An Inspector Calls: Mr.

Birling

 Mr Birling is a construct
o Embodiment of capitalist views which Priestley creates to discredit
 The antithesis of the Inspector

Context

 Mr Birling is firmly entrenched within 1912 ante-bellum (before the war) social elite
o Reflective of life at the time
o High levels of unemployment meant that employers could take advantage of
their workers
 Exploited them for greater profit
o The middle class of 1912 could not become upwardly socially mobile without
connections to respected families
 Play first published in 1945
o By this time Labour had won the election by a landslide
 Distinct lean towards socialist ideals
o Mr Birling’s approach to business would thus appal the audience

Embodies the selfish, individualistic ideology of capitalism

“A heavy looking, rather portentous man”

 Stage directions give an immediate indication of Mr Birling’s self-indulged

temperament
o Adjective “portentous” highlights his desperation to impress people
o “heavy looking” symbolises his greed

“I’m talking as a hard-headed, practical man of business”

 Priestley exhibits Mr Birling as the living embodiment of the capitalist ideology

o Everything resolves around profit at all costs
 Deliberate repetition emphasises how Mr Birling’s self-perception is entirely built
upon how he sees himself in terms of work and money
o Priorities are not with people and family but how much wealth he can
accumulate
o Imagery of “hard-headed” has connotations of coldness
 Reflects how capitalist is unfeeling and selfish
 Priestley is deliberately using the language of the Labour Party manifesto
o Rallies against the “hard-faced men who had done well out of the war”
 Allusion to Conservative PM Sir Stanley Baldwin
 PM 3 times between 1912-39
 Period the play covers
 Accused of profiting from the war
o Calls the to vote Labour
  By turning it into a drama his audience can relate to
 In-depth attack on capitalism

"...we may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but
are working together - for lower costs and higher prices."

 Toasts to “lower costs and higher prices” rather than to his daughter’s health
o Values prospect of increased profit over daughter’s joy in the engagement
o Treats Shelia’s marriage as a “business opportunity”
 Mercantile language objectifies Sheila as a bargaining chip
 Values her on her capacity to further the family company
o Hypocritical – think of “his own” as his family but also his property
 Directly links her to business in this patriarchal society
 The emphasis of “lower” exaggerates the impression that Mr Birling is a selfish man
o Suggests that he wants to reduce his costs even further than they stand
o Meanwhile does not consider the impact that “higher prices” might have on
anyone else
o Just wants more money

“it’s my duty to keep labour costs down”

 Espousal shows how he prioritises profit over staff welfare

o Sees worker as no more than “cheap labour”
o Dismissive attitude towards workers shows that he lacks compassion for the
lower classes
 Noun “duty” shows his dedication to capitalism and profit
o Views it as some sort of noble quest he has undertaken
o Possessive pronoun “my” shows his arrogance
o “labour” dehumanising

Reveals an insecurity in his own social position

“provincial in speech”

 Stage directions reveal Mr Birling’s lower-class origins

o Noticeable accent indicates a lack of sophistication
 This insecurity causes Mr Birling to constantly remind people of his status in society
o Brings up former roles as “Lord Mayor” and tells Gerald “there’s a very good
chance of knighthood”
 Also overcompensates through his “substantial” house
o Clear indicator of his social position
o But it is “not cosy or homelike”
 Highlights the cosmetic nature of their comfort
 Giving us the port, Edna? That’s right.( he pushes it towards Eric..) you ought to like this
port, Gerald, as a matter of fact, Finchley told me it's exactly the same port your father gets
from him.

 Audience sees Mr Birling as someone who wishes to show off to others

o Port is significant due to its cost
 Associates with the wealthy in society
 Price alone prohibitive to working class
o Wants to present himself as a social equal
 Yet verb “ought” reveals his uncertainty
o Name dropping of ‘Finchley’ illustrates how Birling is keen to impress his
future son in law - his social superior
 Attempt to endear family whose social position he aspires to
o Materialistic and possessive

Mrs Birling: (reproachfully) Arthur, you're not supposed to say such things

 His relative uncouthness is preyed upon by Mrs Birling

o She is his natural “social superior”
o Embarrassed by Mr Birling
o Adverb suggests lack of love and intimacy in their relationship
 Marriage purely transactional
 Priestley introduces this insecurity immediately in the play
o Becomes synonymous with the character of Mr Birling
 This insecurity in his middle-class social position reveals the far-reaching nature of
the suffering causes by large differences in wealth
o Creates cycle of oppression caused by social divisions and classism
o Not just lower class who suffer, although their hardship is greater

Flawed, Misled, Arrogant Buffoon

"The Germans don’t want war” / “nonsense” / “fiddlesticks” / “absolutely unsinkable” /

“there’s a lot of wild talk about possible labour trouble in the near future” / “and we’re in for
a time of steadily increasing prosperity”

 Priestley uses almost a ridiculous amount of dramatic irony to criticise the character
of Mr Birling
o Play set in 1912 but written in 1945
 Since then: two world wars, sinking of the Titanic, Great Depression
and huge general strikes (1912 and 1926)
o Dismissive tone reveals how confident he in his ideas
 But error-filled predictions makes the character seem ill informed
 Means we also consider his opinions on business and his employees
to be just as incorrect
o Structurally, this occurs so early in the play
  Makes it clear from the beginning that everything Mr Birling stands
for is wrong

Static character who remains unchanged

You'll stay here long enough to give me an account of that money you stole – yes, and to pay
it back too.

 End the play in a similar way that he started

o Discovers son is an alcoholic, stolen from him and impregnated Eva Smith
 But majority of his dialogue focuses on recovering his lost money
 Only the impact on his business cause him consternation

(triumphantly) There you are! Proof positive. The whole story's just a lot of moonshine.
Nothing but an elaborate sell! (He produces a huge sigh of relief.) Nobody likes to be sold as
badly as that – but – for all that - (he smiles at them all) Gerald, have a drink.

 Shows a resistance to change and reluctance to accept responsibility

o Stage directions show Gerald’s theory of the Inspector not being real is
“eagerly” and “triumphantly” accepted by Mr Birling, despite his actions
being real.
o Instant catharsis (relief from strong emotions) is felt by Mr Birling, when the
prospect of a criminal record is no longer apparent
o Clear Mr Birling did not care for Eva Smith’s suicide, but simply for his own
chances of attaining a knighthood
 Contrast between the generations emphasises through the repetition of the adverb
o “Eagerly” use to describe both Mr Birling’s denial of the Inspector’s existence
and also Sheila’s agreement with Eric that “this girl’s still dead
o Unlike his children, Mr birling fails to accept and fails to learn lesson of social
responsibility
 Younger are open to new socialist ideas
 Older generation’s fixed ways emphasised by the cyclical structure
o Finishes as it began with Mr Birling offering Gerald a drink
o Lack of change in attitude reflected by visual lack of change
 Shows cycle of immorality
 Priestley conveys underlying message that flaws of current society are caused by
upper classes’ resistance to change