Character Analysis

Mrs Johnstone

Mrs Johnstone is the emotional heart of Blood Brothers. She is a working-class single mother, abandoned by her husband, struggling to feed seven children, with twins on the way. Russell presents her as warm, loving, and deeply superstitious — a woman whose poverty forces her into an impossible decision, but whose love for both sons never wavers.

Her song “Marilyn Monroe” establishes her as a romantic who married young and dreamed of glamour. The motif of “we went dancing” tracks her journey from hope to despair. By the end of the play, the dancing has stopped entirely. Mrs Johnstone represents every working-class mother who has been failed by the system. Russell positions the audience to feel sympathy for her, not judgement — her decision to give up Edward is born of love, not neglect.

Key Fact

Mrs Johnstone agrees to give up her child because of poverty, not because she is a bad mother. Russell deliberately constructs her as a sympathetic figure so that the audience blames the class system rather than the individual. Her final revelation of the truth is an act of desperate love, not betrayal.

Mrs Lyons

Mrs Lyons is Mrs Johnstone’s foil. She is wealthy, educated, and married, but childless and isolated. Her desire for a child is genuine, but her methods are manipulative. She exploits her power as an employer to pressure Mrs Johnstone into giving up Edward. She invents the superstition about the twins dying to ensure silence. She fires Mrs Johnstone once the child is hers.

As the play progresses, Mrs Lyons becomes increasingly paranoid. She is terrified that the truth will be discovered. She forbids Edward from playing with other children, smothers him with overprotection, and eventually attempts to stab Mrs Johnstone. Her decline mirrors Mickey’s but from the opposite direction: where Mickey is destroyed by poverty, Mrs Lyons is destroyed by guilt and the fear of losing what she stole.

Russell avoids making Mrs Lyons a straightforward villain. Her desire for a child is understandable. Her loneliness is real. But her privilege means she never has to face the consequences of poverty. She can take a child because she has money. She can buy silence because she is the employer. Russell uses Mrs Lyons to show how wealth enables exploitation — even when the wealthy person does not intend to be cruel.

In the exam, a strong response will acknowledge this complexity. Mrs Lyons is both a victim (of childlessness and isolation) and a perpetrator (of manipulation and exploitation). Russell uses her to show that the class system corrupts everyone, rich and poor alike.

Mickey

Mickey is the play’s protagonist and its most tragic figure. As a child, he is energetic, funny, and full of life. He speaks in vivid Liverpudlian dialect, plays boisterous games, and forms an instant bond with Eddie. As an adult, he is broken: unemployed, imprisoned, medicated, and unable to connect emotionally with anyone.

Russell charts Mickey’s decline as a direct consequence of class. At every stage — education, employment, crime, prison — Mickey’s working-class background determines his fate. His final cry, “I could have been him!” is the moment of anagnorisis: he finally sees that the difference between his life and Eddie’s was never about ability, but about money.

Eddie

Eddie is Mickey’s mirror image. Raised in the Lyons household with every advantage, he is polite, generous, and confident. As a child, he is fascinated by Mickey’s world — the swearing, the freedom, the energy. He calls Mickey’s dialect “smashing” and is drawn to a life of adventure that his sheltered upbringing has denied him.

As an adult, Eddie becomes a successful councillor. He remains kind and well-intentioned — he genuinely tries to help Linda and Mickey. But Russell shows that Eddie’s kindness is made possible by his privilege. He can afford to be generous because he has never had to struggle. Eddie is not a villain; he is a product of his class, just as Mickey is a product of his. The tragedy is that they are the same person, separated only by circumstance.

Linda

Linda is one of the most underrated characters in the play. As a child, she is fearless and protective — she stands up for Mickey against bullies and authority figures. As a teenager, she chooses Mickey over Eddie, showing loyalty and genuine love. As an adult, she is trapped in a marriage destroyed by Mickey’s depression and pill dependency.

Her turn to Eddie is born of exhaustion, not disloyalty. Russell asks the audience to understand Linda’s impossible position rather than condemn her. She represents the women who are left to hold families together when the system has destroyed their partners. Linda is a victim of the class system just as much as Mickey is.

The Narrator

The Narrator is the most unusual character in Blood Brothers. He is not a traditional character with a backstory and motivations. He exists outside the action, addressing the audience directly, commenting on events, and creating an atmosphere of inevitable doom. He is variously interpreted as fate, the devil, a Greek chorus, or the voice of society itself.

Foreshadowing: The Narrator warns of tragedy through songs like “Shoes upon the table” and phrases like “the devil’s got your number.” These keep the audience aware that the ending is approaching.

Dramatic irony: The Narrator maintains the gap between what the audience knows and what the characters know. His presence reminds us that we are watching a story with a predetermined ending.

Moral commentary: His closing question — “superstition or class?” — is Russell’s direct address to the audience. The Narrator is Russell’s mouthpiece, delivering the play’s political message.

Atmosphere: The Narrator’s ominous tone and recurring songs create a sense of dread that permeates even the happiest scenes.

Sammy

Sammy is a minor but significant character. From childhood, he is associated with violence: he burns the school down, steals Mickey’s toy gun, and eventually commits armed robbery. Russell uses Sammy to show what happens when working-class young people have no opportunities, no guidance, and no hope. Sammy is not inherently evil — he is a product of his environment. He is also the character who directly causes Mickey’s imprisonment, linking the themes of class, crime, and tragedy.