Sybil Birling

• Who is Mrs Birling married to?

  Mr Birling
• Who are the children of Mrs Birling?

  Eric and Sheila
• What role does Mrs Birling have in society?

  She has public influence through charity work
• How does Priestley use Mrs Birling in the play?

  As a symbol of upper-class hypocrisy
• How is Mrs Birling described in the stage directions?

  As a cold woman around fifty
• What does Mrs Birling represent about the upper classes?

  Selfishness, privilege, and prejudice
• How does Mrs Birling view the working classes?

  She perceives them as inferior
• What does Priestley depict about domestic life in the early 20th Century?

  Men and women had unequal roles
• What convention does Mrs Birling adhere to after dinner?

  She goes to the drawing room
• How does Mrs Birling initiate her exit from the dining room?

  By announcing it's time to leave
• What does Mrs Birling's commitment to the patriarchal status quo imply?

  She is complicit in her own oppression
• How does Mrs Birling view marriage?

  As a means for financial security
• How does Mrs Birling react to Gerald's affair?

  She shows indifference towards it
• What does Priestley suggest about Mrs Birling's emotional state?

  She is cold and self-interested
• How does Mrs Birling respond to Sheila's distress?

  She is unsympathetic and dismissive
• What does Mrs Birling believe about the nature of marriage?

  It is a transaction, not based on love
• How does Mrs Birling view men's sexual desires?

  They should be accepted and satisfied
• What does Mrs Birling say about Eva's suicide?

  It is Eva's own fault
• How does Mrs Birling view working-class women?

  She believes they choose prostitution
• What is Mrs Birling's reaction to the Inspector's message?

  She rejects the idea of collective responsibility
• How does Mrs Birling perceive displays of emotion?

  As a sign of weakness
• What does Mrs Birling call Sheila when she displays emotion?

  A hysterical child
• How does Mrs Birling respond to Sheila's socialist views?

  She dismisses them as delusional
• What does Mrs Birling symbolize in relation to the suffrage movement?

  Resistance to women's rights
• How does Mrs Birling view the suffrage movement?

  As undermining traditional gender roles
• Why does Mrs Birling resist societal change?

  She is privileged and comfortable
• How does Mrs Birling feel about her husband's origins?

  She is ashamed of them
• What does Priestley suggest about the nature of the Birling marriage?

  It is transactional, not based on love
• How does Mrs Birling react to Gerald's affair?

  She accepts it as normal
• How does Sheila's attitude change towards her mother?

  She rejects her mother's manipulation
• What does Sheila's rejection of the word "impertinent" signify?

  Her growth and independence
• How does Mrs Birling contrast with Sheila?

  She represents conservatism, Sheila progressivism
• What does Mrs Birling do when confronted by the Inspector?

  She denies all responsibility
• How does Mrs Birling respond to the Inspector's tone?

  With outrage and defensiveness
• What does Mrs Birling's use of the word "absurd" reveal?

  Her dismissiveness towards Eva's suffering
• How does Mrs Birling view the working class?

  As inferior and different from herself
• What does Mrs Birling imply about her understanding of Eva's suicide?

  She believes she cannot understand it
• How does Mrs Birling's character reflect societal attitudes?

  She embodies the prejudices of her class
• What does Mrs Birling's attitude towards Eva Smith reveal?

  Her contempt for the working class
• How does Mrs Birling's character contribute to the play's themes?

  She highlights class inequality and hypocrisy