An Inspector Calls J.B.PRIESTLEY
In the film production Arthur Birling is a plump, grey haired snob
‘ A man has to look after himself to make his own way- has to look after himself’ and this is Arthur Birling outlook on life both socially and in business. Arthur Birling also thinks that he is the man of the county, knowing everyone and everyone’s business, ‘ I was an alderman for years and lord mayor two years ago and im still on the Bench’ and he is informing to the inspector, who he has never met before that he is well known and that he has contacts. He doesn’t want to involve Sheila or Mrs. Birling with the inspector because he thinks they are feeble and thinks that they cannot help with the matter as he thinks it is business and business is only a mans world. After he finds out about all the trouble in the family all he can think about is the reputation of the family and the business. ‘She’d had a lot to say-far to much-so she had to go’ this accounts for Arthur’s treatment of Eva Smith. At the end of the play when they all realize that the inspector was a phoney Mr. Birling just carries on as nothing had happened because all he was thinking about was his reputation and now that he was not a real inspector he thinks he has nothing to worry about but he doesn’t think about Eva Smith or the death.
Mrs. Birling is a very proscriptive woman who always clings to what she thinks is correct, maintaining the old social order. She gives over to the manners delicate sensibilities and that is what she sees in Eva Smith ‘Im talking to the inspector now, if you don’t mind’ she says this with forceful attitude, she also is very calm and she builds herself up for the inspector to come and knock her back with the truth, thinking that she has nothing to do with the death of Eva Smith, ‘I don’t see any particular reason why I should-’ she cannot see what she has to do with the death and Sheila warns her to stop “ please mother your just building yourself up like we all did and he will break it down like he did to all of us’ but Mrs. Birling wont listen to it and continues to fight the inspector explaining she has nothing to do with the death. Mrs. Birling is slightly oblivious beyond her own children’s lives, she didn’t know anything about Eric’s drinking which he even drunk at home and she could not see it, with Sheila she did not know anything about her getting Eva fired. ‘Go and look for the father of the child its his responsibility’ this is Mrs. Birling outlook of Eva Smith, when Eva smith came to Mrs. Birling for help this is how she reacted and told her and refused to help her, by Mrs. Birling’s reaction you can guess that she does not know that Eric is the father of the unborn child. ‘ I did nothing wrong that im ashamed of or that wont bear investigation’ Mrs. Birling following this with ‘ I was just doing my duty’ you can start to realize that Mr. and Mrs. Birling are very alike and all they care about their reputation and their business. Mrs. Birling tries to put the blame on to the father, and Sheila tries to stop her as Sheila has worked out that Eric is the father but Mrs. Birling does not listen and carries on ‘Its his responsibility’ ‘ find some steps to find this man and then make sure that he is compelled to confess in public his responsibility’ but of course when she finds out that the father is Eric she cannot agree with it and starts regretting on what she has been saying, ‘ I don’t believe it, I wont believe it….’ But she was too stubborn to listen.
