Mrs Birling Flashcards
ACT 1: ‘Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things’
Mrs Birling has strong views about appropriate conversation topics, both at the dinner table and in front of company.
She scolds (tells off) Mr Birling many times for what she thinks are inappropriate comments or topics.
But although she is of a higher social class than him, she still has very little power over him because he is the male.
This means he is the head of the household and in charge of the family. The rules of a patriarchal (male-ruled) society were more important than the rules of social standing.
ACT 1: ‘When you’re married you’ll realise that men with important work to do sometimes spend nearly all their time and energy on their business. You’ll have to get used to that, just as I had.’
Mrs Birling highlights the gender differences in pre-war Britain – women generally had much less power and place in society than men.
Even upper-class women had to live by the rules of men.
Mrs Birling highlights this by trying to teach her daughter about the expectations for women.
ACT 2: ‘You seem to have made a great impression on this child’
Mrs Birling is talking to Inspector Goole.
She shows that she doesn’t respect Sheila as a young adult – she still thinks of her as a child, and talks about her as if she is not in the room.
She also belittles (plays down) the effect the Inspector has had. She suggests that this ‘impression’ will be short-lived, and that Sheila will not be permanently affected by him.
ACT 2: ‘You know, of course, that my husband was Lord Mayor only two years ago and that he’s still a magistrate?’
This highlights the influence of the upper classes.
Most people would let the Birlings be treated differently and receive special treatment – both Mr and Mrs Birling find it unacceptable that Inspector Goole refuses to worship or fear them.
Priestley uses their attitudes to show the corruption (moral wrongness) in a society that lets the social classes be treated differently and, in some cases, not even be included in criminal investigations purely because of their social class.
ACT 2: ‘It’s you – and not the Inspector’
This exclamation from Mrs Birling to Sheila shows a crack in their apparently-perfect family façade (fake image).
The family members have begun to separate. They verbally attack one another, suggesting that their perfect family is not so perfect after all.
ACT 2: ‘She had only herself to blame’
Mrs Birling says many times that Eva Smith was to blame for her own fate, and for the charity refusing to help her. She then goes on to blame the man who got Eva pregnant.
At no point in the whole play does Mrs Birling accept any responsibility for her own actions, or think that her actions may have negative consequences for others. She doesn’t understand that she should think about other people.
Mrs Birling only cares about her own family, how they look to other people, and keeping (or improving) their social standing.
ACT 2: ‘Go and look for the father of the child. It’s his responsibility’
As soon as Mrs Birling finds out that Eva was pregnant, she shifts all blame to the father of the child. -
As this man is described, dramatic irony (when the audience knows something the characters don’t) unfolds as the audience realise that this man is actually Eric, Mrs Birling’s son.
As Mrs Birling continues her speech, the audience waits for her to work out that she is actively criticising her own son.
As long as this man is anonymous (not named), she does not care what happens to him.
When she starts to realise it could be her son, she stutters and stops talking.
