Mr Birling is a chauvinistic male, who believes that his wife is not his equal. The setting of the play was in a patriarchal society, where women were considered second class citizens, Mr Birling and his wife have little love for each other, the y are in a marriage of convenience. Mr Birling tells his wife what she can and can’t do, this is like a “parent to child” relationship, “Now then Sybil, you must take a little tonight; Special occasion.” Mr Birling will speak very slowly, not rushing, he will speak directly and solely at his wife. His tone will be very patronising and his face will look concerning and seem a caring man. His eyes will look very directly at Sybil, so she knows exactly what to do and that she should not dare question his supreme authority. Mr Birling will then before receiving an answer from his wife, carefully stand up from his chair and walk around the dinning table to a side table, where he takes a clean crystal port glass, and pours out a measured amount of port. I would have Mr Birling do this, to make him appear a mean man, not allowing his wife to have the freedom to do as she pleases.
The importance of this scene is to emphasize the society in which the play Is set in, and I would show Mr Birling looking very happy and relaxed, while his wife is looking more cautious and worried about her actions.
Mr Birling has one daughter and one son; both are pompous and use their money and power to their own advantage, ire respectable of the consequences of their actions. Mr Birling is worried about his daughter Sheila, he cannot allow his daughter to marry a man not “worthy” for her, in more plain terms, he wants his son in law, to be wealthy.
Gerald will be Mr Birling’s future son in law, and he is both wealthier and of a higher social status to Mr Birling, this must be to Mr Birling like “discovering a gold mine.” He shows his ulterior motives for his joy at their engagement, “You’re just the son in law I have always wanted, your father and I have been friendly rivals in business for some time now, thought Crofts Limited are both older and bigger than Birlings and company – and now you’ve brought us together.” This shows that Mr Birling sees this marriage as one of his business deals, regardless of love they have to each other. Mr Birling knows that this marriage will unite two businesses and give Mr Birling the social and business contacts he needs and desires for. Mr Birling will appear an emotionless and uncaring father; he will sit very business like, up right with his arms supported by the table. He will look serious and look at Gerald directly. He does not compliment others very often and would speak very naturally.
He also tries to be positive about matters of business, “We may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birling are no longer competing but are working together for lower costs and higher prices.” This shows his greed and ignorance of others, as a factory owner he employs many people to work for him, they get paid very little for their hard labour, and Mr Birling wants his cost to decrease, ultimately meaning paying the workers less, while charging more. He shows little consideration for others, I would direct Mr Birling to clap his hands together and rub them showing his delight and aspirations for the future.
Mr Birling is desperate to be socially accepted, and wants to know that he is of a higher status that others, even if it means putting his own family down. Mr Birling is a right-wing conservative, and he has a strong dislike for the authors, Bernard Shaw and H G Wells, this is because both of these men apposed Capitalist ideals and unlike Mr Birling, did not believe it was the only way forward. His dislike for liberals like these comes from their support for the poor, the same people who went on strike to demand a decent wage. Mr Birling believes that each man has his place in society, and should have little to do with people from lower classes, to him the families cook, belongs to a lower class that himself; and if he was to talk to the cook, he would be lowering himself to the standards of the cook. So after a good meal, Mr Birling wishes to thank the cook, however he asks someone else to do so, “Well-well, this is very nice. Very nice. Good dinner too Sybil, tell cook from me.” Mr Birling wants Gerald to know how important and highly respected he is, and that he doesn’t have time for the cook. I would instruct Mr Birling to remove his napkin from his lap, while speaking and to rudely wipe his mouth with it, and would then drop it on his emptied plate. He would speak loudly, interrupting other conversations. His face at times would be partially blocked by the napkin, but his face would show relief and happiness at a successful and pleasant evening. In hindsight this could be considered the “calm before the storm.” As I director I would wish to ensure that this point is made very clear and that all the characters appear merry and jolly.
Mr Birling is not an intelligent man, he is very narrow minded, however he believes that his opinion should be everyone’s, and In hindsight we as a modern day audience notice his ignorance and misjudged opinion; “Just because the Kaiser makes a speech or two, or a few German officers have too much to drink and begin talking nonsense, you’ll hear some people say that war’s inevitable. And to that I say-fiddlesticks! The Germans don’t want a war, except some half civilised folks in the Balkans. And war? There’s too much at stake these days. Everything to lose and nothing to gain by war.” This speech by Mr Birling is too be met by boredom among the others, showing respect but obliviously not interested, after all it is meant to be a light hearted celebration not a debate. He seems very ignorant of the world, he describes the Balkans as “half civilised” a statement of pure ignorance and he looks at the situation with little foresight and simplified. I would advise that Mr Birling has one elbow on the table using his arm to support his head and for his other arm to wave violently across the table to emphasize his argument. His face will look reasonably disgruntled, at having to explain his opinions; however he is still happy and enjoying himself.
As a modern day audience we would know that the ship the “Titanic” sank, drowning over one thousand people, however the play was set before the Titanic sailed off, Mr Birling was not incorrect in his statement, as many others would have agreed with him, however Priestley wants us to believe that Birling is a fool when he says; “The Titanic – she sails next week – forty six thousand eight hundred tonnes - forty six thousand eight hundred tonnes – New York in five days – and every luxury – and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.” I would direct Birling to be standing up, perhaps refilling a glass of port, he would be having his back facing his family as he spoke, and then he would turn around and as he said “Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable” I would have Birling hit a clenched fist to the face of the table, rattling the empty plates. He would appear to be so proud of the ship, perhaps sad he was not on board, he knew the exact weight of the ship, and the audience might assume that he had enquired about it or knew someone who was going on the ship. I would then have Birling raise his glass and hold a toast to the ship, a very symbolic gesture and would in modern days with hindsight seem very ironic.
Rumours say that bureaucracy had a huge part in causing the ship to sink – money was the agenda ahead of lives. Mostly the poor funded the Titanic’s maiden voyage, yet they were treated the worst. Britain became prosperous and dynamic through the industrial revolution through the help of sweatshops, yet the workers were treated terribly. Birling works in a similar way, he is part of the bureaucracy and like it played a part in people’s fate on the Titanic, he played a part in Eva Smiths fate.
Mr Birling is wealthy and can support himself and his family comfortably for many years, regardless of weather he continues to work. He has worked hard for the success that he has got, climbing the social and economic barriers that were placed before him. You would then think that poorer people in the audience watching this play would admire him for his success from a more humble upbringing. However the poor would not admire him, but detest his arrogance when he says, “A man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own.” This is one mans opinion, and Birling like everyone else is entitled to his opinion, however every man in the world would wish to be able to support himself and his family, however not everyman in the world can, and he shows no sympathy for the poor, as Mr Birling believes it is their own fault. This statement is really going to make some people very angry and make the audience dislike of Birling turn to hatred, I would therefore ask Mr Birling to seem very pompous, perhaps to light a cigar, showing his wealth compared to others and to look at his expensively made gold watch, all illustrating to the audience Mr Birlings wealth, making them believe he is emotionless and cold.
It is very important that the Inspector rings the door bell at this precise moment during Mr Birling’s speech about the individual in society, because it is not the individual which the Inspector comes for but the society.
When the Inspector arrives Mr Birling quickly introduces himself, in the most boastful manor he can, he wants the Inspector to be impressed by his achievements as well as fearful of his power, “ I was a alderman for years – and Lord Mayor two years ago – and I’m still on the Bench – so I know the Brumley police officers pretty well – and I thought I’d never seen you before.” Mr Birling is attempting to convince the Inspector of his power, however the Inspector has no interest about Mr Birling’s career, just wants to continue his investigation. I would have Birling stand up to greet the Inspector and move over to the seating area in the large dining room, and as he falls into the high armchair he speaks confidently, however does not look at the Inspector but around the room, giving the appearance of unease and anxiety.
Mr Birling is told of the terrible death of a young girl, he immediately wants to know why he is involved in the Inspectors enquiry, “Yes, yes. Horrid business. But I don’t understand why you should come here, Inspector-“ Mr Birling will speak impatiently and without concern for how perhaps rude and uncaring he might sound. He will speak without delay and almost rushed, looking angry and insulted at such a rude introduction from the Inspector.
When Mr Birling accepts he knew the girl, Eva Smith, he doesn’t attempt to cover up the fact he sacked her, instead makes it sound a pleasant occurrence using the polite word, “Discharged.” Mr Birling however cannot see how he has anything to do with Eva Smiths suicide, “ It happened more that eighteen months ago – nearly two years ago – obviously it has nothing whatever to do with the wretched girl’s suicide.” We must understand that Priestley has presented Birling in the older generation, a generation unwilling to accept responsibility for any harm they may have caused.
Mr Birling then explains to the Inspector as to why he sacked Eva Smith, “ They wanted the rates raised so that they could average about twenty-five shillings a week. I refused, of course.” He believes that that is reason enough and I would have Mr Birling speak very slowly, and allowing time for him to explain himself, as he understands why the Inspector is in his house. When however the Inspector questions him, Birling becomes angry, “Did you say, Why?” Mr Birling then gets on the defensive and explains how his company needs to keep labour costs down.
While the Inspection is ongoing, Birling decides to exert his power by warning the Inspector, “Perhaps I ought to warn you that he’s an old friend of mine, and that I see him fairly frequently. We play golf together sometimes up at the West Brumley.” Birling is trying to scare the Inspector, and I believe that Birling perhaps has done this before and perhaps succeeded. He speaks confidently as ever and his tone is one admiration that he plays golf, believing that the Inspector will admire him for doing so. However the Inspector says dryly, “I don’t play golf”, and Mr Birling very rudely and arrogantly says, “I didn’t suppose you did.” Suggesting that the Inspector is not in that “league.”
When Birling discovers that the Inspector was not just here to speak to him, he is worried that there is something more sinister that his family may have done to this girl, so he quickly apologises for treatenthing the Inspector, “ Well, of course, if I’d known that earlier, I wouldn’t have called you officious and talked about reporting you. You understand that, don’t you Inspector?” Mr Birling is now at this stage very worried, he does not know what information the Inspector has over him and his family, and now tries to act polite to the Inspector.
When Birling discovers that there is no Police officer by the name of “Goole” and that no girl died that evening, he knows that the whole story was made up, Birling is off the hook and he says, “The whole story’s just a lot of moonshine. Nothing but an elaborate sell! He speaks relaxed, the “storm” is over, he can rest. Birling who was standing over near the telephone while Gerald was on the phone now falls gracefully into his chair, for once forgets his image as he slumps down. Then saying, “It’s all over now.” Trying to move on, forgetting about the Inspector and his “elaborate sell.”
The play starts and finishes with Mr Birling, he has just received a phone call from the police, a phone was in the Edwardian times a luxury only found in the homes of the very wealthy. After Mr Birling puts the phone down, he says, “That was the police. A girl has just died – on her way to the infirmary – after swallowing some disinfectant. And a police inspector is on his way here – to ask some – questions -.” Mr Birling will speak with many interruptions looking to the high ceiling of his house totally confused by what he had just heard; he will barely be able to talk, stammering his words, while Gerald and his family will be hanging on his every word. He looks extremely haunted, and his age shows, his wrinkles seem to deepen and his hair looks messy as he pulls his hand through it, removing the sweat that has collected in it. Mr Birling will then swallow a large amount of his saliva and stumble across to his arm chair where he will stoop into the chair and tilt his head to his side.
The audience will be delighted to see Mr Birling looking distressed and wrecked after a celebration turned into a nightmare. The Audience’s hatred of Birling grew from when he started in his pompous manor, blaming the poor for being poor and attacking socialist views, however many people in the audience will sympathise with him, they would share many of the views he has however would not admire his grave ignorance.
I believe that Mr Birling had some blame over the death of Eva Smith, as he started the chain reaction that ended in Eva Smith’s suicide, however he unlike his wife and daughter did not intentionally go out of his way to make her life a misery, he sacked her, because of his principles about labour costs, he as a manager had a right to do so no matter how wrong some may believe he was, He shouldn’t not have sacked Eva Smith, as she only wanted a decent living wage. However she did not commit suicide for nearly two years after Birling sacked her, so I would believe it is too long for a man to be blamed for a person’s suicide, what is more important is her last weeks before she lost the will to live, as that is what drove her to killing herself.
However Mr Birling is still to blame for her death, as everything has a “chain reaction” and he started this. Perhaps more importantly is if Birling had brought his children up differently, would they have reacted to Eva Smith so rudely? If Birling had taught them about the poor and liberals and learnt to respect others would Eva Smith have had to kill herself? Sybil, Birling’s wife treated Eva Smith terribly, however she too is bullied by her husband, if she wasn’t bullied, would she have reacted differently to Eva Smith in her final days? These are more important questions.
