Mrs Birling Flashcards
1
Q
‘(Smiling) Well it came in just at the right moment…I think Sheila and I had better go into the drawing room and leave you men -‘
A
- ‘(smiling) —> joy and happiness towards Gerald and his actions. This can illustrate her happiness that Sheila is marrying someone of an aristocratic family similar of her family. This shows her prejudice in her joy in being surrounded by upper class members compared to lower class members later im the story.
- ‘smiling’ —> adjective —> warmth and comforted by prosperity and social gain. This portrays her consumerist beliefs.
- ‘Sheila and I had better go into the drawing room and leave you men’ —> ‘Sheila and I’ refers or the women within the family and them leaving illustrates the presence of gender dichotomy and how Mrs Birling adheres to this. In this, she believes in the Patriarchy.
- Mrs Birling also adheres to several other stereotypes of gender such as them going into the ‘drawing room’ where the topographical marker refers to a very domesticated setting. This implies that Mrs Birling believes that women should remain within a domestic setting. Additionally, ‘leave you men’ —> occurs just before Birling is going to speak about business. The women leaving at this time represents her believe that women should not be concerned with political and capitalistic conversations.
- ‘better’ —> adjective —> illustrates her belief that women are well-suited to a domestic environment.
2
Q
‘this child…You’re looking tired dear. I think you ought to go to bed - and forget about this absurd business’
A
- ‘child’ —> addresses her child in an infantile manner despite Sheila’s adulthood. This treats her in a very childish and immature manner depriving her of the responsibilities of an adult. This along with ‘go to bed’ —> treats her as childish as an adult should not be told when to go to bed and what to do.
- Mrs Birling uses this to hold power over her daughter and to try and dismiss her from the conversation by suggesting that Sheila is incapable of being in the discussion so should ‘go to bed’ and leave the setting of tension. This portrays her power dynamic and a slight domineering manner within the domestic setting of her home.
- ‘forget about this’—> verb —> ‘forget’ —> implies that the events of the evening should not be memorable and so the Inspector’s lessons of socialism and collective responsibility are trivialised. This shows her lack of care for his opinions and ideals and suggests that she views them as insignificant.
- ‘absurd business’ —> adjective —> ‘absurd’ —> implies that it is a strange experience. This suggests that her families authority being challenged is unusual and a foreign experience due or her status. This is also dismissive of Eva Smith’s death indicating her lack of care for the lower classes and proletariat.
- ‘business’ —> utilities mercantile and capitalistic jargon. In this, she aligns to her husband as a capitalist and as a member of the older generation of upper class. This suggests that they as a couple are symbolic of the wider upper class who are all capitalistic in their ideologies.
- ‘business’ —> refers to it in this manner to show her lack of attachment and care for the death of Eva. She sees it as work-related and not a social or personal issue. Lack of sympathy or emotional care.
3
Q
‘I don’t suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of that class-‘.
A
- ‘Don’t suppose we can understand’ —> plural address —> ‘we’ —> absolves both herself and her family of responsibility by suggesting that they cannot relate and so cannot help the inspector instead Eva Smith’s rational for killing herself.
- ‘tries to strategically defer blame from her family by suggesting that only Eva would know why she committed suicide —> strategic as Eva cannot defend herself. - ‘girls of that class—‘ —> Aposiopesis (‘-‘) —> implies that she was about to speak about the proletariat class in a negative and derogatory manner before being stopped. In this, she is open in her prejudiced manner torwards the lower classes. Adheres to ideas of social divide.
4
Q
‘You seem to be conducting it in a rather peculiar and offensive manner. You know of course that my husband was Lord mayor’
A
- ‘peculiar and offensive manner’ —> adjectives —> ‘peculiar’ insinuates that she finds it unusual to be questioned and challenged in her authority. This shows her privilege as a member of the upper class her whole life. ‘Offensive’ —> implies that the Inspector is acting hostile or insulting in his behaviour because he is asking questions. This implies that she is not used to being questioned and having her authority doubted. This centralises her and her response to the inspectors manner. Selfish behaviour mainly concerned with herself.
‘My husband was Lord Mayor —> address —> indicates her excessive hubris and pride since she mentions her ‘husbands’ social status showing her pride in it and belief that it will excuse her from any scrutiny. In this, she believes that she is above being challenged and should be excused from any lawful enquiries. Also, she uses her husbands status to try and intimidate the Inspector similar to how Birling tried to use social status as a social tool to intimidate the inspector. - ‘of course’ —> phrase —> shows her expectation that people should already know about their public status. Pride in it.
5
Q
‘(With dignity) Yes. We’ve done a great deal of useful work in helping deserving cases’.
A
- ‘dignity’ —> adjective —> demonstrative of her pride and haughty nature.
- ‘great deal of useful work’ —> adjectives —> ‘great’ shows her arrogant nature in her complimentary nature of her own deeds. Portrays her own belief in her own success. Also, im ‘useful’ —> suggests she believes that it is very positively impactful and helpful. This is ironic compared to the case of Eva Smith.
- In this —> overinflated her own ego and actions when flaunting her success.
- ‘deserving cases’ —> adjective —> ‘deserving’ —> illustrates her own bias since she uses her authority to decide what is worthy of her help. This can show her prejudice within her work. Suggests that Eva smith was not deemed as worthy.
6
Q
‘Gross impertinence - quite deliberate - and naturally that was one of the things that prejudiced me against her case’.
A
- ‘gross impertinence’ —> adjective —> ‘gross’ implies how she sees the behaviour of Eva smith as uncivilised and disgusting. This shows her dislike towards her and the lower class. Noun ‘impertinence’ —> connotes to disrespect and rude implying that Mrs Birling felt offended and horrified by her lack of manners. In this, it shows her immoral approach of her charity as she should be concerned with helping people not in how they act. This shows the refined action of Upper class —> not used to seeing the behaviours of the lower class and so are shocked by them.
- ‘quite deliberate’ —> no evidence to support this. It shows her prejudice as she believes that the action was done out of spite without considering other possibilities for Eva’s choice of call herself ‘Mrs Birling’.
- ‘one of the things that prejudiced me’ —> verb —> ‘prejudiced’ —> explicit mention of her Bias against Eva Smith. This shows her corruption within a position of power and how she abuses it. Perhaps her explicit mention of ‘prejudice’ indicates her confidence that she cannot be judged or scrutinised for her beliefs so she speaks of them openly.
7
Q
‘In spite of what happened to the girl since, I consider I did my duty. So I prefer not to discuss it any further, you have no power to make me change my mind’
A
- ‘I consider I did my duty’ —> noun —> ‘duty’ —> portrays her as having done what she was meant to with no mistakes. In this, she has a sustained rejection of responsibility and any problems in her behaviour. This portrays her as stubborn and wilfully ignorant of change similar of her husband. Aligns the older generation as resisting change.
- ‘I prefer not to discuss it any further’ —> adjective —> ‘further’ —> implies a continued conversation between her and the inspector. In this, she believes she has the choice to not engage in conversation with the inspector as a character of the law. This demonstrates how she believes she is above scrutiny even from authorities such as the law.
- ‘you have no power to make me change’ —> verb —> ‘change’ —> inspector having ‘no power’ to make her ‘change’ illustrates her resistance towards change and an obstinate nature. This represents her as an embodiment of old money and the rich upper class in her reluctance to change or accept involvement with the lower classes in Eva Smith’s death.
- ‘in spite of what happened’ —> inappropriate for the context of Eva’s death. She has no sympathy despite the outcomes of her actions which contributed to her death.
8
Q
‘It wasn’t I who had had her turned out of her employment - which probably began it all’
A
- ‘wasn’t I who had her turned out of her employment’ —> a reference of her husbands actions —> she refers to Mr Birling’s shortcomings sacrificing his reputation to save herself and defer the blame away from herself. This portrays a lack of functionality as a family as they do not protect eachother but are selfish and uncaring.
- ‘began it all’ —> term —> ‘all’ —> defers all blame onto him reinforcing a lack of care in their family dynamic between their marital relationship. This fan suggest that they married out of convenience and a want for social gain rather than out of love.
9
Q
‘(Smiling) And I must say Gerald, you’ve argued this very cleverly, and I’m most grateful.’
A
- ‘(smiling)’—> is now again pleased with Gerald and his actions similar to the start of the play. This indicates her lack of character development in her opinions of him since she still likes him despite his lack of respect for Sheila within their relationship. This can perhaps suggest that she adheres to the societal normalities of women being mistreated. Also, this implies that she aligns herself more with Gerald since he is from an aristocratic background like her rather than aligning to her own daughter.
- ‘Cleverly, and I’m most grateful.’ —> adverb —> ‘cleverly’ is complimentary towards him by suggesting that he is very intelligent. This along with the adjective ‘grateful’ portrays her happiness towards him. However, ‘grateful’ —> demonstrates her value in others only when they benefit her since she only started acting kindly towards him again when he solved the issue of the inspectors existence.
10
Q
‘But I didn’t know it was you - I never dreamt - Besides, your not the type - you don’t get drunk’
A
- ‘-I never dreamt -…the type-‘ —> anacoluthon —> indicates her shock towards the truth of Eric’s behaviour and her illusion of having a perfect family. It also shows her emotional fragility in the way that her own son has deceived her emotions.
- ‘I didn’t know it was you’ —> illustrates her bias towards her own family since it implies that she would have acted differently if she understood her own son’s reputation was at risk.
- in this quote she has her delusion of a perfect family shattered leading to her confusion and emotional turmoil.
