Russell presents Mrs. Johnstone and Mrs. Lyons as extremely different kinds of mothers. He does this through their antithetical financial situations, their upbringing of children, and their attitudes. Perhaps he juxtaposes them to criticize the system of class stratification and critique the Thatcherite era at the time, which prioritized individualism over the quality of life. Firstly, Mrs. Johnstone and Mrs. Lyons' disparity in their financial predicaments is evident. During the opening of the play, Mrs. Johnstone is pregnant and desperately "needs" milk, yet cannot even afford it. The milkman responds, "No money, no milk." The repetition of "no" emphasizes how poor Mrs. Johnstone is, as the milkman is in disbelief that a pregnant woman, who needs to provide her baby with nutrients, cannot afford her milk. This is in direct contrast with Mrs. Lyons, who has a "pretty house" and even complains, "It's a pity it's so big." Her complaining displays her demeanor and attitude towards money—she has money in abundance and therefore does not see her privilege, whereas Mrs. Johnstone is struggling. Furthermore, when the twins are growing up, Mrs. Lyons does not want Edward to be influenced by "the likes of them," and therefore she says that they will be "moving... away from here." This highlights the social mobility she has—she can simply move houses whenever she pleases, just to get away from the working-class influence. However, Mrs. Johnstone has extremely little social mobility and instead moves as the council rehouses them, offering her a "new start." She is overjoyed that she has the opportunity to start "all over again" and describes it as a "bright new day." Perhaps Russell does this to highlight the overwhelming struggle the working class faces against the perpetual cycle of poverty. It is extremely difficult to move upwards in the social hierarchy if you begin at the bottom (as Mrs. Johnstone is, the working class), and therefore he could be trying to state that the class system you are born into decides your future. This can be seen during the middle of the play, when Mickey exclaims that he is "stuck in a rut" and "can't get out," whereas Edward has "money, lots of it." Secondly, their discrepancy can be seen through the upbringing of their children: Mickey and Edward. At the start of the play, when Mrs Lyons endeavours to manipulate Mrs Johnstone, into giving one of her twins away, she teases that her child will have 'his own toys' and a 'garden to play in.' In the context of the play, a 'garden' was a sign of extreme privilege: in the Thatcherite era, many factories and mines were closed, leading to mass unemployment throughout Britain and therefore a higher percentage of working class individuals. Therefore, by Mrs Lyons showing that, if given one of Mrs Johnstone's children, she would provide him with such a luxury as a 'garden,' it reflects the wider themes of the play, being the rich exploiting the poor. Furthermore, Mrs Johnstone's upbringing of her children is significantly different. Sammy, her oldest child, 'wees' through 'letterboxes' and Mickey idolises him, placing him on a pedestal and wanting to do the same things he does: in fact, he says he 'will' by the time he is 'eight.' In addition, Sammy 'burnt the school down,' and instead of berating him and guiding Sammy onto a better path, Mrs Johnstone simply blames the school, and attributes the act of arson to the fact they let the 'silly gets' 'play with magnesium.' Russell could have juxtaposed the financial predicament of the two mothers to underscore the disparity between the poor and the rich, especially in the way they live. Mickey and Edward are 'as like as two new pins,' and are genetically identical, yet due to their level of wealth they grew up with, their opportunities and futures are held back or encouraged by the environment. Thirdly, Russell presents Mrs Johnstone as unfortunate, yet loving, whereas he conveys Mrs Lyons as a privileged, yet unstable mother. Mrs Johnstone has 'seven kids' and is struggling to feed them all, evident when she exclaims 'when I bring home the dough' they will 'live like kings' and 'like Marilyn Monroe.' The use of colloquial language in the former quote highlights her working-class nature, 'dough' is slang for money, and therefore through Mrs Johnstone's utilisation of the word, it questions her legitimacy to provide for the family, and actually 'bring home the dough.' Alternatively, the reference to the recurring motif 'Marilyn Monroe' highlights their poverty. Marilyn Monroe was an icon in the 20th century, a symbol of youth, glamour and beauty: yet eventually, she died due to a drug overdose. Mickey's adulthood parallels with Marilyn Monroe - he 'treats his ills with daily pills like Marilyn Monroe,' which he does 'to be invisible,' even further emphasising the cycle of poverty Mickey is 'stuck' in. Despite her unfortunate working-class nature, Mrs Johnstone still 'loves the bones of every one of them.' This is in direct contrast to mentally unstable Mrs Lyons, who never truly experiences being a mother - she believes 'that a child can become one's own,' and her possessive nature is conveyed through her demeanour. It is explicitly seen when Mrs Lyons strikes Edward, realising that he has been associating with his twin, Mickey Johnstone: this highlights her irrational fear of losing her 'son' to his biological family, and in addition her internal struggle with her inability to conceive. Even though she is financially blessed (she even complains about her 'pretty house,' exclaiming that 'it's a pity it's so big'), her child naturally gravitates towards his biologically family, and away from her. In conclusion, Russell presents Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons as wildly different: their economic statuses are on opposite sides of the social hierarchy. Despite this, Mrs Lyons' inability to have children forces her into desperation: she manipulates Mrs Johnstone into swearing 'on the Bible,' in order to obtain one of her children and endeavour to raise him as 'one's own.' However, she does not succeed, and instead the pact between the mothers eventually leads to both their deaths. Russell does this to invoke anger for the inequal system of class stratification, linked to the 20th century British context. Thatcher, the Prime Minister at the time, prioritised individualism above all, leaving it up to the citizens themselves to succeed or fail: effectively abandoning those in poverty, in need of him. Therefore, Russell critiques the system through the juxtaposition in the twins' upbringing: they are twins, yet their future is decided by the level of wealth they were born into.