Gerald Croft
Gerald Croft
Gerald is confident and content in his own masculinity and his social status contributes to his attractiveness
His character is aligned with Mr Birling’s capitalist views
His character is ambivalent but eventually he disillusions and disappoints the audience by returning to his selfish capitalist attitudes
Priestley alludes to Gerald’s familiarity with prostitutes
Despite seemingly possessing a moral compass, he continues to maintain systemic immorality
Gerald’s guilt is temporary; although he does have a conscience, he manipulates events to alleviate his responsibility
He forms the middle generation: despite showing some conscience, he is less flexible and impressionable than Sheila and Eric
Gerald is misogynistic; he excludes and silences women, including Sheila. His rescue of Eva is a façade as ultimately, he keeps her captive
Gerald exploits Eva’s vulnerability for his own sexual gratification
He values women merely based on their physical attributes and dehumanises them
Gerald objectifies women and is predatory in the way he chases women who are socially inferior to himself, including Sheila
Priestley’s Intentions
Represents the individualism of the upper-class
His failure to develop a sense of social responsibility
conveys how deeply entrenched upper-class attitudes are
Symbolic of the moral crossroad that the upper-class face:
either fight against the class system or continue to exploit it
He reveals the crux of societal issues: the consequences are
only considered when they have a direct impact
Gerald is symbolic of the imbalance of power within society
and how women were exploited and abused in 1912 society
Gerald maintains the power over the narrative which is
reflective of a patriarchal society
Key Vocabulary
aristocrat genial masculine ambiguous
materialistic manipulative corrupt exploitative
emotional unrepentant patriarchy misogynist
demeaning hypocrisy condescending objectify
predatory debase
Acts as a metaphor
representing a hybrid
of themes including
capitalism, gluttony
and lust
