Mrs Birling Flashcards
What does Mrs Birling metaphorically represent?
- Capitalism
- Ignorance to lower classes
- Selfishness
What is Mrs Birling’s morality throughout the play?
- She metaphorically represents wrath and pride
- Her disdain for the lower classes is evident all the way through
- Pride- her social position and her name- “First she called herself Mrs Birling!”
What do Mrs Birling’s stage directions do?
- “cold”: adjective symbolises and foreshadows her behaviour towards the lower class, specifically to Eva
- Coupled with her age “fifty”, we have a notion that the older generation are arguably narrow minded and are reluctant to change
- “husband’s social superior”: her position in society is made clear and outlines the pride she will later display when refusing Eva Smith the charity.
- Noun “superior” further modifies her position and the belief that she is above other perhaps it even serves to highlight the growing gap capitalism has created.
“I don’t suppose for a moment that we can _______ why the girl ___________. Girls ______…” What is the quotation and how does it present Mrs Birling?
- “I don’t suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl commited suicide. Girls of that class…”
- Dehumanisation of Eva Smith and all girls of the lower classes
- ‘Girls’ seems to be a huge generalisation with the implication that all poor, or less fortunate girls will try to commit suicide.
- Lack of understanding
- Apathy displayed- linking back to “cold”
“A girl _______” What is the quotation and how does it present Mrs Birling?
“A girl of that sort”
- Use of the determiner “that” reiterates disdain and a huge disregard for the “girls” foreshadowing the incident in the charity
- Also a sense of detachment
Morally superior- or so she feels- is Priestley saying then that capitalism promotes/encourages moral corruption?
” I used ________ to have it ______” What is the quote and how does it present Mrs Birling?
” I used my influence to have it refused”
- Abstract noun “influence” shows that Mrs Birling abuses her position
What quote shows Mrs Birling’s pride?
“Yes, I think it was simply a piece of gross impertinence- quite deliberate- and naturally that was on of the things that prejudiced me against her case”
- “prejudiced” - literally, and unfavourable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought or reason.
What does the phrase “perfectly justified” imply?
- Adverb “perfectly” heightens the ignorance of Mrs Birling
- She is unable to see the error or consequences of her behaviour
- “justified”- literally, to defend or uphold as warranted
What is the character of Mrs Birling? 1
- Mrs Birling is a very naive character
- She doesn’t think there is any problem in her family at all and all problems exist outside, only seeing what she wants to see. Linked to stage directions “pink and intimate lighting”
- She blames the father of the child because she doesn’t know the father is her own son
What is the character of Mrs Birling? 2
- A hint of remorse, only shown when she discovers it’s Eric who is the father
- However, her remorse is short lived and she quickly returns to her “cold” nature
- As part of the morality play she shows a lack of conscience- is this Priestley’s message about capitalist supporters?
When is there a beginning of a change in Mrs Birling?
” But surely… I mean… it’s ridiculous”
- The moment she acknowledges some understanding of her behaviour
- Breakdown in language, sentences are more fragmented- shock, horror, disgust
- Links to stage direction “very distressed now”
Does Mrs Birling change?
- No
- The prior stage direction is short lived and then we get “triumphantly”- as if she has won something, been in a competition, victorious
- What has she won? Who has she defeated?
- The poor/ the less fortunate?
