Mrs Birling Flashcards
‘rather cold woman’ and ‘her husbands social superior’
Act 1 stage directions
shows she is not very friendly and shows she did start in a wealthy family.
‘When your married you’ll realise that men with important work to do sometimes have to spend nearly all their time and energy on their business. You’ll have to get used to that, just as I had’
Act 1
Mrs Birling is conforming to the expectations of how women were supposed to act at the time - subordinate to men. She is showing that she cares more about business than family.
‘Girls of that class-‘
Act 2 Mrs Birling openly shows her prejudice against lower class girls. This shows the deep class divisions within Brumley, and Priestley does this to expose the hypocrisy amongst the upper class.
‘You know of course that my husband was Lord Mayor only two years ago’
Act 2
This shows the importance of status in the world of the play.
‘No of course not he is only a boy’
Act 2 Mrs Birling shows her naivety as she is unaware her son drinks a lot. The fact she is unaware of things about her own son shows the audience that the upper class are very naive and out of touch with reality.
‘surely you don’t mean alderman meggarty’
Act 2
Mrs Birling once again shows the naivety and hypocrisy of the upper class
‘I think she only had herself to blame’
Act 2
Mrs Birling is defiant and hypocritical
‘I did nothing I’m ashamed of’
Act 2
She is unwilling to accept responsibility
‘As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money’
‘He’d stolen it’
Act 2 This shows the hypocrisy of the upper class as they believe the lower class are immoral, however a lower class girl refused to take stolen money.
‘I accept no blame for it at all’
Act 2
This shows her lack of empathy towards the lower class.
‘He ought to be dealt with very severely’
‘I don’t believe it’ ‘agitated’
Act 2
Mrs Birling conforms to her husbands views that you have to look after yourself as she does a lot to get the blame pushed onto somebody else, however is comes back to haunt her when her son is the person she is giving all the blame.
‘I’m absolutely ashamed of you’
Act 3
She is willing to blame others but not herself - Priestley is attacking her capitalist attitude
‘Of course it does’
Act 3
Mrs Birling has not learnt her lesson and is willing to pretend nothing happened because they believe it wasn’t a real police inspector.
‘In the morning they’ll be just as amused as we are’
Act 3
This shows she has not learnt anything
