Inspector Calls - The ideal Edwardian middle class fiance was a very childish immature individual who tended to act like a young girl. Edwardian middle class fiances also tried to associate themselves with the upper-class.

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English coursework   Mark McCluskey

Inspector Calls

The ideal Edwardian middle class fiancée was a very childish immature individual who tended to act like a young girl. Edwardian middle class fiancées also tried to associate themselves with the upper-class. They did this in a few ways. The first way was in the language they used to speak to each other. This language was only used by the middle-class so a working-class woman would not be associated with it and also not expected to use it. They also tried to keep close to them their own class. Edwardian women were meant to be innocent as well as acting childish. Also women of this time would have been expected to show respect to both men and their elders. This meant that they would not be able to show emotions of their own only their elders and men.

 Sheila’s character at the beginning of the play is portrayed as the ideal middle-class Edwardian fiancée. She is shown as very childlike and immature for her age of 23 years. J.B Priestly does this to show that it is just a act being as she‘s 23. She also talks in the middle class slang that all middle-class Edwardian fiancées spoke.

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 “Squiffy, Chump.”

 This shows that she is trying to fit in with the culture that her father and mother respect and feel they belong to. Also she may be trying to make a good impression with Gerald and to fit in his set. I think she portraying this character  so when Gerald marries her she will gain social status in the form of the title Lady Croft. At the beginning of the play she also shows the signs of innocence that I mentioned in the first paragraph. This is because of her trying to fit into the frame that she ...

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