mrs birling

• Mrs Birling is a character in "An Inspector Calls" who symbolizes the hypocrisy of the upper classes and the need for a welfare state
• She is described as "about fifty, a rather cold woman," revealing her unsympathetic and individualistic nature
• Mrs Birling represents the selfish nature of the upper classes, their privileges, and prejudices
• She perceives the working classes as inferior
• Mrs Birling's commitment to maintaining the patriarchal status quo leads her to become complicit in her own oppression and she inflicts this upon her own daughter
• Mrs Birling recognizes marriage as a means to secure financial security and social status, not centered around love
• She perceives men's sexual desires as something to be accepted and satisfied by submissive women
• Mrs Birling perceives displays of emotion as a sign of weakness and attempts to dismiss Sheila's views as hysterical
• Mrs Birling is used as a symbol of the upper classes who resisted the suffrage movement in the early 20th Century
• Mrs Birling perceives the suffrage movement as undermining traditional gender roles and the foundation of the family, leading to domestic chaos
• Priestley presents Mrs Birling as, to an extent, ashamed of her husband's lower-class origins and the way he carries himself
• Their marriage was most likely arranged like a transaction; Mr Birling's financial support in exchange for Mrs Birling's reputable family and status
• Sheila initially influenced by her mother's formal vocabulary, later rejects her mother's manipulation
• Sheila and Mrs Birling in "An Inspector Calls":

  • Sheila is the exemplar response to the Inspector’s message, aligning herself with his views, while Mrs Birling is her direct antithesis, rejecting the Inspector’s message
• Mrs Birling is in complete opposition to the Inspector and the message of increased social responsibility
• Mrs Birling maintains a strong repugnance for Eva Smith and her working-class background
• Mrs Birling is indifferent to Eric's welfare, blaming him for Eva's situation and refusing to accept the truth about his involvement
• Mrs Birling and her husband are static characters, with their beliefs remaining unchanged at the end of the play
• Despite benefiting from the class system, Mrs Birling is discontented and paranoid about her reputation being tarnished, showing the toxicity of the class system
• Mrs Birling is a symbol of extreme individualism, characterized as selfish and egocentric
• Mrs Birling's public image is of utmost importance, and she is concerned about how the family is perceived by others
• Mrs Birling symbolizes conservatism and resistance to change, while Sheila symbolizes the progressive younger generation, replacing outdated views of their parents
• Mrs Birling prioritizes herself over her family, justifying denying Eva Smith financial aid as her duty to defend her social image and seek revenge
• Mr Birling values a duty to business over a duty to the needy in society, contrasting with the Inspector who investigates the morality of the characters in the play
• Mrs Birling lacks the capacity to empathize with the suffering of the lower classes, blaming Eva for her own suicide and providing no comfort to her daughter, Sheila
• Mrs Birling symbolizes the upper classes' resistance to change and is used by Priestley to represent extreme individualism, selfishness, and egocentrism
• Mrs Birling is portrayed as rejecting any sense of responsibility, remaining ideologically the same and demonstrating confidence in her own superiority, stubbornness, and reluctance to change
• Mrs Birling is symbolic of maintaining the traditional class system, failing to see lower classes as deserving of respect and emphasizing class divisions
• Mrs Birling is shown as misusing her upper-class power and privilege, implying that the source of poverty is the greed and immorality of the upper classes
• Mrs Birling is hypocritical, showing prejudice towards the poor while being a prominent member of a charity organization, and acknowledging her own prejudice against Eva's impertinence
• Mrs Birling is oblivious to the lives, struggles, and suffering of others, uninterested in the reality of the poor's suffering and accepting convenient truths that benefit her perception of society
• Mrs Birling symbolizes pride, with a sense of self-importance and superiority driving her to abuse her privilege
• Mrs Birling is portrayed as a manifestation of the cardinal sin of pride, with a sense of self-importance and superiority that drives her to abuse her privilege
• Mrs Birling feels entitled to the respect of those socially inferior to her, demonstrated by her use of the demeaning adjective "impertinent" to describe Eva
• Mrs Birling's complex and elaborate use of language masks the unsubstantiated nature of her arguments
• Mr Birling compensates for the weakness of his arguments with quantity of speech, while Mrs Birling focuses on the quality of hers
• The Inspector is terse in speech and refrains from using complex language as his message is well substantiated by the death of Eva
• Through Mrs Birling, Priestley explores the resistance of the upper class to change that threatens their social position
• Priestley demonstrates the hypocrisy of the upper classes through Mrs Birling's character
• Mrs Birling's quote bank by theme includes quotes and analysis related to responsibility, pride, and class