Age and Generational Conflict

Ever wondered why your parents sometimes seem stuck in their ways whilst you're ready to change the world? Priestley explores exactly this tension through the generational divide in the Birling family.

The younger generation (Sheila and Eric) start the play as typical privileged teenagers - materialistic, naïve, and blindly accepting their comfortable capitalist upbringing. However, they're also more impressionable, which means the Inspector can influence them through emotive language and clever questioning. By the end, both take social responsibility for Eva Smith's death.

Meanwhile, the older generation stays firmly rooted in their beliefs. Mrs Birling declares "You have no power to make me change my mind," showing her rigid refusal to accept any criticism. Mr Birling only worries about covering up the scandal, caring more about his reputation than learning moral lessons.

Gerald Croft represents an interesting anomaly - he's young but sides with the older generation by the play's end. His aristocratic background means he wants to protect the status quo, suggesting that not all young people are willing to embrace progressive change.

Key Insight: Priestley uses age to show hope for society's future, believing younger people could learn from the mistakes of their elders and create a more equal world.

Gender Roles and Women's Place in Society

Think about how different life was for women in 1912 compared to today - Priestley uses gender to highlight the patriarchal attitudes that dominated Edwardian society.

Mrs Birling actually reinforces sexist stereotypes, suggesting "Sheila and I had better go into the drawing room and leave you men." She believes important matters shouldn't involve women, showing how some women accepted their inferior status. Her phrase "men with important work to do" implies only male activities have real significance.

The male characters display disturbing attitudes towards women. Eric's casual attitude to sexual assault - "when a chap easily turns nasty" - suggests violent behaviour was normalised among upper-class men. The word "chap" makes his predatory actions sound almost trivial.

Mr Birling tries to protect Sheila by calling her "a young unmarried girl," but this patronising language actually shows he's more concerned about family reputation than her wellbeing. Meanwhile, Gerald's condescending treatment of Sheila reveals the gender power imbalance in their relationship.

Context Check: The play was written after WWII when women had proven their capabilities in wartime jobs, making the 1912 attitudes seem even more outdated to Priestley's audience.

Mrs Birling: The Stubborn Matriarch

Mrs Birling perfectly represents everything wrong with the older generation's attitudes - she's prejudiced, controlling, and completely unwilling to change her worldview.

Her involvement in the Brumley Women's Charity exposes middle-class hypocrisy. Rather than genuinely helping people, she uses charity work to maintain her respectable reputation. When discussing Eva Smith, she can barely bring herself to say "girls of that class," showing her class prejudice and condescending attitude towards the working class.

Mrs Birling's superiority complex becomes clear when she tells the Inspector "you have no power to make me change my mind." She uses direct address and authoritative language to assert her social status, believing her privileged background excuses her harmful actions.

Her reaction to discovering Eric fathered Eva's child - "I don't believe it... I won't believe it" - shows how she constructs false impressions of respectability. When the Inspector turns out to be a hoax, she dismisses Sheila and Eric's guilt, claiming "in the morning they'll be as amused as we are," completely undermining their character development.

Character Insight: Mrs Birling represents how privilege can blind people to social problems - her comfortable position means socialist change would only threaten her lifestyle.

Eric: A Journey from Privilege to Redemption

Eric's character arc shows that even someone who commits terrible acts can learn and change - making him symbolic of redemption in Priestley's vision for society.

Initially, Eric seems like a typical privileged young man - immature, alcoholic, and naive. However, he shows early signs of socialist thinking when questioning "Why shouldn't they try for higher wages?" This directly contradicts his father's capitalist views and shows natural compassion for working-class struggles.

His sexual assault of Eva Smith represents how the upper classes abused their power over vulnerable workers. The euphemistic description of being "in that state when a chap easily turns nasty" suggests such behaviour was disturbingly common among 1912 Britain's wealthy men.

By the play's end, Eric becomes morally superior to his parents. He demands they take responsibility, criticising his father as "not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble." His repetition of "damn you" and "you killed her" when confronting his mother shows complete breakdown of family loyalty in favour of moral justice.

Redemption Theme: Priestley uses Eric to prove that no matter how terrible someone's past actions, they can still develop empathy and fight for social justice.

The Inspector: Voice of Social Conscience

The Inspector's dramatic entrance immediately shifts the play's atmosphere from "pink and intimate" to "brighter and harder" - symbolising how his socialist message threatens the Birlings' comfortable capitalist bubble.

His interrogation technique evolves throughout the play. Starting "carefully, weightily," he maintains professional calm whilst gathering information. However, as the family's lack of remorse becomes clear, he becomes more forceful and threatening, warning them "you're making it worse for yourself."

The Inspector's prophetic final speech predicts terrible consequences if society doesn't change: "if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire, blood and anguish." This hellish imagery would have resonated powerfully with Priestley's 1945 audience, fresh from experiencing two world wars.

His socialist philosophy centres on collective responsibility: "We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other." The repetition of "millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths" creates hyperbolic emphasis, suggesting working-class suffering affects vast numbers of people.

Priestley's Mouthpiece: The Inspector represents Priestley's own socialist beliefs, using moral authority rather than social status to challenge the capitalist characters.

Mr Birling: The Face of Failed Capitalism

Mr Birling embodies everything Priestley wanted audiences to reject about capitalist individualism and outdated Victorian values that led to social inequality.

His dramatic irony makes him immediately unlikeable to 1945 audiences. His confident predictions about the "unsinkable" Titanic and claims that "there isn't a chance of war" would have seemed laughably wrong to people who'd lived through two world wars and knew the ship's fate.

Birling's business philosophy prioritises profit over people: "it's my duty to keep labour costs down" shows how capitalism reduces human workers to mere figures. His belief that "a man has to make his own way" and dismissal of "community and all that nonsense" directly opposes the Inspector's message of collective responsibility.

When Eric's crimes are revealed, Birling's first concern is reputation management: "I've got to cover this up as soon as I can." Rather than addressing his son's moral corruption or his own failed parenting, he focuses entirely on avoiding scandal and protecting his social standing.

His name-dropping of influential contacts like the "chief constable" shows how he uses social connections to exert power, revealing insecurity about his own worth and credibility in society.

Satirical Target: Priestley deliberately makes Birling pompous and wrong about everything to show audiences that wealthy capitalists aren't inherently wise or deserving of respect.