This morning I have woken up with my mind going at 200 miles per hour wondering why JB Priestley chose the names that he did for his characters. You may think this is random but I think it shows that I care about the lovely ladies in Year 10 who I am setting work for this afternoon.
So my first thought was what makes the names right for the characters? Sybil came to mind. The matriarch, the hypocrite who sits on a charity commitee but just so she looks good. Why Sybil? The cynic in me asked whether Priestley was married to a Sybil, I know he had 3 wives, one died young but he divorced the second, was she called Sybil? Nope! Was it his mother? Nope? So just a random name choice? It works though. That sounds really patronising as if I am saying, 'well done Mr Priestley, Sir!'. The reason I think it works is that it sounds both posh and harsh. I must admit I do not know any Sybils but people in 1945 probably did. So why does it sound right to me? Why does it enable me to picture and hear the character? I am going for the harsh 'S' voiceless alveolar sibilant at the beginning. Even by saying the 'S' you create friction through your clenched teeth by directing air flow with the tip of your tongue. Sybil is not someone to invite round for their tea. Sybil is going to stab you in the back, metaphorically. Sybil is not going to change she is sturdy and resolute and only cares about Sybil.
I apologise to anyone called Sybil but I imagine there are not many of them about. That is another question. Do authors affect the naming of children? Do they cause names to go out of common parlance?
Enough for today I have to crack on and set the aforementioned work for the lovely ladies in Year 10.
That is fascinating! I know why Professor Trelawney in Harry Potter is called Sybil, though. The word 'sibyl' means a woman who is able to foretell the future, and in the book she believed that she was a seer.
Intriguing. I will have a think today. What is the origin of the name, "Sybil"?