Inspector Calls
ARTHUR BIRLING:
He is corrupt and unfeeling and due to this, he is the perfect construct to symbolise the flaws of capitalism
• “pitiful affair” > ironic > uses pity in a way that acts as a contempt of the entire working class population
• “a man has to make his own way - has to look after himself” > he is essentially saying that he thinks that the upper classes have more money than the
lower classes purely because they worked harder in life
• This idea that he doesn’t care about anyone except himself is also shown through him stating “as if we were all mixed up like bees in a hive - community
and all that nonsense” > automatically makes us realise that he doesn’t support equality and fairness
• This is a complete opposite to King Arthur, who his name was taken from. Priestley does this ironically, in order to make Mr Birling seem like such as bad
person, as King Arthur was seen as an idealistic King
• “I’d give thousands - yes, thousand” > he believes that money can fix the world’s issues
His character reflects 1945 politics
• The line “I’m taking as a hard headed, practical man of business” alludes to the phrase “hard headed man of business” which was a phrase used by the
prime minister in between world war 1 and world war 2 > this would have therefore been very recognisable by the audience at the time of production in
order to emphasise how capitalists benefitted from war as their businesses would have likely thrived
• In addition to this, the Labour Party also uses the phrase in the 1945 manifesto in order to echo this point and prove that a socialist society is ideal
Through learning that Mr Birling is a nouveau riche, we can see that this has potentially made him desire validation of his new found superiority
• It was likely that as he made his own money, he would have been looked down upon by higher-class men, so constantly felt the need to prove that he
deserved his position
• However, to do this, he would inflict suffering upon the working-classes by making their conditions worse and decreasing their pay > cycle of oppression
The Inspectors position of authority and overall job makes Mr Birling feel insecure in his own position
• Therefore, he tries to intimidate the Inspector by listing out his social position, such as “lord-major” and “alderman for years”
• He also bombards the Inspector with rhetorical questions, such as “Is it now?” in an attempt to create a façade of authority and intimidate the Inspector
He is very reluctant to change or accept any responsibility for Eva’s death
• “But the whole thing’s different now” > Inspector wasn’t real > feels like he doesn’t have to worry anymore > gets an instant catharsis (sense of relief)
when finding out that nothing that he had done wrong will be on his criminal record and affect his social status
• Views socialism as “nonsense”
• “I can’t accept any responsibility”
Due to this, it is suggested that he is very likely continue in in a spiral and be forced to relive the death of a working class person (Peter Ouspenskii’s theory
of eternal recurrence) (cycle of immorality)
He marriage with Mrs Birling was a transaction that exchanged financial stability and a reputable family
• “Her husbands social superior”
• They married for their social status rather than for love > “have to get used to, just as I did” - shows
that he isn’t a loyal husband and that the capitalist system causes unhappiness
Priestley uses dramatic irony to make Mr Birling seem foolish and unlikable, as well as foreshadowing the
downfall of capitalism
• “The Germans don’t want war” > makes him seem ignorant to the 1945 contemporary audience
• “We’re in for a time of gradually increasing prosperity” > followed by the Great Depression
• This makes him seem very stupid and it appears to us that he actually knew nothing and was just saying it to make him appear to be superior
• This naïvety could foreshadow the fall of capitalism, which may be metaphorically proven later, due to us knowing that the titanic sinks, despite Mr a
Birling thinking it is “unsinkable. Absolutely unsinkable” > This allows us to compare the boat with capitalism and suggests that capitalists will ‘sink’
, Inspector Calls
SYBIL BIRLING:
• Her name directly means the gift of prophecy, which is where someone can see into the future.
• Priestley uses this idea ironically as Mrs Birling almost appears to be ‘blind’ to the truth, which could be wilful blindness as we know that
she encouraged Sheila to ignore it “just as I had” > victim of patriarchal society
• Wilful: “I don’t believe it, I won’t believe it”
• Genuinely oblivious: “go and look for the father of the child. It’s his responsibility”
• At the start of the play, she is presented as a controlling and “cold woman”, which suggests that she is self-interested and lacks emotions
• “Now stop it you two” “I think Sheila and I had better go to the drawing room” > she chooses to leave because she knows her place; she
commits to maintaining the patriarchal status quo
• She is responsible as she turned Eva away from her charity when she came looking
for help
• However, as the Welfare state was not around in 1912, charities were not funded by
the government, so they had to turn some people down from their services. So can
we really blame Mrs Birling from sending Eva away when she used a fake name (Mrs
Birling’s)
• However we still have to question Mrs Birling’s reasons for working at a charity due
to her unsympathetic nature
• “Girls of that class” - euphemism - dehumanises Eva and suggests a lack of
understanding which links back to her as being ‘cold’
• This coldness and lack of sympathy can be shown through Mrs Birling displaying emotion as a sign of weakness > “you’re behaving like a
hysterical child”
• As well as this, she tells Sheila to “forget about this absurd business” shows that she sees no point in caring
• Furthermore, the marriage between Mr and Mrs Birling was likely for social mobility as it can be assumed that when they got married,
there was an exchange between Mrs Birling’s family and status with Mr Birling’s finance
• She does not take responsibility for her contributions to Eva’s death > “I accept no blame for it all”
• She perceives Eva’s death as her own fault and Eric’s fault as she says that it is the responsibility of “first, the girl herself” and “secondly
the young man”
• Therefore, she rejects views about collective responsibility and doesn’t believe that there is a reason for society to change as she doesn’t
think that she has done anything wrong.
• If society were to change due to the social classes or the suffragette movement, her comfortable lifestyle and privileges would be
threatened
• As a result of this, she feels constantly discontented and paranoid about the possibility of her reputation being tarnished
• She represents wrath and pride (two of the deadly sins)
• This pride is shown when she is horrified to find out that Eva “called herself Mrs Birling!”
• Overall, Mrs Birling does not change at all, which reflects upon the fixed Capitalist viewpoints at the time, which aren’t susceptible to
change
• To conclude, she is used by Priestley to represent the wealthier classes and their selfish attitudes
ARTHUR BIRLING:
He is corrupt and unfeeling and due to this, he is the perfect construct to symbolise the flaws of capitalism
• “pitiful affair” > ironic > uses pity in a way that acts as a contempt of the entire working class population
• “a man has to make his own way - has to look after himself” > he is essentially saying that he thinks that the upper classes have more money than the
lower classes purely because they worked harder in life
• This idea that he doesn’t care about anyone except himself is also shown through him stating “as if we were all mixed up like bees in a hive - community
and all that nonsense” > automatically makes us realise that he doesn’t support equality and fairness
• This is a complete opposite to King Arthur, who his name was taken from. Priestley does this ironically, in order to make Mr Birling seem like such as bad
person, as King Arthur was seen as an idealistic King
• “I’d give thousands - yes, thousand” > he believes that money can fix the world’s issues
His character reflects 1945 politics
• The line “I’m taking as a hard headed, practical man of business” alludes to the phrase “hard headed man of business” which was a phrase used by the
prime minister in between world war 1 and world war 2 > this would have therefore been very recognisable by the audience at the time of production in
order to emphasise how capitalists benefitted from war as their businesses would have likely thrived
• In addition to this, the Labour Party also uses the phrase in the 1945 manifesto in order to echo this point and prove that a socialist society is ideal
Through learning that Mr Birling is a nouveau riche, we can see that this has potentially made him desire validation of his new found superiority
• It was likely that as he made his own money, he would have been looked down upon by higher-class men, so constantly felt the need to prove that he
deserved his position
• However, to do this, he would inflict suffering upon the working-classes by making their conditions worse and decreasing their pay > cycle of oppression
The Inspectors position of authority and overall job makes Mr Birling feel insecure in his own position
• Therefore, he tries to intimidate the Inspector by listing out his social position, such as “lord-major” and “alderman for years”
• He also bombards the Inspector with rhetorical questions, such as “Is it now?” in an attempt to create a façade of authority and intimidate the Inspector
He is very reluctant to change or accept any responsibility for Eva’s death
• “But the whole thing’s different now” > Inspector wasn’t real > feels like he doesn’t have to worry anymore > gets an instant catharsis (sense of relief)
when finding out that nothing that he had done wrong will be on his criminal record and affect his social status
• Views socialism as “nonsense”
• “I can’t accept any responsibility”
Due to this, it is suggested that he is very likely continue in in a spiral and be forced to relive the death of a working class person (Peter Ouspenskii’s theory
of eternal recurrence) (cycle of immorality)
He marriage with Mrs Birling was a transaction that exchanged financial stability and a reputable family
• “Her husbands social superior”
• They married for their social status rather than for love > “have to get used to, just as I did” - shows
that he isn’t a loyal husband and that the capitalist system causes unhappiness
Priestley uses dramatic irony to make Mr Birling seem foolish and unlikable, as well as foreshadowing the
downfall of capitalism
• “The Germans don’t want war” > makes him seem ignorant to the 1945 contemporary audience
• “We’re in for a time of gradually increasing prosperity” > followed by the Great Depression
• This makes him seem very stupid and it appears to us that he actually knew nothing and was just saying it to make him appear to be superior
• This naïvety could foreshadow the fall of capitalism, which may be metaphorically proven later, due to us knowing that the titanic sinks, despite Mr a
Birling thinking it is “unsinkable. Absolutely unsinkable” > This allows us to compare the boat with capitalism and suggests that capitalists will ‘sink’
, Inspector Calls
SYBIL BIRLING:
• Her name directly means the gift of prophecy, which is where someone can see into the future.
• Priestley uses this idea ironically as Mrs Birling almost appears to be ‘blind’ to the truth, which could be wilful blindness as we know that
she encouraged Sheila to ignore it “just as I had” > victim of patriarchal society
• Wilful: “I don’t believe it, I won’t believe it”
• Genuinely oblivious: “go and look for the father of the child. It’s his responsibility”
• At the start of the play, she is presented as a controlling and “cold woman”, which suggests that she is self-interested and lacks emotions
• “Now stop it you two” “I think Sheila and I had better go to the drawing room” > she chooses to leave because she knows her place; she
commits to maintaining the patriarchal status quo
• She is responsible as she turned Eva away from her charity when she came looking
for help
• However, as the Welfare state was not around in 1912, charities were not funded by
the government, so they had to turn some people down from their services. So can
we really blame Mrs Birling from sending Eva away when she used a fake name (Mrs
Birling’s)
• However we still have to question Mrs Birling’s reasons for working at a charity due
to her unsympathetic nature
• “Girls of that class” - euphemism - dehumanises Eva and suggests a lack of
understanding which links back to her as being ‘cold’
• This coldness and lack of sympathy can be shown through Mrs Birling displaying emotion as a sign of weakness > “you’re behaving like a
hysterical child”
• As well as this, she tells Sheila to “forget about this absurd business” shows that she sees no point in caring
• Furthermore, the marriage between Mr and Mrs Birling was likely for social mobility as it can be assumed that when they got married,
there was an exchange between Mrs Birling’s family and status with Mr Birling’s finance
• She does not take responsibility for her contributions to Eva’s death > “I accept no blame for it all”
• She perceives Eva’s death as her own fault and Eric’s fault as she says that it is the responsibility of “first, the girl herself” and “secondly
the young man”
• Therefore, she rejects views about collective responsibility and doesn’t believe that there is a reason for society to change as she doesn’t
think that she has done anything wrong.
• If society were to change due to the social classes or the suffragette movement, her comfortable lifestyle and privileges would be
threatened
• As a result of this, she feels constantly discontented and paranoid about the possibility of her reputation being tarnished
• She represents wrath and pride (two of the deadly sins)
• This pride is shown when she is horrified to find out that Eva “called herself Mrs Birling!”
• Overall, Mrs Birling does not change at all, which reflects upon the fixed Capitalist viewpoints at the time, which aren’t susceptible to
change
• To conclude, she is used by Priestley to represent the wealthier classes and their selfish attitudes
