An Inspector Calls
, Mr Birling
Overview: patriarchal character, firmly entrenched within anti-bellum English social elite, living
embodiment of capitalist ideology, business > family, insecure in own social position - lower-class
origins, superficially wealthy + nouveau riche, resistant to change + reluctant to accept
responsibility, cyclical presentation, dismissive of inspector’s message
Quotations:
“One of the happiest nights of my life”
• Values Sheila solely on her capacity to further the family company, objectifies her as a
bargaining chip.
• Mr Birling values the prospect of increased profit over his daughter’s joy in engagement.
• Comparison between treatment of daughter and treatment of Eva - wants to shelter and
protect Sheila but is happy to turn out Eva to the street when she goes against his political
ideology. Classism + sexism.
“You’d think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together like
bees in a hive.”
• Simile: comparing people to bees in a hive suggests that society could function in a similar
warm with individuals working together for the greater good.
• The simile also serves as a metaphor for Mr Birling’s capitalist worldview. He implies that
individuals should be looking out for their own interests reflecting the larger themes of
individual responsibility and social justice.
• ‘Mixed up’ suggests a lack of hierarchy, implying everyone is equal and interchangeable -
enforcing the critique of capitalist society which values profit and success over community.
“I can’t accept any responsibility. If we were all responsible for everything that happened to
everybody we’d had anything to do with, it would be very awkward, wouldn’t it?”
• ‘Awkward’ suggests a primary concern in the inconvenience and discomfort that would come
to himself in accepting responsibility, rather than the harm he has caused to others.
• Repetition of ‘responsibility’ emphasises his unwillingness to take accountability
• Lots of attempts to engage the listener - use of hypothetical scenario and rhetorical
question.
• Contrast between pronouns highlights his individual perspective, but also his attempts to
claim the damaging, broader societal implications of accepting responsibility.
“A man has to make his own way — has to look after his family.”
• Commentary on the responsibilities and obligations of men in society.
• Repetition/parallelism highlight the sense of obligation and duty, and that these
responsibilities are interconnected (? irony)
• Juxtaposition of the two sentences: highlights tension between individual ambition and
obligation to others - criticism of capitalist society and gender roles
• Gendered language - highlights gendered expectations and roles associated with masculinity
in society.
• Reflects broader societal expectations and beliefs about the role of men as providers and
protectors, and the obligation to take care of one’s family.
, Mrs Birling
Overview: Mrs Birling is a character who embodies the class divisions and social prejudices
that the play seeks to critique, and she serves as a foil to the more compassionate and
empathetic characters who are willing to acknowledge their own faults and take responsibility
for their actions. ‘Sybil’ - ironic link to Greek mythology, Sibyls are known for their power of
prophecy whereas Mrs Birling is consistently blind to the truth (e.g. Eric’s alcohol issue,
Alderman Meggarty, Eric and Eva’s relationship).
Quotations:
“A rather cold woman and her husband’s social superior.” [Stage Directions]
• Indirect characterisation - recelas her personality and social status. Suggests she is
emotionally distant and unfeeling.
• Use of irony: Mrs Birling’s wealth and social status do not make her a better or more
virtuous person, shown through the juxtaposition of the word ‘cold’.
• Social commentary to critique the social class system of the time, which was marked by
rigid class distinctions and social inequality. Here, it underscores the extent to which social
status and class are valued, above personal qualities, such as kindness and empathy.
• Oxymoronic - contemporary women were meant to be loving and maternal.
“I don’t suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of
that class-” [Mrs Birling]
• Further direct characterisation - emphasises her lack of empathy and snobbishness.
Dismissive and condescending attitude.
• Social commentary - societal view that the working class were somehow inferior, and their
struggles were not as valid or meaningful as the upper class.
“If you’ll excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, I think I’d better go into the drawing room and
leave you men together.”
• Shows her to be complicit in her domination. She doesn’t need to be commanded by her
husband and knows her place in the family. She initiates her own exit, showing her
commitment to maintaining the patriarchal status quo, that leads her to be complicit in her
own oppression and ultimately making her inflict it upon her own daughter.
“I blame the young man who was the father of the child she was going to have.” [Mrs Birling]
• Use of dramatic irony to make the audience oppose her capitalist and prejudiced views on
the lower class. Highlights the class prejudice of the time period in which the upper class
were quick to blame the working class for their own problems and refuse to accept
responsibility.
“You’re behaving like a hysterical child tonight.” [Mrs Birling, to Sheila]
• Reference to hysteria disorder which has historically been used to control women and
prevent them from acquiring positions of power. Sheila’s newfound socialist views are
opposed by Mrs Birling, so using hysteria to dismiss her as delusional is an easy way to
shut down her argument. Example of an ad-hominem attack - no sufficient counter-attack.
