"The Titanic... unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable."

• Analysis

  Birling’s declaration that the Titanic is "unsinkable" demonstrates his arrogance and ignorance, as the audience knows the ship's tragic fate. Priestley uses this dramatic irony to expose Birling’s stupidity, thereby undermining the credibility of his capitalist beliefs. Birling’s overconfidence parallels the hubris of the capitalist elite, who, like the Titanic, are heading toward inevitable disaster due to their self-assured invulnerability.
• Alternative interpretation

  The Titanic also symbolizes the fragility of capitalist systems, with Birling’s confidence reflecting the precariousness of his ideology. Priestley’s metaphor extends to suggest that the Titanic’s sinking foreshadows the collapse of capitalist power structures, particularly following the societal upheavals of the two World Wars. The audience becomes complicit in this critique, positioned to reflect on capitalism's vulnerability.
• Themes 


  Hubris, Societal collapse, and the Critique of capitalism: Priestley connects the Titanic’s fate with the fallibility of the upper classes, emphasising the moral and structural weaknesses of capitalist ideologies. This reflection of vulnerability challenges the perceived permanence of social hierarchies.
• Writers intention 


  Priestley uses Birling's misplaced confidence in the Titanic to ridicule capitalist arrogance and to emphasize its inevitable downfall. The metaphor of the Titanic invites the audience to consider their role as the "iceberg" that can dismantle these outdated systems. By staging the play shortly before the 1945 election, Priestley explicitly links this critique to a call for societal change, urging a rejection of capitalist privilege in favor of a more equitable socialist vision.