Mrs Birling Quotes

Question 1

Mrs Birling Responsibility Quote 1

Answer 1

“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.

Question 2

Mrs Birling Responsibility Quote 2

Answer 2

“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.

Question 3

Mrs Birling Responsibility Quote 3

Answer 3

“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.

Question 4

Mrs Birling Responsibility Quote 4

Answer 4

“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.

Question 5

Mrs Birling Responsibility Quote 5

Answer 5

“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.

Question 6

Mrs Birling Responsibility Quote 6

Answer 6

“He’d be entirely responsible. […] 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.

Question 7

Mrs Birling Pride Quote 1

Answer 7

“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.

Question 8

Mrs Birling Pride Quote 2

Answer 8

“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’

Question 9

Mrs Birling Pride Quote 3

Answer 9

“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.

Question 10

Mrs Birling Pride Quote 4

Answer 10

“[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.

Question 11

Mrs Birling Pride Quote 5

Answer 11

“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”. This
demonstrates that those living in poverty have no way to escape it as they cannot challenge their exploitation; Eva’s attempt to strike saw her fired; the institutes meant to help them are prejudiced against them.

Question 12

Mrs Birling Pride Quote 6

Answer 12

„”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.

Question 13

Mrs Birling Pride Quote 7

Answer 13

“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

Question 14

Mrs Birling Class Quote 1

Answer 14

“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.

Question 15

Mrs Birling Class Quote 2

Answer 15

“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.

Question 16

Mrs Birling Class Quote 3

Answer 16

“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.

Question 17

Mrs Birling Class Quote 4

Answer 17

“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.

Question 18

Mrs Birling Class Quote 5

Answer 18

“A rather cold woman”

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.

Question 19

Mrs Birling Empathy Quote 1

Answer 19

“A rather cold woman”

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.

Question 20

Mrs Birling Empathy Quote 2

Answer 20

“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.

Question 21

Mrs Birling Empathy Quote 3

Answer 21

“Claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples”

Mrs Birling perceives the working class as being less human, with less complex emotions, and feels that it is inappropriate for Eva to behave in a way that doesn’t conform to her expectations of her class.