“Cythral uffarn” (Morgan)
“Be hari hi” (Glyn)
These quotes show us that the boys in the village spoke welsh. The constant use of welsh language tells us that the play is set in Wales.
In 1890 people did not want to be different from their fellow villages. Morgan is a typical welsh villager, only interested in their social class. This becomes clear when Miss Moffat asks Morgan if he wants to learn and he replies
“The other men would have a good laugh”
This indicates to us how different children’s lives were in 1890. Now all children are made to go to school but then most boys worked in the mines and the girls stayed at home. This quote shows us how few people got an education. Education was a minor part of childhood whereas now our childhood is based around our school lives.
When Miss Moffat arrives she wants to get all the children out of the mines and into school but, villagers would not want their children to go to school as it would not have paid. People would have large families so they could send them to work and get the money. However Miss Moffat felt that the children were in danger down the mines and wanted to give them a chance of a good life. Because few people could read or write the mines were the only option. Children were only paid a few pence to do a dangerous job.
“I will pay their families the few pennies they get from working in the mines”
This shows how little the children got from working in the mines if Miss Moffat could afford to pay all the children’s families in the village to get the children to come to school and get an education.
Starting a school may sound easy but in 1890 people considered children and education as unimportant and few people would want to teach children
“I couldn’t teach those children they smell”
“Start a school, for what?”
From this we can see a typical villagers attitude towards children. Now children are one of the main priorities for the government so we can see from this that it is written more than one hundred years ago.
Although few people went to school some did get degrees but, whereas Miss Moffat worked for her degree and went to university, rich families like the Squire in this play bought them
“Do you mean the degree my father bought me?”
This is a big indication to what time period the play is set in, now people have to work for success but in 1890 rich families would have had a much easier life.
Another major way in which we can tell what date the play is written is the difference in which men and women are treated. Women were thought to stay home and get married which is why Miss Moffat is a big influence to the play. Women were not supposed to get academic achievements and few could read or write. The household is shocked when they discover the letters they received were from a woman
“But surely those letters were written by a man”
The Squire has not seen that a women that could write letters where the paper wasn’t flowery or scented. Now people would not even think there was a difference between men and women’s handwriting.
Miss Ronberry is a typical woman for the time this play is set and is a total contrast character to Miss Moffat. Miss Ronberry wants to get married and be some bodies wife whereas Miss Moffat does not ever want to get married and has never been in love
“Oh I have never been around a man for more than 5 minutes without wanting to box his ears”
Feminism was a big part of a woman’s life they were expected to get married and then have children which would be acceptable. Bessie Watty is a young girl bought up in the village. Social class was very important to her. Her dreams and ambitions were to follow the rest of the women in the village, to get married. Morgans ambition was to get a scholarship and go to Oxford University. When Bessie falls pregnant with Morgans baby, Morgan feels he should do what any other man in the village would do, marry Bessie. This shows to us the importance of social class because Morgan did not want to appear different. When bessie first tells them she is pregnant they react different to how they would have reacted if she had been married.
“You would think it was sweet if I had a wedding ring”
This shows because she is not married how different people’s views were on pregnancy in 1890. Now if this happened it would be considered acceptable.
Miss Moffat saves Morgan by adopting the baby so he can go to Oxford instead of marring Bessie. Bessie can also go off and marry another man.
In conclusion we can see from this play many aspects of life including education and the way in which women and children are treated, are very different from the world we live in today. Emlyn Williams creates this sense of historic period in many ways, the main places being peoples attitude to education and children and how Miss Moffat is treated when she first arrives. The amount of welsh language in the play is one of the main ways in which Emlyn Williams creates a sense of place.
The difference in how children were treated now and then is immense. In 1890 children were not considered important so it is clear that it is not set in a recent date as now children are treated with the same respect as adults. Another main way in which we as readers can tell when the play was written is the attitudes to education. Few people went to school and rich people were able to buy academic achievements, now this would not happen. Although fitting in is still an aspect of life now, social class in the 1890 was very important and this is shown throughout the play.
Sinead Morgan
