Stage set
The stage set immediately indicates both the class and the religion of the occupants.
A tenement is a cramped enclosed space - two rooms for four people in this case - so the family are obviously poor.
The audience sees "a small bed partly concealed by cretonneA heavy cotton material used in drapery and upholstery, often covered by patterns. hangings strung on a twine" in the same room as the dining table and the bath.
These claustrophobic surroundings become a symbol for the conditions many people in Dublin lived in at this time.
The "picture of the Virgin" above a "crimson bowl in which a floating votiveAn object offered in fulfilment of a vow, such as a candle being used as a vigil light in a ceremony. light is burning" tell us they are Catholics.
We see therefore that a stage set can suggest a lot to an audience, and it is important to think carefully about why a playwright makes these choices.
In considering these choices, note the stage set at the beginning of Act II. This is after the family have been informed of - although not received - their inheritance. This set contrasts with the empty stage at the end of the play.
