Wealth and Materialism

• Wealth and Materialism


  • Wealth is one of the Birlings' main interests and influences all of their interactions with others
  • Wealth brings each family member power over others and this power seems to make them forget that the poor are human too
  • Priestley uses the Inspector to try and change how the characters and audience feel and act towards the lower classes
• Class system


  • Wealth corrupts people and society as a whole
  • Social hierarchies determined by wealth, alongside Capitalism, lead to materialism (believing money, material possessions, and physical comfort are the most important things in life) and greed
• In a Capitalist class system


  Wealth leads to increasingly more power and success
• Priestley argues that this means people seek out material possessions and money as symbols of their own worth in society</b>
• Consequently, they lack emotional and moral intelligence, and cannot connect with others
• Priestley also presents how those at the bottom of the hierarchy are dehumanised and objectified as a result
• Development of the theme Wealth and Materialism

  1. Appears right from the start of the play

  2. The setting and appearances of the characters means the audience would recognise the Birlings as a wealthy family

  3. They surround themselves with signs of their money, showing how important it is to them

  4. Even as the play continues and they learn of the destructive consequences of wealth, the setting remains the same

  5. The luxury of their surroundings becomes more intimidating and grotesque, but the characters can't escape and nor can the audience

  6. The continuity of the setting also reflects how the elder Birlings refuse to learn or change their ways

  7. The Inspector's role is to slowly take apart the Birlings' greed and materialism
• The Setting


  • It is a physical manifestation of upper class materialism
  • The "fairly large suburban house, belonging to a prosperous manufacturer" with "good solid furniture" indicates their excessive wealth
  • The "Champagne glasses", "port", and a "cigar box" are all indications of their excessive wealth
  • The "fairly large" size of the house and the "good" quality of the furniture show the Birlings live in comfort, wanting nothing
  • The adverb "fairly" and adjective "prosperous" suggest they are climbing the social ladder
  • While the "substantial and heavily comfortable" home connotes luxury and decadence, Priestley specifies it is "not cosy and homelike"
  • The setting is unwelcoming, and may even intimidate an audience which represents the untouchable position of the rich
  • Moreover, as it is not "homelike", Priestley implies the family are missing emotional connection
• Sheila's engagement ring


  • Sheila's excitement over her engagement ring suggests the physical token of her engagement brings her more joy than the engagement does
  • Her declaration, "Now I really feel engaged," implies a material possession is needed for the engagement to be real
  • The gift of a ring is the thing that connects her to Gerald, rather than love
  • Priestley presents the issues of a society that places too much importance on physical possessions
• Mr Birling's focus on money

  • Mr Birling refused to pay his workers a slightly higher wage because of his greed: it was too "heavy" a "price" for his business
  • The metaphor "price" alludes to economy and trade, implicating Capitalist greed as the direct cause of Eva's death
  • Priestley contrasts Mr Birling's interpretation of a "heavy price" with the "heavy price" Eva experienced to show how greed blinds people to others' needs and humanity
  • Priestley suggests that what is in reality of small consequence to the upper classes, who own fortunes, is of huge consequence to the lower classes
• Eva Smith's poverty


  • Priestley suggests the rich think the lower classes' only weakness or hardship is their shortage of money
  • When confronted with Eva's poverty and hardship all three upper class men offer her money
  • It is evident from this that they believe money can solve everything
  • By offering her money but still abandoning her they reduce her to an object they can throw money at
  • She is dispossessed of her humanity purely because she lacks material possessions
  • Through the men's interactions with Eva, Priestley implies capitalism turns people and forgiveness into things that can be bought
  • It is evident that the men don't understand what else they can offer Eva, such as love, support, or kindness
  • They don't understand that their acts of cruelty or their prejudices also have an impact and are ignorant of social isolation and oppression
• Priestley's audience would learn to value emotional connection and fellowship over wealth