Sheila Birling quotations: the representation of women

Last updated: 15/11/2023
Contributor: Teachit Author
Sheila and the representation of women
Main Subject
Key stage
Category
Drama: Modern drama
Resource type
Student activity
Worksheet
Author
J.B. Priestley
Title
An Inspector Calls

This useful worksheet includes a series of key Sheila Birling quotations from J.B Priestley's iconic play to explore Sheila's behaviour and the presentation of women in An Inspector Calls. 

GCSE English Literature students are encouraged to examine and analyse the quotations to explore what each quote reveals about Sheila's character and Priestley's views. 

An example from the resource: 

‘I’d been in a bad temper’ p.23

‘when I … looked at myself … I caught sight of this girl smiling’ p.24

Here we see Sheila’s vanity as she ‘looked at [her]self’ and is angered by Eva’s response. In Priestley’s morality play, Sheila is presented as guilty of the deadly sin of envy as she is jealous of Eva, her parallel in the play. Her childishness is conveyed when Priestley writes that she was in a ‘bad temper’. This is something we associate with a child, emphasising how her emotions control her and her ignorance about how to behave. She uses this as an excuse, as if it is a justification. She later learns to accept responsibility and becomes more mature, going from ignorance to knowledge. 

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25/05/2020

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25/05/2020