An Inspector Calls - Revision notes

An Inspector Calls - Notes for Revision

Historical Context

• - First performed in 1945 - a time of great social change.
• - The first world war had just ended - class divisons had become much less clear and it was possible to be class mobile. The issue of women's rights had also become very important.
• - The play is actually set in 1912 - the characters have no knowledge about what will happen or what the modern audience's perspective on this will be.
• - Priestly uses this to emphasise the play's important messages about society and responsibility.

Character Detail - Mr Birling

• Mr Birling is self-made business man, and has become very successful as a mill owner - he is very proud of this fact, and frequently makes long speeches about his own opinions, on current affairs and world news.
• Priestly uses these speeches to ridicule him, making him appear arrogant and complacent. For example, he says 'And I'm talking as a hard-headed, practical man of business. And I say there isn’t a chance of war.' Here, we see an example of dramatic irony (Priestly uses this throughout the play). Mr Birling is very confident in himself, and the other family members appear to listen to him, while the audience knows that this is, of course, not true. It also makes us lose confidence in him - if he is wrong about this, he might be wrong about other things.
• Mr Birling is also a capitalist. Priestly presents him as greedy:"...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." Mr Birling's capitalist views are contrary to Priestly's beliefs in socialism, and Priestly uses him as a stereotype to try and make the audience think that capitalism is bad. In this way, he is able to relate his own views through the play to the audience.
• He also has very materialistic views, and does not think of women as equal. He has 'old-fashioned' views about them and their role in society. You could think about many different aspects of his character as well as these two examples.

Character Detail - Mrs Birling

• We know from Priestly's description of the characters at the start of the play that Mrs Birling is both 'cold' and of a higher class than her husband. Priestly uses her reaction to the Inspector's questions, and also her views on working class people, to demonstrate these points."She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl in her position." This demonstrates her feelings clearly - she feels as though Eva Smith is beneath her, and therefore not worthy of her help.
• Mrs Birling also uses lots of euphemistic language to describe people of the lower classes - for example,"girl in her position." Clearly, she wants to distance herself from any association with them - as Sheila says near to the end of the play, Mrs Birling is 'building up a wall' between herself and Eva Smith. You might also say here how Eva Smith could be seen to symbolise social responsiblity - Mrs Birling is denying her social responsibility here.
• Despite being a prominent member of a women's charity, Mrs Birling denies help to Eva Smith, based solely on the fact that she is young, and of a much lower class, and uses the name 'Birling'. Here, we can see her hypocrisy - although she might appear to sympathise with and want to help people based on this, we can see that she is in fact using it to further her own reputation and make herself seem like a better person. It's as though Mrs Birling almost enjoys destroying Eva Smith's hopes for aid; she might help girls who she takes a liking to, but considers it perfectly acceptable to demonise and cast away others despite their desperation.

Character Detail - Sheila Birling

• When we first meet Sheila Birling, Priestly presents her as very naive; she appears to be very much under the command of her parents. For example, after being questioned by the Inspector, she says 'Oh, why had this to happen?'. Here, she appears very childlike, seeking to distance herself from her responsibility and to find help from others.