Themes of The Play

Apathy

Apathy is the lack of enthusiasm or lack of emotion that the characters show. Due to Helena and Alison being brought up in a boarding school where they would have been taught to act and speak properly, they would have been taught to never 'make a scene' as this is considered to be ill-mannered. It is because of this that Jimmy acts the way he does. He performs in a certain way and says things he doesn't always mean to try and get a reaction or some form of emotion out of them.  One example of this is when jimmy says "How  I long for a little ordinary human enthusiasm. Just enthusiasm - That's all". 

Social Class

Jimmy is from a working class background and despises people from the upper class which is where Helena and Alison are from. This is why Jimmy does not get along with Helena in the beginning of the play as he refers to her as "his natural enemy". This refers to the fact that they were born into different classes and are therefore instantly enemies. Jimmy loves Alison but hates her upper class background. He is always complaining about "mummy and daddy" won't approve of Alison Marrying Jimmy.

Relationships

The relationship between Alison and Helena is a love/hate relationship. They really do love each other but Jimmy doesn't agree with her upbringing so is constantly 'at war' with her to try to get her to show emotion. The relationship between Alison and Cliff is very friendly but not considered to be love or passionate in any way; However, Jimmy and Helena consider their behaviour towards each other to be very unnatural. We can relate to this as relationships like this are still present today.