Mrs Lyons

• Lonely and dissatisfied 


  She is unable to have children, she uses Mrs johnstones difficulties and superstitious nature to persuade her to give her one of her twins

  Audiences sees she is capable of lying to her husband to get her way

  She is presented as financially reliant on her husband get emotionally unsupported
• Dysfunctional relationships

  When she had the baby, she fired Mrs Johnstone breaking her promise to allow her to see her son and showing the audience her careless disregard for others

  She insists on good manners from Edward and tells him working class children are bad influences in a bid to keep their brothers apart and maintain a lie

  during a confrontation over Mickey and Edward‘s friendship, she slaps Edward and insists he stays isolated from friends ignoring his emotional needs
• Superstition and lack of accountability

  After playing on Mrs Johnstones superstitious nature she becomes superstitious about her deceit; she is unable to deal with her loss of control

  She becomes violent attempting to stab Mrs Johnstone

  Children sing songs about her being the “mad woman”

  By the end her bitterness makes her tell mickey about Edward and Linda’s affair - this is the event that leads to the violent deaths of both twins
• Privileged


  When she tells her husband she is pregnant he gives her a large sum of money to buy what she needs for the baby in contrast to Mrs johnstones character

  The policeman has a drink with Mr. And Mrs. Lyons playing down Edwards trouble with the law contrasting the way Mickey and Mrs Johnstone are treated.

  when she wishes to get Edward away from Mickey, she and husband buy a new house in a new town. This implies she can escape challenging situations easily, she depicts her inclination to try to outrun her past