Mrs Birling quotes

“You’ll just have to get used to it, just as I had”

• Mrs Birling provides no comfort to her daughter when she feels insecure about Gerald’s absence and potential affair

• Priestley does this to evidence the sacrifices women are forced to make in order to maintain the stability that marriage offers

• Mrs Birling highlights the gender differences in pre-war Britain – women generally had much less power and place in society than men. Even upper-class women had to live by the rules of men.

“I did nothing I’m ashamed of”

• Incapable of showing emotion to lower classes. “ashamed” denotes reluctance to accept guilt through fear of judgement

• She refuses to take responsibility for actions as confessions could potentially damage her reputation as a charitable woman

• As a “prominent member” of the Brumley Women’s Charity Organisation, she has a duty of care to those who come to her. However, she blatantly neglects this responsibility, as Priestley shows all institutions that are supposed to help others are intrinsically corrupt

“She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples”

• Mrs Birling perceives the working class as less human, with less complex emotions, and feels it is inappropriate for Eva to behave in a way that doesn’t conform to her expectations of her class

• “claiming” suggest Mrs Birling believes Eva's “scruples” were untrue and pretentious given that she is a single working class girls who is pregnant outside wedlock

• Mrs Birling appears to be of the view that “fine feelings and scruples” are exclusive to wealthy as the poor can't afford to have them

• She has stereotypical and prejudiced view of how working class behave: “elaborate fine feelings” are a trait of the upper class, whilst the poor as seen as opportunistic, unfeeling and callous

“girls of that class”

• This makes it evidently clear that her rejection of Eva’s case was purely based on prejudice

• Shows how the “tentacles” of patriarchy and capitalism have penetrated Mrs Birling; they run deep in her character

• Mrs Birling believes working class women will naturally be treated a certain way and suffer disrespect

• “girls” as one group with no individuality, believes they are not worthy of their individual title and unique identity because they belong to the lower class

• Mrs Birling is dreading thinking of it, let alone her family being associated with it

“as if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!”

• Mrs Birling has preconceptions about working class girls, suggesting that they lack morals and will always take money

• Moreover, she feels morally superior because she believes Eva is a thief and scrounger (someone who gets money at the expense of others). This is ironic because it's the financial advantage in the alliance between Croft and Birling that so excites Mr and Mrs Birling

“When you’re married, you’ll realise”

• Mrs Birling tells Sheila when she’s married, she’ll become an object that is owned by her husband

• Mrs Birling knows her role as a women and the wife of a businessman in 1912 England very well. She believes that women like her (in the capitalist society) are expected to follow the wishes and interests of the husband and Sheila should get used to being treated 2nd best as the husband's business is of a higher priority.

• "When" is used as emphasis meaning Sheila’s marriage is imminent and she has no control over her future.

• "you'll realise" is said in a patronising manner which shows Mrs Birling is undermining Sheila's intelligence, reinforcing the idea of Mrs Birling's cold and rather snobbish tone to even her own children.

• This is ironic because Priestley shows that men of high status can use their privilege not just to get ahead in their business but also exploit women for their interests

“[With dignity] We’ve done a great deal of useful work in helping deserving cases”

• This semantic field of virtue suggests her charity work brings her a false sense of moral accomplishment. She enjoys the recognition she gets, but doesn’t actually care for those who come to her

• This quote suggests that Mrs Birling did not find Eva’s case “deserving” and therefore rejected her pleas for help and rudely dismissed her

• Adjective “deserving” reveals her joy in playing God in these young women’s lives, deciding whether they receive aid and benefit or are refused and suffer, further illustrating the power of the upper classes and how the quality of life for working class women were made at the discretion of the upper class

“'I'll ring from the drawing-room when we want coffee”

• “I’ll” shows that she is Mr Birling’s social superior as she speaks for the whole family

• Her first assertion is one of dominance over the maid Edna. The adverbial phrase “when we want coffee” shows command and dominance as shown by the connotations of control in the adverb “when”

• Seemingly, the statement appears declarative but it is subtly disguised as an imperative statement; Edna would have been aware that is an order, and she should obey it

• Edna serves as a reminder of the Birlings’ wealth and the presence of the lower classes

“Sybil”

• She is named after the Sibyls from the Greek myth, who were famous for their gifts of prophecy and the ability to see into the future. This is ironic because Sybil is blind to the truth

• She knows nothing of Eric’s alcohol addiction, is completely unaware of Alderman Meggarty’s sexual attacks on young women and has no idea that Eric is in a relationship with Eva or that he got her pregnant

• Another interpretation is that Mrs Birling is wilfully blind and chooses deliberately not to find anything out which alters her prejudiced view of the world. When Eric’s relationship is revealed, she says, ”I don’t believe it. I won’t believe it”

• She also exhibits this blindness to Sheila, expecting her to turn a blind eye to Gerald’s infidelity: “just as i had”