How does Priestley show his ideas about gender inequality in An Inspector Calls?
Throughout the play, Priestley show his ideas about gender inequality through the treatment
of Mrs Birling, Sheila Birling and mostly Eva Smith. He uses each woman uniquely to make a
social commentary of issues surrounding gender inequality in 1912 in An Inspector Calls. Mrs
Birling is used as an example of a woman who has had the conventions of gender inequality
engrained in her, Eva Smith to highlight the dangers of gender inequality and Sheila to
highlight how gender inequality is not insurmountable. Overall, Priestley successfully uses
each woman to show his ideas surrounding gender inequality in An Inspector Calls.
Priestley shows how gender inequality is engrained in Edwardian society through the
treatment, as well as dialogue, of Mrs Birling. Mrs Birling is happy to be side-lined by her
husband’s work, as she remarks to Sheila 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 did.’ It is interesting to note how she views men spending time on their
businesses as having inherent worth which must take precedent over their families. This is
surely not a preference for any Edwardian women, however, many Edwardian women
accepted that their importance could not equate to the importance of the man providing for
the family, so they accepted such arrangements. However, one might interpret this quote as
ironic, as often ‘work’ for Edwardian men secretly included extramarital affairs, which makes
it even more reprehensible that woman have to ‘get used to that’. Later, Mrs Birling states ‘I
think Sheila and I had better go into the drawing room and leave you men.’ It is interesting to
note that these quotes come from Mrs Birling herself. She does not even recognise that she
is willingly being dominated by what is supposed to be her loving husband and his business.
This is perhaps because in 1912, women were not supposed to interfere with the social lives
of their husbands, nor were they supposed to question their husbands. Despite this being
Mrs Birling's reality, the 1945 audience likely looked upon such society with disdain, since
women's rights had progressed significantly by then due to women’s heavy involvement in
the war effort. Therefore, Priestley shows that gender inequality was conditioned to be
normality for women in 1912, effortlessly contrasting it to Priestley’s contemporary Britain,
where women’s rights had come a long way since then.
Priestley shows his ideas about the dangers of gender inequality by depicting the harsh
treatment of Eva Smith (and women like her, throughout the play). Though Eva Smith
remains voiceless throughout the play, the audience gets an insight into her mistreatment
when Eric notes that he ‘just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she was
an animal, a thing, not a person.’ The use of tripling, in which to describe how Eric saw Eva
Smith as worthless, is confirmation that women, particularly lower-class women, were often
used as a means to an end. Additionally, although not directed specifically at Eva Smith,
Gerald notes that he hates ‘those hard-eyed dough-faced women', with this metaphor and
rather harsh adjectives presumably directed towards prostitutes and escorts. Whilst not
directly referencing Eva Smith, Gerald was also guilty of using Eva Smith to have an
extramarital affair. If gender inequality hadn’t been so prevalent in 1912, perhaps both
Gerald and Eric would have viewed Eva Smith as a woman with inherent worth despite her
lower-class status and her position in society as a woman. Instead, they used her as a vessel
to fulfil their sexual and drunken desires. Perhaps both Gerald and Eric believed they were
fulfilling their role as a man in ‘rescuing’ a ‘fallen woman’ such as Eva. In 1912, the men who
Throughout the play, Priestley show his ideas about gender inequality through the treatment
of Mrs Birling, Sheila Birling and mostly Eva Smith. He uses each woman uniquely to make a
social commentary of issues surrounding gender inequality in 1912 in An Inspector Calls. Mrs
Birling is used as an example of a woman who has had the conventions of gender inequality
engrained in her, Eva Smith to highlight the dangers of gender inequality and Sheila to
highlight how gender inequality is not insurmountable. Overall, Priestley successfully uses
each woman to show his ideas surrounding gender inequality in An Inspector Calls.
Priestley shows how gender inequality is engrained in Edwardian society through the
treatment, as well as dialogue, of Mrs Birling. Mrs Birling is happy to be side-lined by her
husband’s work, as she remarks to Sheila 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 did.’ It is interesting to note how she views men spending time on their
businesses as having inherent worth which must take precedent over their families. This is
surely not a preference for any Edwardian women, however, many Edwardian women
accepted that their importance could not equate to the importance of the man providing for
the family, so they accepted such arrangements. However, one might interpret this quote as
ironic, as often ‘work’ for Edwardian men secretly included extramarital affairs, which makes
it even more reprehensible that woman have to ‘get used to that’. Later, Mrs Birling states ‘I
think Sheila and I had better go into the drawing room and leave you men.’ It is interesting to
note that these quotes come from Mrs Birling herself. She does not even recognise that she
is willingly being dominated by what is supposed to be her loving husband and his business.
This is perhaps because in 1912, women were not supposed to interfere with the social lives
of their husbands, nor were they supposed to question their husbands. Despite this being
Mrs Birling's reality, the 1945 audience likely looked upon such society with disdain, since
women's rights had progressed significantly by then due to women’s heavy involvement in
the war effort. Therefore, Priestley shows that gender inequality was conditioned to be
normality for women in 1912, effortlessly contrasting it to Priestley’s contemporary Britain,
where women’s rights had come a long way since then.
Priestley shows his ideas about the dangers of gender inequality by depicting the harsh
treatment of Eva Smith (and women like her, throughout the play). Though Eva Smith
remains voiceless throughout the play, the audience gets an insight into her mistreatment
when Eric notes that he ‘just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she was
an animal, a thing, not a person.’ The use of tripling, in which to describe how Eric saw Eva
Smith as worthless, is confirmation that women, particularly lower-class women, were often
used as a means to an end. Additionally, although not directed specifically at Eva Smith,
Gerald notes that he hates ‘those hard-eyed dough-faced women', with this metaphor and
rather harsh adjectives presumably directed towards prostitutes and escorts. Whilst not
directly referencing Eva Smith, Gerald was also guilty of using Eva Smith to have an
extramarital affair. If gender inequality hadn’t been so prevalent in 1912, perhaps both
Gerald and Eric would have viewed Eva Smith as a woman with inherent worth despite her
lower-class status and her position in society as a woman. Instead, they used her as a vessel
to fulfil their sexual and drunken desires. Perhaps both Gerald and Eric believed they were
fulfilling their role as a man in ‘rescuing’ a ‘fallen woman’ such as Eva. In 1912, the men who
