Importance of Names in Blood Brothers
Introduction
A name can shape the audience’s opinion of a character so playwrights choose them very carefully. This nomenclature is certainly true for Willy Russell’s “Blood Brothers”.
The Brothers
The two boys are identified as Mickey and Edward in the script.
When they introduce themselves in Act One, Mickey asks if “they call y’ Eddie” and decides to call his new friend by that name. Giving someone a nickname is a way of being affectionate towards them without compromising your masculinity. It also creates a sense of belonging and that you are part of a group.
However, Edward is more formal.
Mickey’s name is actually Michael but “everyone calls” him Mickey. In this way, he will never be able to escape that friendly group mentality and be taken seriously in the way Edward is able to present himself.
Mrs Johnstone
The protagonist’s name can be split into two parts: “John” and “stone”. John has always been a popular name so that could signify her commonness and writers have often used the name for a completely average person.
The name is derived from Hebrew and means “God is gracious”. The religious connotation is also appropriate for a character who makes a “binding agreement” on the bible.
The second part of her name has several relevant possible meanings. For example, stones are also incredibly common and are found everywhere. Mrs Johnstone, therefore, is just the average woman in society.
Stones are also hard and tough. This is a good analogy for her personality because has the strength to raise “seven hungry mouths” while pregnant and starting a job as a cleaner.
Alternatively, in the opening of the play, the Narrator describes Mrs Johnstone as a “mother, so cruel, there’s a stone in place of her heart”. This refers to her decision to give one of her twins to Mrs Lyons. The Narrator is suggesting only a heartless mother could do such a terrible thing.
Mrs Lyons
Mrs Lyons is presented as the wealthier mother who lives in a “large” and “pretty” house at the start of the play. Her husband owns a factory and she employs Mrs Johnstone as a cleaner.
Their surname reflects that wealth. The word sounds like “lion” which is a traditional symbol of monarchy and can be found on the coat of arms of many royal families. Therefore, it has connotations of power and status.
A lion is often referred to as the king of the jungle because how it hunts for prey and dominates its habitat. This predator connotation could link with Mrs Lyons’ determination to take one of Mrs Johnstone’s twins. It could also connote Mr Lyons’ ownership of the factory and how he deals with his employees in the second act.
Lyons also echoes the verb “to lie”. Mrs Lyons makes a false promise to Mrs Johnstone that she will be able to see Edward “every day” and exploits her fear of the supernatural by claiming if the boys ever learnt the truth “they shall both immediately die”. She deceives her husband that the child is theirs and then lies about the real reason she wants to fire Mrs Johnstone, saying “she ignores most of her work” when she actually despises the way the biological parent is “cooing and cuddling” Edward. Therefore, Lyons is an appropriate surname for such a duplicitous character.
Our Sammy
Throughout the play, characters introduce Sammy with the inclusive pronoun “our”. This epithet is a term of endearment commonly used in Liverpool and elsewhere to indicate that Sammy is a close relative.
The colloquialism used for other characters. For example, Mrs Johnstone sings how “our Donna Marie’s already got three” children and Linda asks her if they got “our Sarah from school”.
Russell uses this phrasing to add a natural rhythm and realism to the dialogue.
The Narrator
Despite being on stage from the first beat to the very end, the Narrator remains a nameless entity who comments on the action but also takes part in the scenes in different guises such as the Milkman and Gynaecologist in the opening scenes. The switch is delivered with some humour: “Actually I’ve given up the milk round and gone into medicine”. The tone of the Conductor is sinister: “No one can embark without the price bein’ paid”.
These roles are identified on stage by simple changes in costume. For example, a white coat can signify a milkman but, if a stethoscope is added, the appearance changes to a doctor.
In the script, the roles are identified by their titles and jobs. These nameless characters represent the relentless threat society poses to the average woman who is struggling on her own to raise her children.
