Character Quotes and Analysation

Sheila Birling

• "Now I really feel engaged" - Believes materials to be more important that affection.
• "I'm sorry, Daddy. Actually I was listening" - Immature and obedient at the start of the play. Women were supposed to be obedient to their father's because women were seen as less than men in 1912.
• "How could I know what would happen afterwards? ... But she was very pretty and looked as if she could take care of herself. I couldn't be sorry for her." - Selfish and inconsiderate.
• "And it was my fault really that she was so desperate when you first met her" - Starting to accept responsibility as the play progresses.
• "So nothing really happened. So there's nothing to be sorry for, nothing to learn. We can all go on behaving just as we did." - Scolds her parents = Lost respect and shows how she has truly changed.

Sheila Birling - Continued

• She is described as a “pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited.
• Sheila is one of the only two characters in the play to truly change her views towards life and the social ladder in 1912.
• Priestley has written in Sheila’s acting directions that she is often “(half serious, half playful)” - never really fully mature which is attributed to her parents spoiling of her.
• She also seems shocked that not everyone is like her, being young, pretty and well-off. She is evidence of the gap in the social ladder between the lower class and the upper class.
• She is possessive and suspicious towards Gerald when questioning him and having “(… , possessively)” written in her acting directions.
• During the play, she seems conscious of other people’s feelings and compassionate, however, there is a complete lack of this much-needed compassion in the Milward’s situation. Sheila appears to have the emotional capacity that none of the other characters do, even being quite melodramatic at times with her behaviour, becoming “hysterical” and “stormy”.
• Her direct emotional opposite is Mrs. Birling, who has completely cut off her emotions from herself and does not seem to show any emotional response, even when the Inspector shows her the picture of Eva. However, Sheila has the impatience of the elder Birlings, although hers is in the hypocrisy and dishonesty which surrounds her family, rather than impatience in other people’s intelligence like Mr. Birling, or impatience in other people’s so-called “impudence”. She becomes harsh and sharp with her words when she is irritated, meaning to make the others see her’s and the Inspector’s point of view.
• Purpose in the play = Priestley uses Sheila to challenge the audience who perhaps might share the childish antics that Sheila might have and to show the audience how she changes throughout the play and how she is difference at the end and to encourage the audience to follow suit.

Mr Birling

• "Heavy-looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties with fairly easy manners but rather provincial in his speech." - Proud of his standing in society.
• "I was Lord Mayor here two years ago...there's a very good chance of a knighthood" - Obsessed with status and his standing in society.
• "Crofts Limited are both older and bigger than Birling and company...perhaps we may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together - for lower costs and higher prices." = Pleased with Sheila's engagement because marriage increases his own social status. Makes it very clear that "a man has to mind his own business and look after himself". - Selfish.
• Makes views on community clear "community and all that nonsense" after saying "Germans don't want war" and "absolutely unsinkable". Dramatic irony undermines Mr Birling and devalues his opinions. Priestley does this to encourage the audience to agree with his own socialist views.
• Purpose in the play: Fails to learn the inspector's and Priestley's lesson on social responsibility which supports belief that it is the younger members of the community that need to be educated to look out for one another if society is to become a better place. The way Birling is presented allows Priestley's views to be more effective.

Sybil Birling

• [Stage Directions] - "Cold"
• "Go look for the father of the child. It's his responsibility" - unwittingly accuses her own son, Eric.
• "I did nothing i'm ashamed of"
• "Girls of that class" - thinks all classes behave in a certain way.
• "(agitated now) Oh, stop it, both of you. And please remember before you start accusing me of anything again that it wasn't I who had her turned out of her employment – which probably began it all." - Blames her own husband; Her social standing means a lot.

Sybil Birling - Continued

• Use of form(stage directions) - Wealthy and affluent, enabling her think herself better than those of a lower social standing *She is symbolic of the ruling upper class - many part of this elite in 1912 would have been similar to Mrs Birling* - [Stage Directions] "The dining room... Large suburban house".
• Use of structure - Because the first characteristic of Mrs Birling that we are shown is an interest in money we as the audience can conclude that wealth and capitalistic ideals are important in her life. Immediately this creates a sharp, negative impression.
• Believes herself morally and socially superior to others - "I'll ring ... when we want coffee" - Adverbial phrase 'when we want coffee' conveys command and power by the connotations of control of the adverb "when".
• Often uses exclamatory remarks to keep control of her family "Arthur!", "Sheila", "Eric?" + constant use of punctuation such as exclamation and question marks allows the audience to realise her domineering nature.
• Prejudiced - Immediately considers Eva unworthy of help, for in her eyes it would simply be impossible for a charity seeker like Eva to share the same name of an elitist such as herself.
• Conservatism - "When you're married you'll realise...energy on their business" - The adverbial phrase 'When your married' shows Sybil's submissiveness and seeming acceptance of the gender gap and her duties to cater to a man which elicits feelings of sympathy from the audience which effectively encourages the audience to adopt Priestley's concerns concerning social inequality.
• Purpose in the play = Represents the wealthier, privileged classes and their selfish attitudes. Allows the audience to see the class divide of 1912, the contrast between Eva and Sybil (encounter at the charity).

Eric Birling

• "Squiffy" - Drinking problem
• "In that state when a chap easily turns nasty...and that's when it happened and i don't even remember - that's the hellish thing."
• "Not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble"
• "It's what happened to the girl and what we all did to her that matters... Your lot may be letting yourselves out nicely but i can't. Nor can mother. We did her in all right." - Learned the lesson of social responsibility - represents the younger generation that can be educated to take care of one another.
• "Eric suddenly guffaws" - Seems embarrassed and awkward from the start.
• Gerald admits, "I have gathered that he does drink pretty hard." - interesting that his parents, especially the mother who seems aghast at such a prospect later in the play, don't see his drinking problem but a member of a different family, one who is presumably less "close" to Eric does. This could suggest that the parent's focus is directed towards other things such as status and business rather than the well-being of their children.

Gerald Croft

• "I don't come into this suicide business" - Doesn't see how he has done anything wrong when the inspector starts his investigation.
• "She didn't blame me at all, i wish to god she had now" - Initially seems upset about her involvement.
• "Everything's alright now" - Gerald offers the ring again to Sheila - more concerned about being caught than his actions.
• "She was young and pretty and warmhearted - and intensely grateful." - Eva became his mistress.
• "We can hide it from him" - tries to hide the truth from the inspector.
• Inspector notes that Gerald "had some affection for her and made her happy for a time". Inspector isnt as harsh on Gerald as he is the on the Birling parents.

Young vs Old

• Sheila and Eric learn the lesson of social responsibility whereas their parents don't. Mr Biriling "i cant accept and responsibility", "but the whole thing's different now"
• Inspector says "young ones" are "more impressionable"
• Younger generation are weaker:
• Eric attacks his father, saying "your not the kind of father a chap could go to", probably why he turns to drink. Only way to improve his situation is to become a business man like his father but his father doesn't trust him and doesn't give him responsibility.
• Sheila, because she is a woman, can't stand up for herself. = Even in a powerful family such as the Birlings, the young are still oppressed.
• Play is written in 1945, soon after the second world war. First world war happened because of "hard headed business man" - Because of the older generation. War led to massive wealth for business men. Inspector tries to teach a lesson and the lesson appears to fail because of the first world war. Surely they would have learned the lesson afterwards in "fire blood and anguish" - No - second world war symbolically represented by the second phone call about Eva.

Context

• Set in 1912, Written in 1945
• Audience of 1945 know that the characters of the play have yet to know of the sinking of the Titanic and to endure 2 world wars - through the use of dramatic irony Priestley undermines Mr Birling capitalistic opinions through Birling's belief that "The Germans don't want war" and "unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable".
• The attitudes of the Birlings concerning the suicide of Eva would have spoken to the audience of 1945 who had lived through the result of such complacency and ignorance.
• An audience in the late 40's would have been deprived of many of the luxuries the Birling's have because rationing continued in the UK, until the 1950's. This would have encouraged the audience to believe the Birlings to be superficial and materialistic.
• Men were more powerful than women. Women were cheap labour. Their concern was to get married. After the war and the sufraggette movement women were valued more encouraging the audience to sympathise with characters like Sheila and Eva

Compiled quotes.

• A man has to mind his own business and look after himself - Birling
• And it was my fault really that she was so desperate when you first met her - Sheila
• Cold - Stage directions - Sybil
• Community and all that nonsense - Birling
• Crofts Limited are both older and bigger than Birling and company...perhaps we may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together - for lower costs and higher prices. - Birling
• Eric suddenly guffaws - Eric
• Everything's alright now - Gerald
• Fire blood and anguis - InspectorGirls of that class - Sybil
• Had some affection for her and made her happy for a time" - Gerald
• Heavy-looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties with fairly easy manners but rather provincial in his speech. - Arthur
• How could I know what would happen afterwards? ... But she was very pretty and looked as if she could take care of herself. I couldn't be sorry for her. - Sheila
• I cant accept responsibility" - Arthur
• I did nothing i'm ashamed of - Sybil
• I don't come into this suicide business - Gerald
• I have gathered that he does drink pretty hard. - Eric
• I was Lord Mayor here two years ago...there's a very good chance of a knighthood - Birling
• I'll ring ... when we want coffee - Sybil
• I'm sorry, Daddy. Actually I was listening - Sheila
• In that state when a chap easily turns nasty...and that's when it happened and i don't even remember - that's the hellish thing. - Eric
• It's what happened to the girl and what we all did to her that matters... Your lot may be letting yourselves out nicely but i can't. Nor can mother. We did her in all right. - Eric
• Not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble - Eric
• Now I really feel engaged - Sheila
• Oh, stop it, both of you. And please remember before you start accusing me of anything again that it wasn't I who had her turned out of her employment – which probably began it all. - Sybil
• Possessively - stage directions when suspicious of gerald - Sheila
• She didn't blame me at all, i wish to god she had now - Gerald
• She was young and pretty and warmhearted - and intensely grateful. - Gerald
• So nothing really happened. So there's nothing to be sorry for, nothing to learn. We can all go on behaving just as we did. - Sheila
• Squiffy - Eric
• The dining room... Large suburban house - Stage directions - Sybil
• We can hide it from him - Gerald
• When you're married you'll realise...energy on their business - Sybil
• Young ones are more impressionable - Inspector