Mrs. Birling Quotes

BP: prejudice (upper + lower), responsibility, pride (no change)

disgusting (prejudice)

Disgusting affair (Gerald interrogation)

• She critiques Gerald’s affair solely because it was between different classes, not because of Gerald’s disloyalty to Sheila. Not only does Mrs. Birling fail to support her daughter who just discovered she got cheated on, but also doesn’t shame Gerald for his infidelity, as he is upper-class she feels no reason to call him out for his wrongdoings

• She finds an inter-class relationship ‘disgusting’ because she doesn’t view the lower classes as equals, she views them as immoral and inferior

money (prejudice)

as if a girl of that sort would refuse money! (interrogation)

• “girl of that sort” is how Mrs. Birling always refers to Eva, never as an individual but a stereotype, she’s so prejudiced that even when talking about Eva she generalises her. With this she dehumanises her

• Mrs. Birling’s stereotype that lower class girls are desperate for money, and would accept stolen money is ironic, as her son Eric was the one who stole money, and it shows how she finds the lower classes immoral and uncivilised, her tone in “as if” makes it seem so hypothetical, like it could never happen

prejudiced (prejudice)

One of the things that prejudiced me against her case (interrogation)

• Mrs. Birling views her treatment towards Eva as valid, as she declares how Eva lying about her name was just one of the reasons she was prejudiced against her, and she has no shame saying it.

• This demonstrates how those in poverty have no escape from it, the institutes meant to support them are prejudiced against them, as Mrs. Birling acts as a saviour for them, she truly doesn’t care about their wellbeing

believe (prejudice)

(agitated) I don’t believe it; I won’t believe it…! (interrogation)

• stage direction “(agitated)” illustrates how tense and panicked Mrs. Birling now feels at the revelation that her son impregnated a working-class woman. In 1912 the social divide was so big it’s distressing for Mrs. Birling to understand her own son was with a working-class woman

• the modal verb ‘won’t’ demonstrates how Mrs. Birling isn’t just upset at this news, she refuses to believe it. Her ignorance won’t allow her to process that her son, a man of the upper-middle class could commit something like this, especially just after redirecting her blame onto him as the father

ashamed (responsibility)

I did nothing I’m ashamed of (interrogation)

• Priestley demonstrates the true extent of Mrs. Birlings cold nature, despite Eva’s death she still has no regrets for denying aid to Eva in her most vulnerable state

• Her relaxed tone express a severe lack of guilt and ignorance as she believes she is completely innocent and has no involvement in Eva’s suicide

• Mrs. Birling doesn’t deny what she did, but rather denies her responsibility over the effect on Eva, she doesn’t acknowledge how her actions effect others

• Mrs. Birling’s misplaced presumptions about Eva and the working classes may lead the audience to reflect on the immorality of the class system

blame (responsibility)

she had only herself to blame (interrogation)

• takes the view that suicide is a conscious choice and that Eva can only blame herself

• the adverb ‘only’ shows how Mrs. Birling refuses her and her family’s social responsibility over Eva, she has capitalist views like her husband and doesn’t feel the need to look after others but rather only herself

• Mrs. Birling pushes the blame of her actions onto Eva, this reflects how the upper-class would blame the lower-classes for their problems, even though they were the ones causing it

confess (responsibility)

He’d be entirely responsible …. Compelled to confess in public his responsibility (interrogation)

• Priestley portrays Mrs. Birling as unable to accept responsibility, deflecting the blame onto the babies father unaware that it was her son Eric.

• Her hypocrisy is then revealed when she says “I didn’t know” , after finding out it was her son. This implies that she wouldn’t blame her son for doing the same. As he is ‘above’ these immoral actions and taking responsibility

• Mrs. Birlings has double standards for the different classes, she’s also inconsistent with her morals when her personal reputation is at stake

• guttural alliteration in “compelled to confess” helps reflect Mrs. Birling’s loss of composure, instead of being calm and challenging the Inspector she is desperately trying to find a way out of holding responsibility

(cold) (pride)

(a rather cold women) (start)

• Perhaps Priestley describing Mrs. Birling as cold, is an oxymoron. During 1912 the society norms for women were that they were meant to be loving and emotional. So describing her as emotionally cold is an attempt to convey how such a detached attitude is unnatural. This impression would make the 1945 audience sceptical of Mrs. Birlings attitudes throughout the play, helping them to disagree with her prejudice manner

duty (pride)

I did my duty (interrogation)

• Imagery of ‘duty’ exposes Mrs. Birlings perception of duty is limited to keeping the rich people rich and the poor people poor, maintaining her superiority

• she somehow does her ‘duty’ yet neglects her moral duty to help those in need

• this excuse makes her appear innocent of any possible blame, as if she didn’t have any ill intent, it’s “just her job”

deserving (pride)

helping deserving cases (interrogation)

• adjective ‘deserving’ reveals Mrs. Birlings joy in having immense power over these young women’s lives, deciding whether they receive aid or suffer. This massively reflects the power the upper classes have on the lower classes

over-tired (pride)

They’re [Eric & Sheila] over-tired. In the morning they’ll be as amused as we are (ending)

• term over-tired connotes children, and so dismisses Eric & Sheila’s worries and concerns for Eva. Mrs. Birling doesn’t understand the Inspector’s message unlike the younger generation

• verb “amused”, shows how unserious Mrs. Birling is treating this, after learning the inspector was fake, she goes back to being relaxed as there is no one disrupting her prejudiced lifestyle and criticising her hypocrisy

• imagery of the morning connotes change and hope, but Mrs. Birling doesn’t plan to change