Excludes Women

• Gerald attempts to exclude Sheila as she recognises that "he means that I'm getting hysterical".

  Hysteria was a disorder where historically has been used to exclude women from politics and society for having "unfeminine traits".

  Gerald is implying here that Sheila is too emotional to think clearly and logically; the thinking should be left to the men.
• He thinks that "young women should be protected from unpleasant and disturbing things" because they are too fragile to witness the harsh reality of the real world. This is ironic because Gerald failed to protect Eva from the "unpleasant and disturbing" sexual desires that he holds himself. Gerald's actual motive for Sheila to leave the room is so that she doesn't hear of his affair with Eva.