Overall, Priestly portrays Mr Birling as the most responsible for Eva’s death. His degree of responsibility seems to be higher due to his rather inadequate and selfish manners. Mr Birling was a prosperous factory owner whose main aim was to “keep labour cost down”. He was a “heavy-looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties with fairly easy manners”. Before the Inspector arrives, Mr Birling is celebrating Gerald’s engagement to her daughter Eva. Gerald’s father was a rival of Mr Birling, he sees this as an opportunity for a business link. He can be seen as self-important. He seems to believe to know about everything as he comments about “The unsinkable Titanic” and the little chance of World War I and with the benefit of hindsight, the reader can see that this comments are rather nonsense. It seems as if Priestly wants to highlight the absurdity of Birling’s opinions, by including ones which the audience know are historically wrong.
Mr Birling is the first to be questioned by the Inspector. His reaction to Eva’s death is rather cold as he seems to have no interest in the suicide “Yes, yes. Horrid business. But I don’t understand why you should come here”. This first reaction shows us that he shows no feelings or sense of petty towards others and that he is not ready to accept any blame, his lack of remorse is clearly identified. He is honest to the Inspector and tells him that he refused Eva’s demand for a higher wage. Mr Birling can see no link between him discharging Eva and her suicide. Eva had been working as an employer in one of Mr Birling’s factories, quite successfully, but was discharged because she went on strike to demand for a higher wage. Mr Birling gives pose to his action by saying that “she had a lot to say, far too much”.
Mr Birling soon becomes impatient as he sees “there’s nothing mysterious – or scandalous- about this business”. He comments Eva’s suicide as a “wretched girl’s suicide” which has nothing to do with him, and that what happened to Eva afterwards is non of his concern. Although he can see that “there’s something in that”, the Inspector says, he “can’t accept any responsibility”.
Soon after the Inspector starts to question him, he replies in a sarcastic and rather nasty way, he does not like the Inspector’s way of approaching. “I don’t like that tone”. Mr Birling believed that he best way to discourage any strikes is to “come down sharply on some of these people”.
As the Inspector continues interrogating, Mr Birling tries to threaten the Inspector by talking about his friendship with his Chief Constable “Perhaps I ought to warn you that he’s an old friend of mine, and that I see him fairly frequently”. Mr Birling is certain that he took the right decisions and that to gain a position like his, you have to take actions. He believes that “we need to tell the Inspector anything more”. During his interrogation we can see various responds. Towards the end of the end of the story he even makes a joke about Eva’s death.
In conclusion, it can be said that the author portrays Mr Birling as most to blame for Eva’s death because he starts the chain of events which lead to Eva’s suicide. Although he is not fully responsible for Eva’s death, his attitude towards the case makes him to be portrayed as the most to blame.
