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Grade 9 Essay AQA GCSE English literature AICs Essay Mrs Birling as an unlikeable character
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TJNOTESAn Inspector Calls essay on Mrs Birling as an unlikeable
character
In An Inspector Calls, Priestley presents Mrs Birling as a pretentiously unlikeable
character. She is cold-hearted and snobbish and refuses to accept any blame her for her
role in Eva Smith’s death. Her eager reaction to the possibility that the Inspector may
not exist shows how ready she is to reject his message and continue living her life as
before. Priestley presents her as an archetypal wealthy Edwardian woman who chooses
to ignore the exploitation that enables her to live a life of leisure.
Early in the play, Priestley creates a first impression of Mrs Birling as that of a cold,
unlikeable snob. As the dinner party progresses, we see her demonstrating her sense of
superiority. She speaks “reproachfully” to her socially inferior husband, reminding him
of the correct etiquette she expects of him, while also giving instructions to Edna, the
parlourmaid, and being referred to as “Ma’am” by her. This honorific demonstrates the
strict hierarchy of the Birlings’ household and shows that Mrs Birling works to police it,
and to maintain her position at its pinnacle. Priestley then shows Mrs Birling’s cold-
hearted advice to her daughter, as she patronisingly chides her for having high
expectations of her fiance: “men with important work… spend nearly all their time… on
their business.” Mrs Birling feels that Sheila should passively accept that her future
husband will pay her little attention because, she believes, a man’s role is primarily one
of business. The audience, on the other hand, may instead correctly interpret the
revelation that Gerald was absent for a long period as a sign that he is not to be trusted.
Later in the play, Priestley further emphasises Mrs Birling’s unlikability through her
adamant refusal to accept any blame for Eva Smith’s death. Initially, Mrs Birling
dismisses Eva’s suicide as something expected of “girls of that class–.” Sheila’s
interruption saves Mrs Birling from fully revealing the depths of her contempt for lower-
class people, but the audience can infer that Mrs Birling believes herself to be better,
morally and intellectually, than people like Eva. Priestley then presents Mrs Birling’s
stubborn reaction to the Inspector’s accusation that she instructed the committee to
refuse Eva charity. She reacts with a “stung” tone and boldly declares “I’ve done nothing
wrong.” Mrs Birling is correct in a legal sense – she has broken no law. However, her
refusal to accept any moral responsibility shows her cold-hearted nature. Later,
Priestley shows how the Inspector adroitly leads the unwitting Mrs Birling to denounce
her son as she agrees with the Inspector that the father of the unborn child, her
grandchild, would “be entirely responsible.” Her need to pin all the blame on someone
who, she assumes, is a lower-class nobody shows how uncaring she is and demonstrates
that distancing the family from scandal is more important to her than improving the
lives of people in distress.
Finally, Priestley confirms Mrs Birling’s unlikability by showing how unwilling she is to
change. After the Inspector’s exit, Priestley presents Mrs Birling’s alacrity in welcoming
the possibility that the Inspector might not be real, dismissing Sheila and Eric’s
misgivings as “childish.” Here, Mrs Birling emphasises the family hierarchy and rejects
her children’s remorse, noting, correctly, that they seem to be on the Inspector’s side
rather than their own parents. Priestley then presents Mrs Birling attempting to find a
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