Mrs Birling

Answer 1

Her snobbery
How is she like when she speaks about workers?

Answer 2

“First, the girl herself. … Secondly, I blame the young man who was the father of the child… He should be made an example of.”
Dramatic irony
Morality link: she basically says the morality of your actions depend on who you are. When she finds out it’s Eric, she doesn’t treat it as bad, hypocritical
She has no/inconsistent morals -> capitalists have no fixed morality
‘should’ is an imperative verb, forceful- emphasises her hypocrisy because she is going against her own words later (doesn’t make an example of Eric)

Answer 3

When you’re married, you’ll realise that men with important work to do sometimes have to spend all their time and energy on their business.”
Assumption she will get married, patriarchal views
Implies Sheila doesn’t understand yet- ironic since she understands but Mrs B doesn’t.
Is aware of her role in society, wants her daughter to do the same
Condescending, patronising her- saying she is too inexperienced to realise reality, elevating herself since she already knows.
Assuming she’s right- arrogant
Makes men sound more ‘important’ than women since they are the ones who have a big role

Question 4

‘you’ll realise than 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, just as i had’ - mrs birling

Answer 4

• sets the clear patriarchal society + the internalised misogyny, and finishes with a sense of resignation

Question 5

‘girls of that class’ - mrs birling

Answer 5

• the pronoun highlights her repulsion of the other classes + distances/separates herself from them, clear class prejudice. also shows + emphasises that all that matter to mrs birling is eva’s class, class defines your worth and value as human, the idea which priestley sought to challenge + subvert

Question 6

‘i’m very sorry. but i think she only had herself to blame’ - mrs birling

Answer 6

• two sentences completely contradict each other highlighting mrs birling’s lack of emotion, arrogance + disregard of responsibility

Question 7

‘i used my influence to have it refused. and in spite of what’s happened to the girl since, i consider i did my duty’ - mrs birling

Answer 7

• cruel perversion, actively sought to persuade others to reject eva’s appeal; similar to how sheila leveraged her power to have eva fired but sheila has some remorse
• whereas mrs birling doesn’t. also underlines how power wielded by wrong people leads to disastrous outcomes. lexical choice of ‘duty’ would have been jarring for a post-war audience (war connotations, ‘do your duty’), and it’s being used in a way that’d be galling as mrs birling has disregarded a poor girl in need of help

Question 8

‘it wasn’t i who had her turned out of her employment […] in the circumstances i think i was justified’ - mrs birling

Answer 8

• refusing to take accountability + justifying her actions by putting the blame onto someone else, incredibly unempathetic

Question 9

‘as if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!’ - mrs birling

Answer 9

• dehumanising pronoun, exclamatory sentence, shows her strong view is tainted by class prejudice

Question 10

‘i’m sorry she should have come to such a horrible end. but i accept no blame for it at all.’ - mrs birling

Answer 10

• another two contradictory sentences, repeated structure from before, highlights her complete disregard for social responsibility

Question 11

‘he ought to be dealt with very seriously […] make sure that he’s compelled to confess in public his responsibility’ - mrs birling

Answer 11

• creating a larger hole for eric and the rest of the birling family as mrs birling is putting their reputation that they care so much about on the line

Question 12

‘he certainly didn’t make me confess […] i thought i had done no more than my duty’ - mrs birling

Answer 12

• thinks she is superior to everybody else, reiterates the jarring lexical choice of ‘duty’ which highlights that mrs birling still hasn’t changed

Question 13

“A piece of gross impertinence” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 13

• Mrs birlings 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 14

“She had only herself to blame” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 14

• Mrs Birling takes the view that suicide is a conscious choice and therefore Eva can only blame herself for taking her own life.
• This is one of the most important quotes in the play and the very antithesis of what J.B. Priestley is attempting to expound via the play.
• Eva did not bring all of this upon herself. She was the victim of a society where she had to struggle to survive and suffered.
• Mrs Birling’s comments are cruel and reflect a lack of pity for Eva’s suffering and also do not take in to account the role of her family in Eva’s sad demise.
• The wealthy in society cannot exonerate themselves from the suffering of the poor and bear responsibility.
• This is the fundamental message of the play that Priestley is seeking to promote.

Question 15

“I’ll tell you what I told her. Go and look for the father of the child. It’s his responsibility.” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 15

• Whilst trying to defend herself and her ‘honour’ she passes blame on to the father of Eva’s child.
• Little does she know that that father is in fact the person she called a ‘boy’, her son Eric. * If it is Eric’s responsibility then a man from a rich family bears part of the blame for Eva’s demise and ultimately by extension on a more fundamental level his parents for not being able to raise him in a manner that would prevent him from doing this.
• The Birlings are shown in the play as a very flawed family, and Priestley is trying to tell the wealthy upper classes in society that they are far from perfect.

Question 16

“Oh, stop it, both of you. And please remember before you start accusing me of anything again that it wasn’t I who had her turned out of her employment - which probably began it all.” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 16

• The pressure builds up to the point that the normally very deferential Mrs Birling has a go at her husband and even goes as far as to saying that him sacking Eva started all this.
• If we then consider that she is saying that the father of Eva’s child should have been responsible for the child and that Mr Birling’s dismissal of Eva from her job started all this, she is ironically condemning her own family for their actions and attributing blame to them.
• Mrs Birling lives in a world where she and her family are ‘good’ people and superior the lowly and inferior working class, so for her to perhaps in a moment of anger accept her family’s role in Eva’s demise means that she would have to ultimately accept they are not as wonderful as she might like to think they are.

Question 17

“whatever it was, I know it made me finally lose all patience with her. She was giving herself ridiculous airs. She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl in her position.” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 17

• Another comment reflecting Mrs Birling’s very cold and insensitive attitude to Eva.
• Mrs Birling does not seem to understand that a working class person like Eva can have complex feelings and emotions and also have a certain standard of morality and dignity.
• This clearly views the working class, though not as criminal, as clearly inferior and lacking morality.
• Is Priestley highlighting this because this sort of attitude is all too common amongst the wealthy in English society at that time.

Question 18

“she said that the father was only a youngster - silly and wild and drinking too much. There couldn’t be any question of marrying him - it would be wrong for them both. He had given her money but she didn’t want to take any more money from him.” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 18

• Again irony as the ‘father’ is Mrs Birling’s son, the person she referred to earlier as a ‘boy’ which would seem to reinforce notions that he is indeed a ‘youngster’.
• The other irony is that there would be no question of marriage between him and Eva because it would be the classist and unsympathetic Mrs Birling who would perhaps be the most opposed to such a marriage

Question 19

” I did nothing I’m ashamed of” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 19

• Priestley demonstrates the true extent of mrs birlings cold nature as despite Eva’s death, mrs Birling does not regret her denial of aid to Eva.

Question 20

“I did my duty” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 20

• Priestleys use of the noun “duty” is used to expose mrs birlings 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 21

“First I blame the girl herself. Secondly, I blame the young man” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 21

• 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.
• Little does Mrs Birling know that the ‘young man’ she is referring to is in fact very ironically her son.
• She cannot later turn around and then absolve Eric of blame when she has already declared that the man responsible for fathering Eva’s child must shoulder blame for her fate.
• As mentioned before by extension she and her husband could also be blamed on a more fundamental level for poor parenting.

Question 22

” he’d be entirely responsible. […] compelled to confess in public his responsibility” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 22

• Mrs Birlings 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.
• This is said in response to the inspector saying what if Eva’s claims that the father of her child had indeed stolen money.
• What this shows us that contrary to Mrs Birling’s ignorant and prejudiced limited world view that the rich are inherently morally superior and the poor are morally inferior, in this case it is the other way round the man (Eric, her son) from the wealthy classes was in fact guilty of theft and the working class, Eva refused to accept stolen money.
• Priestley is showing morality is not the monopoly of the rich and the real world is a much more complex place than Mrs Birling might imagine where there is good and bad amongst all human beings regardless of their social status

Question 23

” don’t contradict me like that” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 23

• 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 24

“A trifle impertinent” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 24

• 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 25

“Prominent member of the Brumley’ s Women’s Charity Organisation” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 25

• Priestley implies that mrs birlings 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 26

“[with dignity] We’ve done a great deal of useful work helping deserving cases” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 26

• The emphasis on the adjective “deserving” reveals mrs birlings 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.
• The stage directions “with dignity” suggests that mrs birlings role is not held out of care or compassion for the poor, but as a way to gain influence and status.
• Mrs Birling claims that the financial aid is reserved only for deserving cases, a decision made at the discretion of the upper classes, reflecting how the lives of the working classes are controlled by the wealthy.

Question 27

“One of the things that prejudiced me against her case” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 27

• Mrs Birling sees her treatment of Eva as valid, unashamed 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 28

“The rude way he spoke… it was quite extraordinary” - Mrs Birling, act 3

Answer 28

• Priestleys use of the adjective “rude” reveals mrs Birlings 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 29

“What business is it of yours?” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 29

• Priestleys 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 inspector’s “business”.

Question 30

” her husband’s social superior” - Mrs Birling, act 1

Answer 30

• 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 mrs Birling and we see that this causes embarrassment to mrs Birling; image, the way they are perceived by others, is everything.

Question 31

” Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things” - Mrs Birling, act 1

Answer 31

• 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 32

“Disgusting affair” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 32

• She is critical of Gerald’s “disgusting affair” as a result of its inter- class nature, rather than his disloyalty to sheila. Mrs Birling is ignorant and in her own world, her own bubble.
• She does not know much about the real world in general or even the affairs of Brumley. * She does not want to hear about Gerald’s affair with Eva Smith and labels it ‘disgusting’. * But why is it ‘disgusting’ in her eyes and is Gerald thus ‘disgusting’ and therefore unfit to marry Sheila.
• We can infer from what we know of Mrs Birling that it being ‘disgusting’ could very much be linked to her contempt for the working classes as lower and inferior so the idea of a member of the wealthy elite having a relationship with a lowly working class girl appals her.

Question 33

“please don’t contradict me like that. And in any case I don’t suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of that class–” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 33

• 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 34

“Oh - she had some fancy reason. As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 34

• All these comments referring to Eva as: 1. ‘Girls of that class’ 2. ‘..a girl in that position’ 3. ‘a girl of that sort’.
• This implies a sort of distance between her and those ‘sort’ over there.
• The inferior poor. As mentioned above she viewed Eva as a member of the inferior working class who simply did not possess any great standards of morality such that they would refuse money.

Question 35

“Certainly. And he ought to be dealt with very severely” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 35

• This is her reply to the Inspector saying that now Mrs Birling accepts the father of Eva’s child is the ‘chief culprit’. * Would she have said that he ought to be punished ‘severely’ if she had known it was her son.
• We cannot be certain but the answer might be that one of Mrs Birling’s chief considerations would be the impact on the family reputation.
• If no one knew that Eric did this perhaps it could be concealed, Mrs Birling anyway has little care for Eva’s suffering.

Question 36

“A rather cold woman” - Mrs Birling

Answer 36

• Priestleys 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 Priestley to convey that such a detached attitude towards suffering is unnatural.Mrs Birling tells her daughter Sheila not to contradict with her.
• She is obviously entrenched in a mindset which is heavily hierarchical including the importance of parental authority.
• All through out her quotes we can see her telling people to do this and do that or not do this and that. She believes in certain norms that need to be conformed to. She is the exact opposite of an agent of change, the sort of change J.B. Priestley is looking for.
• The second part of this quote where she says that they cannot understand why Eva committed suicide is implicitly saying that rather than the working class being fellow human beings with common human emotions and needs are almost akin to a different breed of being.
• The gap between the wealthy and the working class is such that the mindset of the working class would be incomprehensible to Mrs Birling and nor should there be any attempt to comprehend them.
• They are a lower, inferior species of being as is clear when Mrs Birling rather contemptuously says ‘Girls of that class’. That is of a lower, inferior class.

Question 37

“but I must say that so far you seem to be conducting in a rather peculiar and offensive manner. You know of course that my husband was lord mayor only two years ago and that he’s still a magistrate–” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 37

• Mrs Birling is angry with the inspector who she might well consider to be socially inferior to her and being ‘uppity’ and having the audacity to ask such an important family such questions.
• She also indirectly threatens the inspector by alluding to her husband’s status as a former lord mayor and that he is a magistrate.
• The Birlings obviously seem to be accustomed to being treated with deference and respect by nearly everyone, so for them to be subject to questioning like this is a shock to their system.
• In their rigid and hierarchical world of classism they are important and privileged people.

Question 38

“No, of course not. He’s only a boy.” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 38

• This line contains some of the irony which is rich in this play. Mrs Birling refers to Eric as a boy.
• However little does she know rather than being a pre-pubescent boy he has actually fathered a child, the ability to sire offspring being one of the key features differentiating a child and an adult.
• She also obviously doesn’t think of Eric as a ‘man’, thus maybe not as an independent person. Perhaps Eric has been heavily pampered and molly cuddled by his mother.

Question 39

“all a lot of nonsense - I didn’t believe a word of it.” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 39

• Mrs Birling did not believe anything Eva said largely based on her prejudice towards the working class, seeing them incapable of having the same sort of complex emotions as the wealthy and having no great standards of morality.
• They were an ‘other’ who were inferior and were not worthy of associating with unless it were to occasionally give some charity and even that may have stemmed from appearing to ‘look good’ to other members of the wealthy elite of Brumely rather than genuine concern for their welfare.

Question 40

“it isn’t true. You know him, Gerald -and you’re a man - you must know it isn’t true.” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 40

• This is in response to comments about Eric being a heavy drinker. Ironically whilst calling Eric a ‘boy’ she calls Gerald a ‘man’.
• Why is it that Eric has not developed in to a young male who is recognised as an adult ‘man’ whilst Gerald has?
• Is this perhaps partially due to faulty parenting by the Birlings?
• If they cannot parent properly and if the mother does not even know about what her son is truly like then how can they act as models for the rest of society and have a decisive saying in how society should be run?
• All through the play, Priestley is undermining the credibility of the wealthy English elite and their ability to dominate British society and decide how Britain should be governed.

Question 41

“It would be much better if Sheila didn’t listen to this story at all.” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 41

• This is said when Gerald is about to speak of some of his past including with ‘women of the town’.
• Mrs Birling doesn’t want Sheila to hear about this. Sheila insists that she does.
• Mrs Birling is very conservative and rather than viewing her children as adults deserving of respect sees them very much as little children.
• She is very much out of touch with the real world which is much more complex and gritty than the neat and well-defined classist bubble that she lives in.

Question 42

“well, really! Aldermand Meggarty! I must say, we are learning something tonight.” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 42

• Mrs Birling lives in a bubble and is out of touch with reality. * She thinks Eric is a little boy, thinks working class people are totally different and have a mindset alien to the rich and are not even worth trying to be understood.
• Her ignorance of reality is further highlighted by the fact that she finds out that Meggarty is a prolific womaniser.
• The world is not as it appears to her.
• She is a very limited person with limited life experience stuck in her own small rigid bubble.
• In the following line her daughter Sheila says that everyone knows how lecherous Meggarty is.
• However Mrs Birling did not know what was common knowledge as she is out of touch and stuck in her own bubble.

Question 43

“You’ll have to get used to that, just as I had” - Mrs Birling, act 1

Answer 43

• Mrs Birling provides no comfort to her daughter sheila when she feels insecure about Gerald’s absence 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.
• Mrs Birling has a very conservative opinion of gender-relations and believes that a wife is essentially there to support her husband and the primacy of males in society.
• She is trying to impart these values in to Sheila.

Question 44

“What an expression, Sheila! Really the things you girls pick up these days!” - Mrs Birling, act 1

Answer 44

• Again another example of Mrs Birling’s conservatism and she is alarmed by Sheila using the word ‘squiffy’.
• Image and appearance are important to Mrs Birling and from her general character we can also assume that she would also be concerned about what other wealthy people would think if they heard Sheila use such an expression.

Question 45

“Claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 45

• 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.

Question 46

‘I did nothing I’m ashamed of.’ ‘she only had herself to blame’ Mrs Birling, act 3

Answer 46

• She is taking no responsibility and is blaming the dead girl.
• Euphemism to excuse own behaviour

Question 47

“I did my duty” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 47

• 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 48

“Don’t contradict me like that” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 48

• Representing conservatism and resistance to change.

Question 49

“Prominent member of the Brumley Women’s Charity Organisation” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 49

• Due to her self-professed “prominent” status, mrs birling is in this position for influence rather than help

Question 50

“[With dignity] We’ve done a great deal of useful work helping deserving cases” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 50

• 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

Question 51

“her husband’s social superior” - Mrs Birling, act 1

Answer 51

• Theme Class
• Mrs Birling is, as Priestley describes her in the stage directions​, as being above Mr Birling.
• 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 52

“what business is it of yours?” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 52

• Theme Pride
• 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 53

“Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things” - Mrs Birling, act 1

Answer 53

• Mrs birling admonishes mr birling when he compliments his own chef. he desires to maintain high social class. After all she is his ‘social superior’

Question 54

“disgusting affair” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 54

• Mrs Birling is critical about Geralds inter-class affair, rather than it being because of his disloyalty to sheila

Question 55

“a rather cold woman” - Mrs Birling

Answer 55

• 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.

Question 56

“You’ll have to get used to that, just as I had” - Mrs Birling , act 1

Answer 56

• Highlights gender differences, women had much less power and place in society compared to men
• Tries to teach her daughter the expectations of women, and sets double standard, normalising absence and even affairs

Question 57

“Claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples” - Mrs Birling, act 1

Answer 57

• Theme Lack of Empathy
• 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.

Question 58

“[With dignity] we’ve done a great deal of useful work for deserving cases” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 58

• Priestley’s use of the stage direction “with dignity” suggests 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.
• Mrs Birling claims that the financial aid is reserved only for “deserving cases”, a decision made at the discretion of the upper classes, reflecting how the lives of the working classes are controlled by the wealthy

Question 59

“a girl of that sort would (not) ever refuse money” // “impertinence (in claiming to be Mrs Birling)” // “one of the things that prejudiced me against her” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 59

• Mrs Birling is prejudiced against Eva’s story due to her class, rather than against Eva as an individual. She even admits to this when pointing out Eva’s “impertinence” (in claiming to be Mrs Birling) as turning Mrs B against her. The use of the noun
• “impertinence” is loaded with connotations of class prejudice, implying that Mrs Birling sees herself as superior to Eva.
• Therefore, those living in poverty have no way to escape it as they cannot challenge their exploitation.
• Eva’s attempt to strike saw her fired and even the institutes meant to help those in her position are prejudiced against her

Question 60

“(agitated) I don’t believe it. I won’t believe it” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 60

• Mrs B rejection of all guilt, remorse is incomprehensible to her upper class microcosm.

Question 61

“Girls of that class” - Mrs Birling, act 2

Answer 61

• Class difference/ prejudice.