Sybil Birling

"Girls of that class—"

AO1: Looks down on working-class women.

AO2: Dismissive pause (dash) emphasises prejudice.

AO3: Class snobbery typical of Edwardian upper class.

"I did nothing I'm ashamed of."

• AO1: Lacks remorse.

• AO2: Absolute statement, no qualifiers.

• AO3: Priestley critiques moral blindness of the rich.

"She only had herself to blame."

AO1: Victim-blaming attitude.

AO2: Short, emphatic sentence for finality.

AO3: Harsh moral judgement tied to conservative values.

"Go and look for the father of the child. It's his responsibility.

AO1: Shifts blame away from herself.

AO2: Imperative “Go” shows command.

AO3: Ironic — the father is Eric.

"You're behaving like a hysterical child tonight."

AO1: Dismisses Sheila’s moral awakening.

AO2: Patronising simile.

AO3: Reflects patriarchal belittling of women’s emotions

"I accept no blame at all."

AO1: Stubborn denial of responsibility.

AO2: “At all” intensifies refusal.

AO3: Priestley criticises unwillingness of upper classes to change.

"He should be made to confess in public his responsibility."

• AO1: Advocates public shaming — hypocritical.

• AO2: Emphasis on “public” shows desire for spectacle.

• AO3: Dramatic irony — she is condemning her own son.

"As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!"

AO1: Assumes poor are morally corrupt.

AO2: “That sort” dehumanises.

AO3: Reflects upper-class stereotypes of the poor.

"Really, the things you girls pick up these days!"

AO1: Belittles younger women’s modern ideas.

AO2: Exclamation conveys disapproval.

AO3: Resistance to post-war generational change.

"Please don't contradict me like that."

AO1: Expects unquestioning obedience.

AO2: Politeness masks authoritarianism.

AO3: Represents Edwardian hierarchy in family dynamics.