Women essay

What does IAC reveal about attitudes to women in 20th century Britain?

Summarise how Priestley uses characterisation to portray his views of women.

Mrs Birling 1) epitomises sexist gender roles of early 20th century: she is completely happy to be defined by her husband’s position in society. ‘You know my husband was Lord mayor….’
2)has very fixed roles on class, ‘girls of that class’…she despises the lower class, seems to see girls such as Eva as whorish… thus Priestley uses her to expose the snobbery and hypocrisy of the upper class.
3)Priestley presents her as absurd.  Very confident at the beginning/completely exposed at the end. Her speech gradually becomes more fragmented as she learns the full extent of her son’s crimes against his own father and against Eva. ‘No – Eric- please’ >>> She falls into a trap of her own making, condemning Eric and then realising that he is guilty.
Therefore, Priestley uses her to show how outdated and fragile traditional attitudes to women are.
Paragraph 2:
Sheila represents hope for the new generation … and indicates a new kind of attitudes towards women. Complete transformation from the beginning to end which shows how a confrontation with socialist views can effect great change. Childlike language at the beginning changes to more mature, articulate language.
‘I’m sorry Daddy’, ‘If I could help now, I would’.
Equality between men and women, women not as merely decorative but as playing a key social role. This would have seemed very credible to the 1945 audience as perhaps some women in the audience would themselves have been involved in the war effort as nurses or factory workers. Priestley through Sheila hints that women are a vital part of securing hope for the future.

Eva Smith/Daisy Renton
-       Eva Smith is a symbol of the vulnerable and victimised women, who are discarded by society, ‘burnt out insides on a slab’.
-       Sheila, ‘They not just cheap labour, they’re people’. Priestley wants us to see the real human cost of the class system, and capitalism. He wants us to guilty, that someone we are also responsible for Eva’s death or for harm to someone else in a similar way.
-       Eva as a poor women is a contrast to the women that we actually see
-       Invisible whereas the others are  visible.
-       Biblical, represents all women

Conclusion:
Overall, IAC gives us many contrasting views on women, spanning a large period of history from Mrs Birling to Sheila. Ultimately, women in IAC are significant because of what they represent in terms of equality and humanity….
The historical context is crucial as women faced much more unequal treatment in the 1940s. However, many people would find the message of IAC relevant because it challenges us to consider our own stereotypes and evaluate the fairness of our society.





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