"Influenza"

• Analysis

  The reference to "influenza" in the play is deeply symbolic of how women's opportunities in 1912 were precariously dependent on external, uncontrollable factors like chance or misfortune. Eva only secures her position at Millward’s due to the death of the previous worker from influenza, highlighting how economic independence for women was not based on merit or fairness but often on luck or tragedy.This underscores the systemic disadvantages women faced in the job market, where even their survival often depended on the misfortune of others, reflecting the loaded, patriarchal strctr.
• Alternative interpretation

  The mention of influenza can also be read as an indictment of how women’s lives were undervalued and treated as expendable in 1912. While Eva's brief opportunity is born from another woman's death, it underscores the fragility of women's empowerment in this era. Priestley critiques this systemic imbalance, suggesting that societal structures not only fail women but perpetuate their subjugation through cycles of misfortune.
• Themes

  Economic Independence: Priestley uses the influenza reference to emphasise the lack of stable economic independence for women, as their opportunities were often shaped by tragic or arbitrary events. 

  Gender Inequality: The quote links to broader themes of gender inequality, where women’s lack of power is exacerbated by societal structures that prioritise men.

  Exploitation and Fate: The play critiques how capitalist society exploits women, reducing them to mere commodities whose lives are shaped by forces beyond their control.
• Writers intention

  Priestley uses the idea of influenza to highlight the fragility of women’s empowerment and the systemic inequalities of the early 20th century. By 1945, women had experienced new opportunities during the war, but Priestley warns that a return to capitalist dominance would strip them of their newfound independence. Through Eva’s plight, Priestley advocates for a socialist future, where women can achieve true empowerment and economic stability, unshackled from patriarchal systems.