CHARACTERS NAMES

• SYBIL BIRLING

  • named after sibyls from greek myth who were famous for their gifts of prophecy and the ability to see into the future- ironic as sybil is blind to the truth 
  • also the first sybil asked the God apollo  for immortality, he does but makes her extremely old so the lesson is be careful what you wish for- much like mrs birling constantly telling the inspector to go off  to the boy who got eva pregnant- blaming him- without realising it’s her own son so being careful what she wishes for 
• ARTHUR BIRLING

  • named after king arthur to symbolise how much power he has in society 
  • used also ironically bc king arthur is a symbol of good rule- idealised king 
  • king arthur was all about chivalry- using his power for the good
  • sits “head of the table” unlike king arthur who sits at a round table
• DAISY

  • “daisy” could be an allusion to the fact gerald essentially “deflowered” her; safe to assume that she was a virgin when when she met gerald and he took her virginity- this could be why eric doesn’t know her as “daisy” after gerald because she’s essentially got no “petals”
  • “daisy” connotes innocence and fresh but realises she has to make a terrible economic compromise - “RENT” herself
  • name is oxymoron
  • picking a daisy, closer to death and gerald picks her first so priestley is showing the sexual exploitation is far more damaging to her then losing jobs
• RENTON

  • ideas of exploitation spelled out in her choice of name
  • clearly implies how she sees her relationship with gerald as for “rent” - she’s renting her time in order to sexually exploit her
  • ironic since gerald has her in a flat where he doesn’t have to pay rent at all