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Dickie Winslow
Sir Robert is a notorious barrister hired by Arthur to fight the Winslow case, and is widely held to be the best in the business. He comes across as rude, impersonal, and a little intimidating; furthermore, Catherine objects to his politics and initially thinks him unprincipled (she sees him as almost inhuman and “fish-like”). He has the air of a man little moved by emotion. Take, for example, when Catherine reminds him that someone he recently defeated committed suicide soon after the case; Sir Robert says only that the man was nonetheless guilty. His methods, too, are unconventional—he reduces Ronnie to tears when he questions him about the alleged innocent. Though Catherine does have her initial suspicions of him, Sir Robert appears to hold strong principles about doing “Right,” which he sees as something different from doing “justice”—justice is the administering of the law, whereas “Right” is a more universal morality. As the play goes on, Catherine and Sir Robert come to respect each other, especially as Catherine learns that he has turned down the most prestigious job in British law in order to stay on the Winslow case. Furthermore, the victory brings Sir Robert to tears, showing that beneath his stern exterior there lurks an emotional life. Though he admires and is possibly attracted to Catherine by the play’s end, his inability to see her as his equal ultimately proves to the reader/viewer that there remains a lot of work to be done to bring about equality between the sexes—especially if someone so committed to “Right” as Sir Robert can’t see things the way Catherine does.
Sir Robert Morton Quotes in The Winslow Boy
The The Winslow Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Sir Robert Morton or refer to Sir Robert Morton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 2
Quotes
CATHERINE: I suppose you heard that he committed suicide a few months ago?
SIR ROBERT: Yes. I had heard.
CATHERINE: Many people believed him innocent, you know.
SIR ROBERT: So I understand. As it happens, however, he was guilty.
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Act 3
Quotes
ARTHUR: I know exactly what I’m doing, Grace. I’m going to publish my son’s innocence before the world, and for that end I am not prepared to weigh the cost.
GRACE: But the cost may be out of all proportion –
ARTHUR: It may be. That doesn’t concern me. I hate heroics, Grace. An injustice has been done. I am going to set it right, and there is no sacrifice in the world I am not prepared to make in order to do so.
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CATHERINE: Not a verbal protest. Something far more spectacular and dramatic. He’d had his feet on the Treasury table and his hat over his eyes during most of the First Lord’s speech – and he suddenly got up very deliberately, glared at the First Lord, threw a whole bundle of notes on the floor, and stalked out of the House. It made a magnificent effect. If I hadn’t known I could have sworn he was genuinely indignant –
ARTHUR: Of course he was genuinely indignant. So would any man of feeling be –
CATHERINE: Sir Robert, Father dear, is not a man of feeling. I don’t think any emotion at all can stir that fishy heart –
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SIR ROBERT: It seems decidedly wrong to me that a lady of your political persuasion should be allowed to adorn herself with such a very feminine allurement. It really looks so awfully like trying to have the best of both worlds –
CATHERINE: I’m not a militant, you know, Sir Robert. I don’t go about breaking shop windows with a hammer or pouring acid down pillar boxes.
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SIR ROBERT: What are my instructions, Miss Winslow?
CATHERINE: (In a flat voice.) Do you need my instructions, Sir Robert? Aren’t they already on the Petition? Doesn’t it say: Let Right be done?
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Act 4
Quotes
SIR ROBERT: Goodbye, Miss Winslow. Shall I see you in the House then, one day?
CATHERINE: (With a smile.) Yes, Sir Robert. One day. But not in the Gallery. Across the floor.
SIR ROBERT: (With a faint smile.) Perhaps, Goodbye.
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Sir Robert Morton Quotes in The Winslow Boy
The The Winslow Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Sir Robert Morton or refer to Sir Robert Morton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 2
Quotes
CATHERINE: I suppose you heard that he committed suicide a few months ago?
SIR ROBERT: Yes. I had heard.
CATHERINE: Many people believed him innocent, you know.
SIR ROBERT: So I understand. As it happens, however, he was guilty.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 3
Quotes
ARTHUR: I know exactly what I’m doing, Grace. I’m going to publish my son’s innocence before the world, and for that end I am not prepared to weigh the cost.
GRACE: But the cost may be out of all proportion –
ARTHUR: It may be. That doesn’t concern me. I hate heroics, Grace. An injustice has been done. I am going to set it right, and there is no sacrifice in the world I am not prepared to make in order to do so.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
CATHERINE: Not a verbal protest. Something far more spectacular and dramatic. He’d had his feet on the Treasury table and his hat over his eyes during most of the First Lord’s speech – and he suddenly got up very deliberately, glared at the First Lord, threw a whole bundle of notes on the floor, and stalked out of the House. It made a magnificent effect. If I hadn’t known I could have sworn he was genuinely indignant –
ARTHUR: Of course he was genuinely indignant. So would any man of feeling be –
CATHERINE: Sir Robert, Father dear, is not a man of feeling. I don’t think any emotion at all can stir that fishy heart –
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
SIR ROBERT: It seems decidedly wrong to me that a lady of your political persuasion should be allowed to adorn herself with such a very feminine allurement. It really looks so awfully like trying to have the best of both worlds –
CATHERINE: I’m not a militant, you know, Sir Robert. I don’t go about breaking shop windows with a hammer or pouring acid down pillar boxes.
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SIR ROBERT: What are my instructions, Miss Winslow?
CATHERINE: (In a flat voice.) Do you need my instructions, Sir Robert? Aren’t they already on the Petition? Doesn’t it say: Let Right be done?
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Act 4
Quotes
SIR ROBERT: Goodbye, Miss Winslow. Shall I see you in the House then, one day?
CATHERINE: (With a smile.) Yes, Sir Robert. One day. But not in the Gallery. Across the floor.
SIR ROBERT: (With a faint smile.) Perhaps, Goodbye.
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