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● How far does Priestley present Mrs Birling as an unlikeable character?
Priestley explores the theme of morality throughout the play by criticising the unscrupulous
actions of the wealthy in society. Priestley challenges the immoral treatment of the
proletariats by the bourgeoisie in order to persuade his audience to be moral and to incline
change in society. Sybil Birling was a clear depiction of the capitalist elder generation elite.
Through the character of Sybil Birling, a stubborn and egocentric member of the older
generation, Priestley explores how damaging the immoral behaviour of the wealthy can be in
order to exemplify the need for change.
Before the Inspector arrives, Priestley’s portrayal of Sybil Birling, an unsympathetic and
superior woman, demonstrates the selfish nature that many upper class women
possessed. In the opening stage directions, Priestley describes Sybil, a woman only
concerned with the reputation of herself and her family, as ‘pleased’ with herself. Celebrating
her daughter’s engagement in her ‘heavily comfortable house’, Priestley implies that Sybil
thinks too highly of herself and her family but does not think enough about others. Priestley
also demonstrates that Sybil behaves immorally because she would rather childishly correct
the Inspector by mentioning that her husband is a mayor rather than accepting that her
family could have behaved irresponsibly. Priestley reveals that Sybil believes she is superior
to other people in society because she is willing to use her status and power for her own
advantage. Furthermore, the fact that Priestley chooses to have Sybil refer to Eva Smith as
a girl of ‘that class’ conveys that Sybil disdainfully looks down on impoverished women and
believes that she is superior to them just because she has more money. Priestley’s use of
the word ‘that’ is derogatory, indicating that Sybil Birling is unsympathetic of the difficulties
they faced and views all of the working class as immoral. Priestley uses irony here because
it is actually Sybil, a woman who is unwilling to use her wealth and power to help women,
who is immoral not Eva who refuses to take stolen money despite desperately needing it. By
juxtaposing the characters of Eva and Sybil, perhaps Priestley was challenging the
stereotype that working class people were immoral and hopeless by asking his audience to
consider the difference in moral standards between the wealthy and the poor.
During the inspector’s questioning, Sybil’s actions demonstrate a need for the upper
class to take more responsibility for the working class. As an owner of a women’s
charity, Sybil is responsible for tending to the working class women who come to the charity
for help, however, Sybil admits that she is prejudiced against Eva from the beginning.
Priestley has Sybil repeat that she felt ‘perfectly justified’ in the way she treated Eva Smith.
It is clear through the adverb ‘perfectly’ that Sybil is adamant in her viewpoint and is
resistant to accept that the way she treated Eva was immoral. Additionally, Priestley also
conveys that Sybil has no compassion towards Eva Smith and her situation. By repeating
that she is ‘justified’, Sybil appears to the audience as brazen in her actions and unwilling to
change, implying that Sybil believes she was
noble. Priestley’s portrayal of Sybil as an unsympathetic and unashamed woman implies
Sybil did not use the charity to help others but to improve her own social status. Perhaps
Priestley wanted his audience to consider whether the wealthy upper class run charities to
provide support for those in need or to benefit themselves. Priestley could have also
portrayed Sybil as irresponsible in order to challenge the fact that the working class only had
private charities run by the immoral upper class to turn to for help and to call for the need for
government help in the form of the NHS.
Later in the play, Sybil, a woman only concerned about the social status of herself and
family, tries to deflect the blame of Eva’s death away from her own family. At the
climax of Act Two, Priestley has Sybil tell the Inspector that he should ‘look for the father’
because she believes it is his responsibility. At this moment, Priestley suggests that Sybil,
who is prejudiced against the working class, assumes the father is an immoral working class
man who needs to step up and take responsibility for his actions. Priestley uses irony here
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