Mrs birling Flashcards
Responsibility
“A piece of gross impertinence”
Mrs Birling’s reference to Eva’s honest tale of woe with the adjective “impertinence” reveals how she believes she is absolved of all responsibility as Eva’s claim to be “Mrs Birling” was disrespectful.
“She had only herself to blame”
Mrs Birling takes the view that “suicide” is a concious choice and therefore Eva can only blame herself for taking her own life.
“I did nothing I’m ashamed of”
Priestley demonstrates the true extent of Mrs Birling’s “cold” nature as despite Eva’s death, Mrs Birling does not regret her denial of aid to Eva.
“I did my 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.
“First I blame the girl herself.
Secondly, I blame the young man”
Priestley portrays Mrs Birling as unable to accept any responsibility as she deflects blame onto Eric inadvertently. Yet, her hypocrisy is further revealed when she realises, and states “I didn’t know’, implying that she would not have placed the blame on her son for the same action.
“He’d be entirely responsible. I…J Compelled to confess in public his responsibility”
Mrs Birling’s double standards are laid bare by Priestley when she discovers who the father is; the public confession of Eric would tarnish the reputation of the Birling family name. Mrs Birling is not consistent with her morals when it is her reputation at stake.
Pride-quotes
“Don’t contradict me like that”
Priestley presents Mrs Birling as symbolic of conservatism and resistant to change. By contrast, Sheila is representative of the younger generation who embrace radical change and the need for socialism.
“A trifle impertinent”
Mrs Birling attempts to convey a demand of respect through her formal and complex vocabulary, evidenced by her accusing the Inspector as being “a trifle impertinent’
“Prominent member of the Brumley Women’s Charity
Organisation”
Priestley implies that Mrs Birling’s role is not held out of care or compassion for the poor, but as a way to gain influence and status due to her self-professed “prominent” status.
“[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.
“One of the things that prejudiced me against her case”
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”.
“The rude way he spoke … it was quite extraordinary!”
Priestley’s use of the adjective “rude” reveals Mrs Birling’s perception of the Inspector as disrespectful. In doing so, she attempts to undermine his authority, devalidating his argument, meaning that they don’t have to take responsibility for their actions.
“What business is it of yours?”
Priestley’s use of this rhetorical question evidences the arrogance of Mrs Birling and her sense of superiority. This is clear as the Inspector’s job is to “ask questions” and therefore anything related to the death of Eva smith is the inspectors “business”
Quotations-class
“Her husband’s social superior”
Mrs Birling is, as Priestley describes her in the Stage directions, her husband’s “social superior”. Therefore, her upper class social etiquette and mannerisms are not natural to Mr Birling and we see that this causes embarrassment to Mrs Birling; image, the way they are perceived by others, is everything.
“Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things”
Mrs Birling admonishes Mr Birling when he compliments his own chef, accidentally betraying that he is not from the same class as his wife, who tells him that he isn’t
“supposed to say such things”. Mrs Birling desires to maintain an image of not associating with, and almost ignoring the existence of, lower-class people.
“Disgusting affair”
She is critical of Gerald’s “disgusting affair” as a result of its inter-class nature, rather than because of his disloyalty to Sheila.
“girls of that class”
This makes it clear that her rejection of Eva’s case was purely based on prejudice, shown by Mrs Birling’s generalisation “girls of that class”. The determiner ‘that’ demonstrates contempt of the working class and is further evidence of how deep-rooted the class divide was in 20th century Britain.
Quotes-empathy
“A rather cold woman”
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was in zuth century Britain.
Priestley’s use of the stage directions to describe Mrs Birling as a “cold woman” would have been perceived as an oxymoron at the time. Contemporary societal norms dictated that women were meant to be loving, maternal and emotional. Therefore, describing Mrs Birling as emotionally “cold” is perhaps an attempt by Priestly to convey that such a detached attitude towards suffering is unnatural.
“You’ll have to get used to that, just as I had”
Mrs Birling provides no comfort to her daughter, Sheila, when she feels insecure about Gerald’s absence (and potential affair), instead upholding patriarchal norms by telling her to “get used to that” feeling. This is a demonstration of a societal double standard; contemporary women shunned if they did not abstain from sex outside marriage, while men were not condemned for doing so.
Topic sentences
Through the character of Mrs Birling, Priestley explores the resistance of the upper class to the change that threatens their social position.
• Priestley explores how the suffering of the working class is perpetuated by the class system through Mrs Birling’s denial of financial aid to Eva Smith as a result of class-based prejudices towards her.
• Priestly demonstrates the hypocrisy of the upper classes through the character of Mrs Birling.
