Mrs Birling in quotes

Her physical description
1. "His wife is about 50, a rather cold women and her husbands social superior.
  1. She is hard-hearted and obsessesed with status, wealth etc like her husband.
  2. 'social superior' suggests she comes from a family with a higher social status than that of her husband
    1. This may cause her to act in an inherently selfish and snobby manner; it's what she's grown up around
    2. Suggests that she may be cold and bitter as her years of marriage have made her realise her 'mistake' of marrying down.
      1. Maybe she is trying to live her dreams through her daughter; she is getting Sheila married 'up'
  3. Suggests she does not have many feelings and is not compassionate.
Stage direction
1. 'Rising. The others rise'
  1. Suggests she is the ringleader, everyone follows her moves
    1. Although she is married to Arthur, she is respected within her own family as socially superior. The others, for this reason, listen to and follow her
      1. Perhaps Sheila and Eric have this respect as a parental respect.
        Do they possess this respect naturally (has Mrs Birling earned it) or is it forced upon them?
Speaking to others
1. 'You're behaving like a hysterical child tonight' (to Sheila)
  1. She is conceding
  2. Although it is her own child she is talking to she doesn't seem to have much respect for them
  3. Not parental

Resource summary

	Created by writeyourmind over 10 years ago