Part 2 Summary
Mrs Lyons makes Mrs Johnstone swear on the bible knowing that she will not back out of the deal.
The babies are born and when Mrs Johnstone takes them home, there are men there to take back items that she has not paid for. The catalogue man and the finance man raid the house and tell her that she shouldn’t buy things that she can’t afford.
Mrs Lyons comes into the scene and is horrified to see that the babies have been born. She demands to have the baby and reminds Mrs Johnstone about swearing on the bible. She gets the baby and Mrs Johnstone tells her other kids that one of the twins has died.
When Mrs Johnstone goes back to work, Mrs Lyons is very jealous when she goes near the baby so she decides to sack her by paying her off with £50. She has gone back on her promise that she will get to see the baby every day. When Mrs Johnstone threatens to take the baby with her, she tells her that she will go to jail for selling her child. Mrs Lyons uses her power in terms of status and education to manipulate the situation. She then tells her that if either twin ever finds out that they were once a pair, they will die immediately. She is again using Mrs Johnstone’s superstitions against her.
In the final scene of this section, we meet the seven year old Mickey who is shouted at for playing near the big house. It is clear Mrs Johnstone is trying to keep him away from the other twin.
- What does Mrs Lyons offer Mrs Johnstone to make her agree to the arrangement?
- What type of atmosphere does the narrator create when he comes on stage? What does this do to the audience? Why do you think the playwright decided to do this?
- Why do you think that Mrs Lyons forces Mrs Johnstone to swear on the bible? What does it show about Mrs Lyons?
- Why are the men taking away the items from Mrs Johnstone’s house? Why do you think that she keeps buying things she can’t afford?
- What does Mrs Johnstone tell the other kids about the missing twin?
- Why does Mrs Lyons go back on her word about Mrs Johnstone being able to see the baby every day?
- What does Mrs Lyons tell Mrs Johnstone about the boys finding out they are brothers? Why do you think Mrs Johnstone believes her?
- Imagine you are Mrs Johnstone, write a diary entry when you get home, explaining how you feel about today’s events.