Gender

• Mrs Birling - Act One


  "When you're married, you'll realise that men with important work to do sometimes have to spend all their time and energy in their business. You'll have to get used to that, just as I did. "
• Mrs Birling - Act One


  " I think Sheila and I had better go into the drawing room and leave you men."
• Mrs Birling - Act Three


  "Now just be quiet, so your father can decide what we ought to do."
• Eva Smith - Act One


  Birling: "she'd had a lot to say - far too much - so she had to go. "
• Eva Smith - Act Two


  " ...husband who's deserted her"

  
  

  Mrs B: "... no claim to the name."
• Sheila - Act Two


  "[hands him the ring]"
• Mr Birling - Act One


  "Your engagement to Sheila means a tremendous lot to me. She'll make you very happy..."
• Mr Birling - Act One

  "clothes mean something different to women. Not just something to wear - not only something to make 'em look prettier - but - well, a sort of sign or token of their self-respect."
• Mr Birling - Act One


  "She was a lively, good looking girl - country bred - I fancy."
• Mr Birling - Act Two


  "I'm not defending him, but you must understand that a lot of young man."
• Inspector - Act One Stage Directions

  "... need not be a big man, but he creates at once a impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness."
• Gerald - Act One Stage Directions


  "...rather too manly to be dandy, but very much the easy well bred young man about town."
• Gerald - Act Two


  "I think Miss Birling ought to be excused any more of this questioning. She's nothing more to tell you. She's had a long, exciting and tiring day - We we're celebrating our engagement you know - and know she's obviously had about as much as she can stand."
• Gerald - Act Two


  "young, fresh and charming."
• Gerald - Act Two


  "...decided to keep her as his mistress."
• Gerald - Act One


  Sheila: "Is it the one you wanted me to have?"
• Gerald and Inspector- Act Two


  Inspector: "Young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things."

  
  

  Gerald agrees

  
  

  Inspector: "We know one women who wasn't, done we."
• Mr Birling - Act One

  "We have several hundred young women there y'know and they keep changing.
• Mr Birling - Act One


  "We were paying them the usual rates and if they didn't like those rates, then they could go and work somewhere else."
• Mrs Birling - Act Two

  "... Lord Mayor only two years ago."
• Mrs Birling - Act Two and Three


  Refers to Sheila as "overexcited" and "a hysterical child."

  
  

  Act Three as "childish"
• Eric - Act Three

  "... pretty and a good sport."
• Eric - Act Three


  "... just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she were an animal, a thing, not a person."
• Eric - Act Three


  "... you're not the kind of father a chap can go to when he's in trouble."
• Mr B and Eric - Act One

  Mr B: "What's the matter with you?"
• Mr B and Eric - Act Three

  Birling calls Eric a "hysterical young fool..."