Quotes (Blood Brothers)

This section explores the key quotes in the play Blood Brothers by Willy Russell, highlighting the quotes and their significance in the play. The themes, context, characters, and techniques used in each quote can help deepen your understanding of the play's exploration of class, fate, nature vs nurture, and the impact of society on individuals.

"Tell me it’s not true / Say it’s just a story."

Context: Mrs Johnstone’s lament at the end.

Significance: Emphasises the tragic irony and foreshadows the devastating climax of the play, with Mrs Johnstone’s plea highlighting her sense of disbelief.

Theme: Fate, inevitability.

"An' did y' never hear of the mother, so cruel / There's a stone in place of her heart?"

Context: Narrator’s commentary on Mrs Lyons.

Significance: Highlights Mrs Lyons's role as an antagonist, building an image of her as cold-hearted.

Theme: Class division, motherhood.

"And do we blame superstition for what came to pass?"

Context: Narrator questioning responsibility.

Significance: Challenges the audience to consider if the tragedy is caused by fate or human choices, setting up a critical view of superstition.

Theme: Fate vs free will, superstition.

"A debt is a debt, and must be paid."

Context: Narrator about Mrs Johnstone.

Significance: Foreshadows that Mrs Johnstone will pay for the decision to give up one twin, reflecting the theme of consequences.

Theme: Fate, poverty.

"There's a girl inside the woman / She's waiting to get free."

Context: Description of Mrs Johnstone.

Significance: Shows her unfulfilled dreams and the weight of her responsibilities, reflecting themes of hope and despair.

Theme: Poverty, motherhood.

"I could have been him!"

Context: Mickey’s bitter realisation.

Significance: Mickey’s envy highlights the impact of class inequality, showing the different lives he and Edward could have had due to circumstances of birth.

Theme: Class, nature vs nurture.

"You never told me it was a little boy."

Context: Mrs Lyons reacts to seeing Edward as a baby.

Significance: This quote reveals Mrs Lyons’s maternal instincts and foreshadows her possessiveness and paranoia.

Theme: Motherhood, class.

"The devils got your number."

Context: Narrator’s frequent line.

Significance: This sinister phrase symbolises the inevitability of the twins’ fate and creates a sense of impending doom.

Theme: Fate, superstition.

"A house with a bit of garden."

Context: Mrs Johnstone’s dreams for a better life.

Significance: Represents her hope for a stable family life, but it contrasts sharply with her poverty-stricken reality.

Theme: Poverty, aspiration.

"Mickey, don’t shoot him. He’s your brother!"

Context: Mrs Johnstone's revelation.

Significance: This climactic line reveals the tragic irony and the missed chance for unity, causing both brothers’ downfall.

Theme: Family, class conflict.

"They say that if either twin learns he was once a pair, they shall both immediately die."

Context: Mrs Lyons manipulating Mrs Johnstone.

Significance: This manipulative lie is a key element that leads to tragedy, illustrating superstition's role in shaping their lives.

Theme: Superstition, deception.

"Why is a job so important?"

Context: Edward’s innocent question to Mickey.

Significance: Highlights Edward’s privileged perspective and the deep social divide between them, as Mickey depends on employment for survival.

Theme: Class, innocence.

"There's no getting off without the price being paid."

Context: Narrator foreshadowing the consequences.

Significance: Suggests that no one can escape their actions or fate, reinforcing the play's tragic themes.

Theme: Fate, inevitability.

"He's creeping down the hall."

Context: Narrator describing the secret of the twins.

Significance: Builds suspense and symbolises the hidden truths that will later lead to disaster.

Theme: Secrets, inevitability.

"Living on the never never."

Context: Mrs Johnstone’s description of her life.

Significance: Symbolises living on borrowed time and the cycles of poverty, adding to her sense of entrapment.

Theme: Poverty, class.

"He’s gone up to heaven, love."

Context: Mrs Johnstone explaining Sammy’s absence.

Significance: A tragic example of Mrs Johnstone's attempt to soften harsh realities for her children.

Theme: Family, poverty.

"If you cross your fingers, and if you count from one to ten..."

Context: Edward's superstition, contrasting with Mickey’s practicality.

Significance: Reflects Edward’s sheltered life compared to Mickey’s harsher reality, showing class contrasts in their worldviews.

Theme: Superstition, class.

"How come you got everything... an’ I got nothin’?"

Context: Mickey’s resentment toward Edward.

Significance: Highlights the inherent unfairness of social inequality and Mickey’s painful awareness of it.

Theme: Class, jealousy.

"I wish I could be like... like them."

Context: Mickey reflecting on Edward's life.

Significance: His yearning reveals his sense of inferiority and frustration due to class divisions.

Theme: Class, aspiration.

"And do we blame superstition for what came to pass / Or could it be what we, the English, have come to know as class?"

Context: Final lines, reflecting on the play's message.

Significance: Summarises the play's central conflict—whether fate or class is responsible for the tragedy. This challenges the audience to reflect on societal roles.

Theme: Class, fate, social criticism.

Overall Themes and Analysis

Class and Social Divide: The twins’ contrasting lives highlight the struggles of working-class individuals and the privileges of the wealthy.

Fate vs. Free Will: The play questions whether the twins’ tragic end was predetermined or due to choices and societal pressures.

Superstition: Frequently mentioned and reinforces the tragic inevitability.

Nature vs. Nurture: Explores how environment shapes individuals' lives, contrasting Mickey’s hardship with Edward’s privilege.

These quotes are central to understanding how Blood Brothers critiques social inequality and questions the forces that shape our lives.