules of social standing.
‘I don’t think you ought to talk business on an occasion like this’
Mrs Birling, being of a higher social class, understands the rules of pre-war etiquette (custom behaviour) very well.
She scolds (tells off) her husband for discussing business at the dinner table, when they are celebrating and her daughter is present.
Mrs Birling is obsessed with how she and her family are perceived by others – she does not want to risk Gerald thinking that they do not know how to behave properly in society because this could damage the Birlings’ reputation.
She also disapproves of Mr Birling mentioning business matters in front of Sheila.
This is because it was not considered appropriate to discuss business with women, who were thought to be too fragile, unintelligent and emotionally unstable to take part in such conversations.
‘You know, of course, that my husband was Lord Mayor only two years ago and that he’s still a magistrate?‘
This highlights the influence of the upper classes.
Most people would let the Birlings be treated differently and receive special treatment – both Mr and Mrs Birling find it unacceptable that Inspector Goole refuses to worship or fear them.
Priestley uses their attitudes to show the corruption (moral wrongness) in a society that lets the social classes be treated differently and, in some cases, not even be included in criminal investigations purely because of their social class.
'You seem to have made a great impression on this child'
Mrs Birling is talking to Inspector Goole.
She shows that she doesn’t respect Sheila as a young adult – she still thinks of her as a child, and talks about her as if she is not in the room.
She also belittles (plays down) the effect the Inspector has had. She suggests that this ‘impression’ will be short-lived, and that Sheila will not be permanently affected by him.
It’s you – and not the Inspector’
This exclamation from Mrs Birling to Sheila shows a crack in their apparently-perfect family façade (fake image).
The family members have begun to separate. They verbally attack one another, suggesting that their perfect family is not so perfect after all.
‘ She had only herself to blame‘
Mrs Birling says many times that Eva Smith was to blame for her own fate, and for the charity refusing to help her. She then goes on to blame the man who got Eva pregnant.
At no point in the whole play does Mrs Birling accept any responsibility for her own actions, or think that her actions may have negative consequences for others. She doesn't understand that she should think about other people.
Mrs Birling only cares about her own family, how they look to other people, and keeping (or improving) their social standing.
‘ Go and look for the father of the child. It’s his responsibility’
As soon as Mrs Birling finds out that Eva was pregnant, she shifts all blame to the father of the child. -
As this man is described, dramatic irony (when the audience knows something the characters don’t) unfolds as the audience realise that this man is actually Eric, Mrs Birling’s son.
As Mrs Birling continues her speech, the audience waits for her to work out that she is actively criticising her own son.
As long as this man is anonymous (not named), she does not care what happens to him.
When she starts to realise it could be her son, she stutters and stops talking.
‘It would be much better if Sheila didn’t listen to this story at all’
Mrs Birling focuses on how her family should behave around other people – she feels that Sheila should not be exposed to the nasty reality of the tale of Eva Smith.
She tries to protect Sheila from the harsh truths of life.
This suggests that the upper class did their best to avoid recognising the hardships of working-class people – these harsh truths are considered inappropriate for Sheila to hear.
Mrs Birling is happy for Eva Smith (who was around the same age) to experience them first-hand – because she is lower-class.
‘but I didn’t know it was you’
Mrs Birling only regrets her nasty comments about the mystery man who got Eva Smith pregnant when she realises it was her own son – she was more than happy for the man to receive swift and severe punishments because she did not know him.
This reflects social pre-war capitalist attitudes. People looked after themselves and their families. Mrs Birling felt that punishment was necessary for this man – until the man is revealed to be Eric, and then she changes her attitude.
‘I was the only one who didn’t give in to him.’
Mrs Birling views it as a victory that she did not accept any of the blame the Inspector tried to lay at her feet.
She is almost smug in this statement because she mocks the others for answering Inspector Goole’s questions truthfully.
In some cases, she mocks people for feeling the guilt he was trying to get out of them.
Again, this emphasises her selfish, uncaring and cold nature.
Why – you fool – he knows!’
This exclamation shows that Sheila has quickly realised that Goole is shrewd (has good judgment) and smart.
She knows that they cannot hide anything from him, and that he knows all of the answers and how they are all involved.
She knows he is asking them questions to get them to realise their involvement themselves.
She shows maturity and intelligence here.
‘Is it the one you wanted me to have… now I really feel engaged
Sheila doesn’t feel properly engaged until she gets a ring.
Upper-class women got a fancy ring when they got engaged to show that someone new (instead of their father) owned them.
Now that she's got the ring - the symbol of ownership - she seems to feel the new ownership too.
So I’m really responsible?’
Sheila’s first reaction to Inspector Goole’s questioning is to accept responsibility for her actions.
Although she is still very worried about how the experience affects her, she acknowledges that she played a key role in Eva Smith’s suicide.
This contrasts to Mr Birling’s complete denial.
‘Mummy – isn’t it a beauty?’
As the play opens, Sheila plays the stereotypical young, pre-war, higher-class woman whose role is to marry well and produce children.
She is excited to be marrying a good-looking, wealthy man and shows off her expensive engagement ring.
She uses the noun ‘Mummy’ when talking to her mother – this language suggests that she is quite child-like at the start of the play.
That she feels like she needs to show off her ring also suggests she is childish.
Priestley uses this to highlight how much she changes later on.
‘We really must stop these silly pretences’
Sheila quickly becomes the mature voice of reason (person who influences others to act sensibly) – she knows that the Inspector already knows how every member of the family was involved with Eva Smith.
She tries to get her family to just play along and tell the truth. This could also link to the idea that these upper-class people cared so much about presenting perfect personas that they never presented their true selves to anyone.
Priestley, through Sheila, tells these upper-class people that they need to care less about social appearances and more about the consequences of their actions.
You and I aren’t the same people who sat down to dinner here’
Sheila shows a great deal of emotional maturity.
She breaks her engagement because she realises that she does not really know her fiancé.
Although she had said many sarcastic, harsh comments to Gerald during his interrogation (questioning), she does not hate him. But she feels that she cannot commit to spending her life with a man she does not know – she is not worried about losing a close business connection (unlike her father).
I’m afraid you’ll say something or do something that you’ll be sorry for afterwards.’
At this point, Sheila understands the Inspector’s role in the story. She tries to warn her mother that the Inspector knows more than he seems to.
She knows that Inspector Goole is giving each character the rope to hang themselves with – he is letting them explore their own involvement and work out their own guilt.
Note 
Flashcard (245)