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Similes
Act 1
Explanation and Analysis—Virginity:
While speaking to Cliff about Jimmy’s various complexities, including his “own private morality,” Alison reveals Jimmy’s situationally ironic way of thinking about virginity:
Alison: Jimmy’s got his own private morality, as you know. What my mother calls ‘loose’. It is pretty free, of course, but it’s very harsh too. You know, it’s funny, but we never slept together before we were married.
Cliff: It certainly is – knowing him!
Alison: We knew each other such a short time, everything moved at such a pace, we didn’t have much opportunity. And, afterwards, he actually taunted me with my virginity. He was quite angry about it, as if I had deceived him in some strange way. He seemed to think an untouched woman would defile him.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Bishop:
In a speech suffused with situational irony, Cliff satirizes a religious leader in the Church of England. Reading over his newspapers, he describes a column by (the fictitious) Bishop Bromley that calls for the public to support the “manufacture of the H-Bomb,” or a hydrogen bomb, a powerful thermonuclear weapon:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Cliff: Oh, it says here that he makes a very moving appeal to all Christians to do all they can to assist in the manufacture of the H-Bomb.
Jimmy: Yes, well, that’s quite moving, I suppose. (to Alison) Are you moved, my darling?
Alison: Well, naturally.
Jimmy: There you are: even my wife is moved [...] Let’s see. What else does he say. Dumdidumdidumdidum. Ah yes. He’s upset because someone has suggested that he supports the rich against the poor. He says he denies the difference of class distinction. ‘This idea has been persistently and wickedly fostered by – the working classes!’ Well!
