The Theme of Catharsis
The Theme of Catharsis
The Theme of Catharsis
the time. She says, Im sorry, Daddy. Actually I was listening. The repetition of the word I shows that she is trying to get back into her good books, she plays into his inferiority. Deep down she really is a daddys girl. Afterwards, once the Inspector has explained to her about the death, but hasnt yet mentioned who she really is (and before she has experienced her catharsis), she is very shocked by the news, even horrified. She then turns on her father, she begs him to tell her that he didnt sack Eva unfairly. Did you, Dad? (Rather distressed) Sheila says Sorry! Its just that I cant help thinking about this girl. Shes both vocally and visually distressed, she is finding it hard to balance her love to for her father with the fact that he could have quite possible pushed the first domino that proved to kill, what would seem so far as, quite an innocent girl. After questioning Sheila about her involvement in the murder Sheila first becomes very upset about her involvement and then gradually starts to think about things in perspective, and realises that it was far from just her fault. By the time that the Inspector moves onto Gerald, Sheila is still very distressed. And at this point she isnt totally won over by the Inspector however it is noticeable that she never buts in whilst he is talking, she has massive respect for him straight from the offset, this shows that she is a really vessel for his message. During Geralds confession, that he kept Eva as a mistress, Sheila doesnt original get angry with him. She admits that she can partly understand what he did, and she knows how clever the Inspector is and therefore she has pity with how he made Gerald confess. As she gradually understands the details of Geralds affair she turns her anger into sarcastic comments and respect. She explains she always knew he was up to something and was now glad that he has admitted that. It is implied that in part Sheila forgives her fianc so quickly as she now feels as if she wasnt the main catalyst in quickening the domino effect, in fact it was Gerald. In the most part Sheila is quiet during Erics confession that he slept with Eva. She tries her best, as she did with the mother, to make sure Eric didnt say things he would later to regret to the Inspector and even to members of his own family. Typical Greek plays only have one character with catharsis, Priestley follows this plan, and makes it very obvious that Sheila is a very different character to the rest of her family; she is the only one with the emotional capacity to understand that she was a major contributing factor, but can also forgive herself in part as she knows that she wasnt the only person who did Eva wrong. In conclusion Sheila serves as the guide in the play; she provides a warning and didactic element to the play outside of the interrogation. She shows through her catharsis, exactly how, ideally, the other characters should deal with their hamartia. In addition her ability to foresee what is going to happen may link to her capacity to see past the flaws in her character, thus experiencing catharsis and ending up far more informed than any other character. She is cleverly and complexly written as a character so that throughout the book she comes across as the most intelligent, however if you read in between the lines you can see that she made a totally wrong judgement of the Inspector.