Inspector Calls - Mr Birling

An Inspector Calls – Mr. Birling

Arthur Birling was undoubtedly one of the most undesirable characters in J.B Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls.’ At the start, he was described to us as a “rather portentous man, who was rather provincial in his speech,” however as the play progress and situations soaked in tension arise, we are able to identify Birling’s character in depth. Priestley presents Birling’s character in certain ways for unambiguous reasons, which helps us, as readers; pinpoint the specific traits that shape our impression of him.

Firstly, it is clear to us that Birling, along with his wife, is ignorant to the events surrounding them, unless it directly includes him or could potentially affect his reputation; “[dubiously] I must say Sybil, that when this comes out…it isn’t going to do us much good.” His reaction to his wife’s association with Eva Smith only concerns how they would be seen by the other members of the public, supporting the idea that reputation is his main worry, along with his doubtful tone as if he is unsure whether or not he should admit that his wife was at fault. Additionally, his capitalist perception does not allow Birling to open up to the various possibilities such as war, instead, his narrow-mindedness puts him in complete denial at the idea of failure; “The world’s developing so fast that it’ll make war impossible,”// “…the Titanic…and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.” Priestley uses dramatic irony in these two examples, making the audience look at Birling as an ignorant, foolish man. Birling also believed that capitalism was dominant over socialism and was completely against the idea of trade unions; “…four or five ringleaders, who’s started the trouble,” as if he felt those members of the class below had no right to speak out or join forces to support each other. Birling appears as an extremely pompous and illiterate man when he asks Eric why he never approached him [Birling] for help when Eric was involved with Eva because Eric’s reply gave us an insight to Birling’s true nature; “Because you’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble – that’s why.” This could signify that Birling was such an oblivious person; he wouldn’t know how to help out his own children because he wouldn’t care about anything unless it included boosting his reputation within society, or help boost his business. Birling’s disregard for the predicaments occurring around him is further proven when Eric admits to his association with Eva Smith; “I understand a lot of things now that I didn’t understand before.” From this, we can assume that Birling may not just be clueless to what is happening around him, but may also simply choose not to see what is right in front of him.

Secondly, Birling, sticking true to his position as the highest member of the household, believed that the younger generation was incapable of making their own decisions, such as when he tries to convince Sheila to remain in a relationship with Gerald, which leads us to believe that he is constantly interfering and is unaware of the fact that they are adults who are perfectly fit to make their own choices; “Now Sheila,…you must understand that a lot of young men –.” This proposes that Birling was about to lecture Sheila on her decision regarding her own relationship with Gerald, as if he was the one who was responsible for the choices within the relationship and leads to the assumption that he tries to get Sheila to take Gerald back so that he [Birling] could benefit the family business and is oblivious to the fact that Gerald had cheated on his daughter. Birling constantly calls Sheila and Eric “child” whenever he talks to them, further proving that he thinks his children are in fact, children and not adults who are capable of deciding what is best for themselves. Priestley displays this specific trait of Birling, possibly to show that he [Birling] is stuck in the stereotypical mindset that the younger generation need someone older to guide them because they aren’t able to support themselves, which significantly contradicts Priestley’s opinion as he speaks through the younger generation in the play [Sheila and Eric], confirming his belief in the younger society – the youth.