Eric

• Eric Birling


  • Son of Mr and Mrs Birling
  • Employed by his father Birling and Co.
  • Has a drinking habit
  • In his early twenties, not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive
  • Symbolic of redemption
• Priestley presents Eric in a sympathetic light through Eric's opposition to Mr Birling's capitalist and individualistic attitudes
• The audience's feeling of sympathy for Eric is increased by the evident lack of a good role model as a father
• Priestley portrays society's norms as the reason for the immoral behaviour of Eric (his rape of Eva) - he is simply following in the footsteps of other men
• Eric is presented as naive and ignorant of the true extent of the suffering of the lower-class
• Remorse and regret is clearly shown by Eric while he accepts responsibility for his actions, yet he rejects taking sole responsibility for her suicide
• The character of Eric can be seen as a source of optimism; anyone can change for the better
• Involuntarily


  Eric's emotional response to the news of Eva's death shows that he has morals, as he could not suppress his emotional reaction
• Eric's reaction to her death


  Contrasted with Mr Birling's dismissive reaction
• Eric's socialist views


  He condemns his father's capitalist view of his workers and challenges this through the question "why shouldn't they try for higher wages?"
• Priestley presents Eric, with the capacity for empathy and emotion, which therefore separates him (and Sheila) from the other characters, who are unable to experience such emotions
• Eric initially sees Mr Birling's hypocrisy in the determination to achieve "lower costs and higher prices", yet, denying Eva and his employees a higher wage
• Eric realises that there is no meritocracy and that a "good worker" does not constitute better treatment, but that capitalism exists fundamentally to exploit workers and create profit
• Eric recognises how his father is hypocritical in hiding his views from Inspector as he "[Laughs bitterly] I didn't notice you told him that it's every man for himself"
• Priestley demonstrates Eric's discomfort towards his family's lifestyle and privilege, through the stage directions "not quite at ease"
• Eric interrupts his father's engagement speech and protests "[not too rudely] Well don't do any (speechmaking). We'll drink to their health and have done with it."
• Eric acknowledges that Mr Birling's "respectable friends", such as "alderman Meggerty" are acting immorally, but Eric is too weak to stand up for his own beliefs
• Alcohol is Eric's response and coping mechanism to the hypocrisy and materialism of his family
• Priestley teaches that people need to stand up for reform regardless of who they are in society, otherwise they may end up accepting what's wrong like Eric did
• Eric has been raised by a "cold woman" and a father who is "not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble", which has condemned him to treating others with the same callousness
• Priestley uses Mr Birling's capitalist, individualistic and patriarchal lectures to show the audience that Eric is being shaped by the values of his father
• Priestley provides a legitimate explanation for Eric's immoral actions, as "respectable" men use prostitutes therefore Eric has learnt to associate prostitution with the normal behaviour of the upper-class
• Eric's narration of what happened with Eva is likely to be unreliable, as he says "and that's when it happened", using the pronoun "it" to allow the audience to fill in the gaps
• Priestley uses the euphemistic phrase "that state when a chap easily turns nasty" as a substitute for Eric's admittance of being drunk
• Utility


  The value of something measured through the usefulness of their bodies and sexual appeal
• Unreliable narration


  Eric is left to tell the story about what he did to Eva, meaning his narration is likely to be biased and not fully truthful
• Eric says "and that's when it happened"

  The use of the pronoun "it" allows the audience to fill in the gaps about what Eric did to Eva
• Priestley's intention is for Eric to be favoured by the audience and serve as a medium for socialist ideas and converted capitalists
• Euphemistic phrase


  "that state when a chap easily turns nasty" is a substitute for Eric's admittance of being drunk
• Priestley's choice of colloquial language normalises Eric's lack of restraint and implies the alcohol caused him to act that way, not his lack of morals
• Throughout the play the audience is encouraged to consider whether Eric's actions are really reflective of his true character, or whether society has conditioned him to behave that way
• Genuine regret


  Eric is portrayed by Priestley as repentant and remorseful for his immoral actions towards Eva
• Eric recalls his actions as "yes I remember -"

  Priestley does this to demonstrate Eric's authentic regret
• Priestley's linguistic use of euphemistic phrases and dramatic exit

  Shows that Eric feels guilty and doesn't want to think about what he did, as he's ashamed of his actions
• Eric uses the third-person when recalling events


  Allows him to disassociate himself from his cruel actions
• Limited responsibility


  Priestley portrays Eric as only partially accepting responsibility for the death of Eva Smith
• Eric excuses his behaviour by comparing his exploitation of Eva to the use of prostitutes by Mr Birling's "respectable friends"


  Implies he is not responsible for how he acted, due to a lack of good role models
• Colloquial noun "chap"


  Suggests Eric is trivialising the situation and doesn't feel guilty to a great extent
• Eric's attempts to divert blame away from himself - be it the influence of immoral men or his own intoxication - causes him to be perceived as similar to the older generation as he is avoiding responsibility
• Eric consistently challenges and opposes Mr Birling's opinions and capitalist attitudes


  Priestley places these characters in juxtaposition to mirror the conflict between capitalism and socialism