Mrs Birling Flashcards
“Girls of that class”
“girls” connotes innocence and vulnerability, showcasing her willingness to exploit the vulnerable in society and rationalise it for capitalist advancements. The demonstrative adjective “that” dismisses them as inferior and that they all behave in the same way.
This illustrates the Mrs Birling is governed by the arrogance of her social status and she can’t even bring herself to specify Eva’s social status as she is that beneath her social class.
“She only had herself to blame”, “i did my duty.”
She entire absolves herself from any responsibility in the chain of events that lead to Eva’s suicide, and claims to have done her “duty” . Priestley’s use of the noun “duty” is used to expose Mrs Birling’s perception of duty as limited to a capitalist social duty of keeping the rich people rich and the poor people poor. In doing so, she neglects her moral duty to provide assistance to those most in need. Furthermore, Mrs Birling claims she has done “nothing I’m ashamed of”, this entirely demonstrates her despicable nature and reinforces the stage directions of her being a “cold women”.
“[With dignity] We’ve done a great deal of useful work helping deserving cases
This emphasis on the adjective “deserving” reveals Mrs Birling’s joy in playing God in these young women’s lives, deciding whether they receive aid and benefit or are refused and suffer, a reflection of the power of the upper classes. Moreover, Mrs Birling sees her treatment of Eva as valid, unashamedly declaring that Eva’s “impertinence” in claiming to be “Mrs Birling” as “one of the things that prejudiced me against her”. This demonstrates that those living in poverty have no way to escape it as they cannot challenge their exploitation
