mr birling

• arthur birling is firmly entrenched within 1912 ante-bellum (before the war) english social elite.
• mr birling’s dominant position within a static society is portrayed through his patriarchal role of birling & co, which only employs young women at extortionately low wages.
• priestley exhibits mr birling as the living embodiment of the capitalist ideology.
• mr birling’s physical appearance is a reflection of capitalism. he wears formal clothes, he is “heavy looking” which symbolises greed, and frequently displays his “portentous” attitude.
• mr birling’s clearly pompous perspective is evidenced through his immediate reclamation of the spotlight after sheila and gerald’s engagement is announced.
• mr birling says that it is “one of the happiest nights of my life” and toasts to “lower costs and higher prices“ rather than to his daughter’s health.
• mr birling values sheila on her capacity to further the family company and thereby objectifies her as a bargaining chip.
• mr birling says that sheila will “make you (gerald) happy”, but more significantly he will have direct connections with an “older and bigger” business. it is clear that mr birling values the prospect of increased profit over his daughter’s joy in engagement.
• for mr birling, business is of greater importance than his own family. this foreshadows his indifference to eva smith’s suicide later in the play.
• mr birling attempts to bribe the inspector “[unhappily] look, inspector - i’d give thousands - yes, thousands-“ to prevent losing wealth and social status through a criminal record. this epitomises the individualistic nature of capitalism.
• despite mr birling’s business success, his humble beginnings are evident from the stage directions as his tendency to be “provincial in speech” reveals his lower-class origins.
• mr birling’s insecurity in his social position causes him to constantly remind people of his status in society, through bringing up his past role as “lord mayor” and suggesting “there’s a very good chance of a knighthood”.
• mr birling’s “provincial” speech indicates his lack of sophistication.
• mr birling’s uncouthness is preyed upon by mrs birling, who is his natural “social superior”.
• priestley introduces mr birling’s social insecurity immediately in the play, and thus it becomes synonymous with his character.
• mr birling’s insecurity in his social position reveals the far-reaching nature of the suffering caused by social divisions. it is not simply the lower classes who suffer, though it is to a greater extent.
• the birling’s wealth seems unnatural as mr birling is not from a traditionally wealthy background and instead made his own money. he lacks the reputation of a well-known family name.
• priestley’s opening description of the birling household “substantial and heavily comfortable but not cosy of homelike” indicates the birlings’ great wealth.

  however, the lack of feeling like home indicates that they lack comfort in their own wealth and lifestyle, due to mr birling’s lower-class roots.
• mr birling compensates for his “provincial” speech and unrefined etiquette, by using his ”substantial” house as a clear indicator of his high social status.
• mr birling’s character is condemned and looked down upon by higher-class men and those from respected families due to his lack of an aristocratic background.
• priestley uses the character of mr birling, not only as a method to critique capitalism, but also to reveal the cycle of oppression caused by social divisions and classism.
• mr birling’s attains validation of his superiority in an almost sadistic manner through exercising complete control over the lower-class women he employs.
• the excessively self-centred nature of mr birling is driven by his determination to uphold an appearance of affluence.
• priestley focuses on the insecurities of mr birling and the middle class, to establish a connection with the middle-class and contemporary audience.
• mr birling has worked hard for his high social status and sees himself as proof that if the lower classes work hard enough they too can succeed like he did, “a man has to make his own way - has to look after himself”.
• mr birling’s desire to dismiss eva’s suicide is catalysed by the pressure of maintaining his public image and ensuring that he is not rejected from the society he worked so hard to enter.
• mr birling’s determination to reject the inspector‘s message of social responsibility is shown through his dismissive response to eva’s death, with his “impatiently“ forced “yes, yes”.
• priestley presents the older generation as especially opposed to societal changes which would lessen the divisions in classes.
• birling’s “provincial” speech bears connotations of conservatism and an unwillingness to change.

  this is reflected in his rejection of socialism as “nonsense”.
• gerald’s theory of the inspector not being real is “eagerly” and ”triumphantly” accepted by mr birling.
• mr birling feels instant catharsis (relief from strong emotions) when the prospect of a criminal record is no longer apparent, due to the inspector not being real.
• it is clear that mr birling did not care about eva smith’s suicide, but simply about his own chances of attaining a knighthood by avoiding “the police court or starting a scandal”.
• for mr birling to accept social responsibility, he would have to sacrifice the profiteering methods of exploiting labourers and paying subsistence wages.
• the divide between generations is emphasised by mr birling “eagerly” denying the inspector’s existence, and sheila agreeing with eric that ”this girl’s still dead”.
• priestley contrasts the characters of eric and sheila against mr and mrs birling.
• the younger generation acknowledge their failing in their morality. the older generation merely consider the potential detriment to their social status through prosecution, whilst disregarding any moral duty.
• mr birling, and the older generation as a whole, intend to live in the same fashion as they did before the arrival of the inspector.
• the cycle of immorality is implied by the ending of the play, which finishes as it began: with mr birling offering gerald a drink.
• the lack of change in attitude is reflected by the lack of visual change in the play.
• priestley conveys the message that the flaws of the current society are caused by the upper-classes’ resistance to change.