S YBIL B IRLING

Mrs Birling acts as a representation of the hypocrisy of the upper classes and the need for a
welfare system

Development / Nuances
 complicit in her own subjugation

convention at the time for women to go to drawing room (for female talk) and men
to remain in dining room for politics and news
o Mrs Birling is the one to initiate this – announces the time for her and Sheila
to leave - "leave you men" Summary
o She is so fixated on maintaining the status quo that she becomes complicit  Represents the hypocrisy of the upper classes
in her own subjugation – and that of her daughter  Complicit in her own subjugation
 This is further demonstrated by her complacency in the affair of Gerald and –  Anachronism
 Demonstrates the need for a welfare system
potentially – Mr Birling  Manifestation of the sin of pride
o Doesn’t sympathise with Sheila’s hidden criticism of Gerald but tells her
"you’ll have to get used to that, just as I did"
o Unsympathetic – shows lack of care for her child’s distress
o Also demonstrates that she puts her own interests (e.g. strategic marriage) before those of her children
o Suggest that Mr Birling also had affairs like Gerald
 SB just accepts her place in society – objection to change is absolute
 Content with how her life is so happy to make small sacrifices
 The marriage is not about love or commitment anyway – marriage is a contract
o Outwardly referring to time spent at work
o But the implication is that Sheila won’t ask questions about her role in the marriage, but submit to the rules
and etiquette of society
o Marriage is a "business" just as affairs are "important work"
 Uses the same derogatory
 She expresses views in favour of the patriarchal society at the time
o Sees Eva’s situation as her own fault “First the girl herself”
o "first, the girl herself" "secondly the young man"
o The woman is blamed for being raped – blamed for being a victim “Secondly the young
o View that women choose prostitution rather than being forced into it man”
 Priestley’s chain of events has been lost on SB – refuses to understand the
lesson inspector present s - "I won’t believe it"
 Instead holds on to view that Eva chose the life she led – her own fault – because this means there is no need for
society to change (and hence no need for her privilege to end)
o Man’s sexual desires were to be accepted and acquiesced - women should be submissive
 Sees emotion as weak and contributes to silencing Sheila
o "your behaving like a hysterical child"
o Hysteria – used to oppress women and prevent them from holding any influence/power “You’re behaving
o Use this against her own daughter – trying to silence her and dismiss her views because like a hysterical
she is siding with the inspector
o Gerald also dismisses her as hysterical
child”
o Irony is also that SB has been the one treating them as children
 Symbol of the upper class women resisting suffrage movement
o Would undermine gender roles and the foundation of the family – lead to domestic chaos
o Women would be masculinised by entry into politics
o Women should have moral and domestic roles – equal but different role in society
o SB can afford to take this stance because she had no interest in changing society
 She is a beneficiary – no need to vote or be involved in politics
 Domestic life for her doesn’t involve work – they have servants
 She has no role in her children’s lives – not restricted by society
 This is the only potential source of any sympathy for her
 Priestley doesn’t intend for her to be sympathised with - she represents everything he is against
 However, also a suggesting that people can be so caught by social convention they don’t even realise when they are a
victim of it
o Not overly convincing – she isn’t disadvantaged really
 Contrasted to Sheila
 as the two main female characters, Priestley invites comparison between Mrs Birling and her daughter
  Sheila represents younger class whilst SB represents the older generation
o Hence Sheila’s rebellion and criticisms of her mother represent hope that the younger generation will defy the ideas
and expectations of their parents
o Form their own opinions despite SB’s request - ""please don’t contradict me like that"

Relationship with other characters

 Unloving marriage / marriage for convenience

Shown to be ashamed of Mr Birling

His wife is “her husband’s social superior”
o Their marriage was likely arranged – like a transaction (his financial support for her family connections)
o Individualism of capitalists – don’t marry for love but for social status
 Strengthened by the adverb “reproachfully” when she criticises Mr Birling saying “Arthur, you're not supposed to say such
things” – sense of her disliking or feeling ashamed of him
o Very aware of his inferiority – criticise and attempt to teach him etiquette
o “have to get used to, just as I did” – unhappy marriage
o Doesn’t feel “cosy or homelike” – the family is a created concept not one built on love but built for appearance
 Also sense that they have not had a happy marriage – implied that he may have had affairs
o Expects Sheila to also get used to
 Sheila resists the control and manipulation of her mother
 Rebels against her parents’ views
 "impertinent"
o That Sheila saw Eva is impertinent is indicative of the influence her mother has had on her perspective of the lower
classes
o Same wording
 Mrs Birling is placed in opposition to Sheila
 The exemplar and its antithesis
o Aligned with inspector vs. rejects inspector
o Accept vs. deny responsibility
o Change vs. conserve
 Sheila is a symbol that the younger generation will replace the outdated views of their parents

Superficial
 Cares only about how she is perceived by others

Theme of duty - "I did my duty"
o Her idea of duty Is limited to a social duty – neglects her moral duty
o Essentially, she is self serving – her duty is only to raise herself
 Prevents help to Eva simply out of spite and wrath
o Used her name – felt embarrassed and offended by someone of the lower class being associated with her
o Fear of tainting her class through association (also shown by disgust at mixing of classes)
o Hence the harsh treatment – rebuild the wall
 Her respectability is a pretence /image conscious
 In contrast to Mr Birling
o She is his "social superior" – aware of how a family should appear
o Aware that he isn’t “supposed to say such things” – trying to give an image of not associating with the cooking staff
 She has never had to work for anything – upper class and "social superior"
o She is used to getting what she wants and having power and control over others
 The class system brings happiness and contentment to no-one – even those benefitted by it are discontented
 Mrs Birling lives her life paranoid of her upper-class image being damaged
o Class is superficial so the image you present is paramount to the maintenance of your position
o Hence their "heavily comfortable" house at the expense of being "cosy or homelike"
o Their wealth doesn’t bring them happiness but paranoia and insecurity
 Mr Birling is never content with what he has
o Always trying to prove he belongs in the upper class despite his "provincial" origins
o Greedy for more – ambitious and wanting to move further up the class – hence marriage to Mrs B and Sheila-Gerald
arrangement
 Hence there is no real reason to maintain it

Acceptance of responsibility
 Almost completely static
 
Constantly reasserting her lack of remorse or regret
o On the one hand, shows how confident she is in her own superiority
o Also shows the reluctance towards change
o BUT could suggest that she does know what she did was immoral and wrong, but is convincing herself that she has no
reason to take responsibility so that she can continue her way of life
o Comfort is threatened by change
 symbol for the upper classes’ resistance to change
 change threatens the maintenance of a system that benefits them

Cold Woman “I did my duty”

 Individualism taken to the extreme
 Even prioritises herself above her family
o Mr Birling at least acknowledges a duty to his family
o Mrs Birling doesn’t even care for this – her duty is only to herself
 "I did my duty" – what she did didn’t uphold law, justice or morality – it was only to defend her social image and
seek revenge against perceived "impertinence"
 Simply reactionary symptom of her pride
 Inability to emphasise with the suffering of others
o Blames Eva for her own suicide – can’t understand how much she was suffering
o Doesn’t comfort Sheila when she feels insecure about her marriage but tells her to "get used to that"
 In the 1900s, a “cold woman” could almost be considered a form of juxtaposition – women were supposed to be loving,
maternal and emotional – not emotionally cold
o Potentially implying that it is not natural for her to be this way – it is not natural for anyone to be so detached from
suffering

Prejudice and Abuse of Power

 Presents the contemporary stereotype of the poor

Believes it is their own fault
o By blaming the poor for their suffering she can deny her own role in it
o Demonising the lower class allows the upper classes to live guilt free off the money they make from their exploitation
 Connects poverty to immorality
o This is ironic – the forms of immorality she accuses Eva of are forms she possesses herself
o Criticises poor s greedy – her family embody greed
 Play opens with a marriage made for money
 Blames Eva for her poverty and her abuse - "self help"
o "first I blame the girl herself"
o (see above – nuances)
 In reality the source of the lower classes; poverty is the greed and immorality of the upper classes
o Eva couldn’t afford to refuse stolen money – it forced her to be reliant on charity – yet charities will stereotype her and
refuse to help > those that want to survive can’t afford to choose where their money comes from when the legitimate
sources of help are prejudiced against them”
 Irony of her criticising the lower classes’ as greedy
o The desire for money is much stronger in the UC
o It was MB’s greed that lost her a job and income
o can’t afford to refuse money because wages are so low
 capitalist greed is the source of their situation
o it is the UC’s exploitation of the LC that makes them reliant on help – can’t help themselves as they have no power or
influence
 equally, Eva has been a symbol of morality within the play
o refuse to take money, “didn’t blame me at all” (Gerald), wouldn’t marry Eric because “said I didn’t love her”
o it is the upper class that have acted immorally
o SB is shown throughout as cold – she has no “fine feelings”
o Oblivious to her wrongdoings and flaws – free from “scruples”
 Fails to see the lower class as individuals – stereotypes them
 Supports the division of classes
 She is critical of Gerald’s affair (disgusting affair) not because of it being an affair but because it was an inter-class affair
o Told Sheila to accept affairs earlier in the play "you’ll have to get used to that"
 Places emphasis on "if, as she said, he didn’t belong to her class"
o The importance to her is not that a man had an abusive relationship with her, but that it was a relationship between the
classes
 o Should be kept separate – don’t associate with lower class
 Abuse of power
 Priestley provides strong evidence for the prejudice towards the poor through Mrs Birling who is supposed to be a
“prominent member of the Brumley Women’s Charity Organisation”. However, she claims “with dignity” that they “we’ve
done a great deal of useful work for deserving cases”. Priestley’s guidance for how these lines should be delivered
suggests that Mrs Birlings role is not held out of care or compassion for the poor, but as a way to gain influence and status
– dignity – within society (1912 was before women could vote, but wealthy women could hold position on councils and
committees). Equally, Priestley’s specification that it is only for “deserving cases” highlights how greatly the aid given out
is at the discretion of the upper classes, a seemingly obvious conflict of interest when Mrs Birling’s view of Eva is that ““a
girl of that sort would (not) ever refuse money”. This aptly demonstrates the hypocrisy of Mrs as she accuses Eva of the
greed her own family epitomises, making it clear that her rejection of Eva’s case was purely based on prejudice, further
shown by “that sort” implying Mrs. Birling had stereotyped and decided on her view of Eva simply from her class. This is
something she even admits to when pointing out Eva’s “impertinence” (claiming to be Mrs Birling) as “one of the things
that prejudiced me against her”. Thus those living in poverty have no way to escape it as they cannot challenge their
exploitation– Eva’s attempt to strike saw her fired – and the institutes meant to help them are prejudiced against them .
Priestly mirrors the lack of the lower classes influence in society by their lack of presence in the play – Eva is never actually
stage and all we know about her comes from the Birlings’ view of her. Eva has no voice in the play and the poor have no
voice in society so they remain a victim of it.

Ignorance / Hypocrisy
 Oblivious to the lives of others

Also oblivious to the emotions and tones “Or some of the

Her entrance completely contrasts and truth”
 Not interested in the truth but in convenient truths
 Only accepts / believes things that reinforce her pre-existing opinions
o “it didn’t take long me long to get the truth – or some of the truth – out of her”
o Only interested in a partial truth – one that confirms her bias
o Dismisses the rest as “a lot of nonsense” or “silly nonsense”
 Chooses ignorance so that she can ignore the need for change
 Ignorance is an easy way to avoid having to take action on the issues within society
 Wilful ignorance so that she can maintain current state of living – reject anything that threatens stability
 Ignores husbands’ affairs, Eric’s alcoholism, alderman Meggarty
“A trifle impertinent”
“Gross impertinence”
Purpose
 she is the manifestation of pride – one of the seven deadly sins

sense of her own importance and superiority is what drives her abuse of the poor – sees them as inferior and thus implies
her right to treat them as she wishes
 feels entitled to respect – “impertinent”
o not giving someone the respect they deserve
o hence SB feels entitled to respect from all – including inspector
 tries to communicate her importance and superiority through her speech “(Haughtily) I beg your
o Always formal with complex vocabulary to communicate her importance pardon”
o “trifle impertinent” “I beg your pardon” “simply absurd”
o Also disguising the lack of substantiation for her opinions through elaborate language
 Just as MB compensates with quantity of speech, SB compensates through quality of speech
 Inspector doesn’t need either because his message is fully substantiated already
 Reacts to Eva with prejudice due to her pride being insulted
o Associated with the lower class
 represents a bygone era – an anachronism
 strict etiquette and manners of the Victorian age
 obsession with adhering to a code of conduct (With dignity) “Great
 her language is also very formal – Sheila mocks it "impertinent" deal of useful work for
o contrasted to the slang of her children deserving cases”
 Political - demonstrate the need for a welfare system
 those in charge of charities abuse their position to benefit themselves
 proof that charities are easily corrupted - "great deal of useful work for deserving cases"
o unjust that the upper class decide who is "deserving" – easy to corrupt
o The focus is not on doing "good" work or helpful and compassionate work, but "useful" – useful for what?
 o
Could be useful for furthering their social image – she announces her role "with dignity" showing that her position is
something she holds to gain status, influence and respect
o (only position of influence a woman could hold at the time)
 Demonstrates the need for meritocracy
o If she represent the top of society then she has done nothing to deserve being there
o Abusing her power and prejudiced towards all others
o Selfish and individualistic – shouldn’t be given power
o Hence those with power should be given power due to merit and skill

How would you express this idea in a paragraph?

Priestley exemplifies the dangers of living in denial through the character of Mrs Birling and her self-imposed ignorance in
order to show the audience that they need to embrace change. Mrs Birling shows many examples of choosing to ignore
inconvenient truths, such as her refusal to acknowledge Joe Meggarty’s abuse of power through sexually harassing Eva,
cutting into Gerald’s account to interject “surely you don’t mean Alderman Meggarty”. Her addition of his title of “Alderman”
demonstrates that her disbelief stems from the fact that he is both upper class and respected within society, as though she
believes (incorrectly) this is mutually exclusive with acting immorally. However, Priestley also places Mrs Birling in a position
of power as the “prominent member” of the Brumley Woman’s Charity Organisation, and this is a position she herself has
used for corruption in the past when she manipulated the opinions of the council away from helping Eva. This encourages
the audience to view her denial of Meggarty’s misconduct as incentivised by a desire to maintain society in its current
beneficial state, as she cannot condemn his abuse of power without simultaneously inviting criticism of her own. Thus, she
maintains an attitude of disbelief towards all events that could support societal reform, including the wrongdoings of her
own son of which she insists “I won’t believe it”. Her denial comes not from implausibility, but from inconvenience to her
own privileged situation. In contrast, Priestley supported the idea of a meritocracy, so he had the opposing view that all
positions of power should be earnt through merit and contribution to society, rather than through birthright or inheritance,
so he uses the examples of Mrs Birling and Meggarty as evidence for the flaws to aristocracy, thus supporting his own
preferred system.

Quotes:
A rather cold woman
Her husband's social superior
Arthur, you're not supposed to say such things One of the things that prejudiced me against her case
You’ll have to get used to that, just as I had She had only herself to blame
Don’t contradict me like that Or some of the truth
A trifle impertinent I did nothing I'm ashamed of
He's only a young boy I did my duty
Surely you don’t mean Alderman Meggarty First the girl herself / secondly, I blame the young man
Disgusting affair Claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples
Prominent member of the Brumley Woman’s Charity Girl in her position / a girl of that sort
Organisation As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!
[With dignity] We’ve done a great deal of useful work He’d be entirely responsible
helping deserving cases Compelled to confess in public his responsibility
(Bewildered and rather frightened glances) I don't believe it. I won't believe it
A piece of gross impertinence I didn't know
You don't understand anything / you never even tried
The rude way he spoke … it was quite extraordinary!
Didn’t give in to him