Class

• Class in act 1 quote and summary:

  “Arthur, you're not supposed  to say such things” – Mrs Birling, Mrs Birling reprimands her husband for the mistake of acknowledging their working class cook.
• Class in act 1 quote and summary:

  “We’re respectable citizens and not criminals” – Gerald, Gerald believes that his class places him above the law — something that the Inspector disputes.
• Class in act 1 quote and summary:

  “... it’s better to ask for the earth than to take it” – Inspector Goole, The Inspector uses Mr Birling’s own words against him to highlight his selfishness.
• Class in act 2 quote and summary:

  “Girls of that class …” – Mrs Birling, Mrs Birling refuses to show empathy or compassion for Eva because of her class
• Class in act 3 quote and summary:

  “We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other” – Inspector Goole, The Inspector uses the metaphor of a body to show that people depend on one another.
• What are the elements of class in An Inspector Calls?

  Priestley presents attitudes towards class in a variety of ways in the play, through symbolic settings, exploited characters and prejudiced attitudes.
• What are the elements of class in An Inspector Calls?

  • Settings: The description of the Birlings’ opulent home is sharply contrasted with descriptions of the workers in Arthur’s factory
• What are the elements of class in An Inspector Calls?

  • Prejudice: Upper-class characters frequently make incorrect assertions about the working classes and view them as morally and socially inferior:
  • The Birlings, particularly Sybil, and Gerald are entrenched in the views of their class system; they cannot genuinely empathise with Eva’s plight or  that of the working classes 
• What are the elements of class in An Inspector Calls?

  • Exploitation: Eric and Gerald use their class and status to take advantage of Eva Smith while keeping their relationship with her a secret to avoid reputational damage
• The impact of class on characters:

  Priestley uses the characters in An Inspector Calls to criticise the inequality and unfairness of the British class system and argues that the privilege of class blinds people to their immoral behaviour. 
• The impact of class on characters:

  The Birlings:

  • Priestley depicts the comfortable, affluent life of the Birlings in contrast to Eva Smith’s poverty 
  • Mr Birling is concerned that the wealthier Croft family might see Gerald’s engagement to Sheila, the daughter of a new money industrialist, as a social step down
  • Mrs Birling ignorantly links class with morality and cannot believe Eva, as a working-class girl, would refuse stolen money
• The impact of class on characters:

  The Inspector:

  • The Inspector suggests that the class system creates inequalities in society and prevents social mobility: 
  • His investigation also reveals the immoral behaviour of the ‘respectable’ upper classes 
• The impact of class on characters:

  Eva Smith:

  • Working class Eva Smith is considered “cheap labour” by Mr Birling and Gerald, and is exploited and marginalised by more privileged characters
  • Class differences are a metaphorical “wall”, a barrier put up by the wealthy to separate them from the impoverished and vulnerable in society: 
  • Sheila warns her mother not to “build up a kind of wall” between herself and Eva
• Why does Priestley use the theme of class in his play?

  1.  Setting and period

  • Priestley underscores how the wealthiest in society enjoy privileges and lives of excess, but are blind to the effects of their actions on the less fortunate in society
  • Challenges the outdated values of the upper classes through the Inspector, who speaks for Priestley’s audience when he champions workers’ rights 
• Why does Priestley use the theme of class in his play?

  2. Plot driver 

  • The revelations about how Birling family have abused their class and social status provide a clear dramatic structure 
• Why does Priestley use the theme of class in his play?

  3. Audience appeal 

  • The play’s action is driven by revelations about the immorality of the Edwardian upper classes 
  • Its contemporary 1945 audience were more progressive, responsible and aligned with its socialist values 
• Why does Priestley use the theme of class in his play?

  4. Conflict between characters

  • Priestley quickly establishes the theme of class conflict in the opening act