SHEILA

• [pretty girl]

  • reinforcing how Sheilas purpose and value at the beginning did not surpass her physical value
  • "girl" infantilizes her and make her seem childish - we see her develop into someone with good moral views
• "yes, go on mummy" "you're squiffy"

  • her silencing is prevalent in act one as her speech is short and simplistic
  • disenfranchised woman
  • lack of a voice could be utilised by priestley to critique lack of a political voice woman had in the edwardian era
• "but these girls aren't cheap labour - they're people"

  • "girls" connotes innocence and vulnerability - sheila has recognised the upper class exploits the innocent and vulnerability of lower classes
  • one realisation previous sheltered Sheila would have never come to
• [rather wildly, with laugh] No he's giving us the rope - so that we'll hang ourselves"

  • [wildly] demonstrates how sheila has become disillusioned with the ideas of capitalism
  • she's now apologetically freed from these constraints and appears to not hold back this 'wild' side
  • "rope" has fibers that are intertwined, mimicking how sheila has recognised how everyone in society is intertwined with their responsibilities
• "What he made me feel. Fire and blood and anguish."

  • precise repetition of "and" - Sheila is desperately trying to reinforce the belligerent and relentless consequences of having no social conscience
  • acts as the inspectors proxy
  • provides moralistic example for her family to follow - showcasing development of empathy as she now "feels" remorse
• [pink and intimate]

  • the lighting in act one
  • reflective of the rose-tinted and distorted view sheila had on the world around her
• [bitterly]

  • her tone changes in act two - previously [light and easy]
  • beginning of sheilas scorn for capitalism and the ideas they support
• [scornfully]

  • from [bitterly] to [scornfully]
  • open criticism to her fathers exploitative and dehumanising ways