Ways Priestley Used to Present Ideas about ‘Inequality’ throughout the Play An Inspector Calls

Around the time of 1912, there was much Inequality in Great Britain and some other parts of the world. The inequalities that these people faced consisted of social class, gender, age, ethnicity and others. Priestley wrote Inspector Calls to use his characters and the play to reinforce and criticize these ideas of inequalities and discrimination people faced in the society.

The first type of inequality shown in this play is the treatment of the social classes in 1912. Mr Birling is shown to be a strong capitalist who values the idea of money and making money rather than actual feelings of people as he is being referred to as a ‘hard-headed businessman’ who is rather pleased with the social hierarchy. “..We may look forward to a time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together for lower costs and higher prices.” The Birling family is very wealthy and it shows that he doesn’t consider the impact of how ‘lowering costs’ would have on the workers from a low socioeconomic status as he is shown to have no care for people of that sort making him ‘cold hearted’. Another aspect of mistreatment shown is when Mrs Birling tells Arthur Birling to not have any acknowledgement or communication with the lower class such as their maid Edna. “Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things!” Mrs Birling is shown to be rather arrogant in this manner and clearly seems to be more socially superior than him, having to remind him who he should and cannot talk to. Another way Mrs Birling is shown to have a dismissive behaviour towards the lower class is, “As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!” She has stereotypical views about how the lower social status would behave around money and believes that Eva is just like them but refuses to accept that Eva neglected the money as it was stolen by Eric. The word ‘ sort ‘ emphasizes the fact that Mrs Birling’s stereotypical presumptions are rather clear about Eva and she remains merciless towards Eva’s condition when she approaches Mrs Birling in need of help due to her pregnancy but instead getting turned down, with no assistance. Priestley uses irony to show how Mrs Birling is speaking lowly of Eva and her pregnancy out of wedlock but she herself feels no sense of mercy for her own immoral actions that were caused by her when she dismissed Eva.

Moreover, another form of inequality that is displayed is the use of gender. During the period of time when Inspector Calls was set, men are shown to be more superior and controlling than the female population such as when Gerald picks Sheila’s ring in the first act of the play. “Oh-Gerald… Is it the one you wanted me to have?”. This states that Sheila had no absolute right to choose her own ring and had let Gerald choose her own ring, although Sheila seemed rather excited and pleased about the ring he chose for her , we can conclude that he picked it for her as he may treat her as his ‘property’ and that men made the decisions and the woman would be passive and have no say about it . Mrs Birling also tries to tell Sheila that men have more important jobs to do. “When you’re married you’ll realize that men with important work to do… spend all their time and energy on their business.” The quote is trying to tell us that women are inferior to men as they don’t work as much in a male dominated society where they are seen as possessions to their husbands, who do not have the rights to do whatever they felt like, with their jobs mainly consisting of staying at home andp doing housework and looking after the children while the man is the breadwinner of the family. In addition, Mr Birling seems to have no empathy for his female workers when the Inspector questions him about Eva Smith employed at his factory. “Well we’ve several hundred young women there, they keep changing..’’ It shows that Mr Birling doesn’t seem to have any care towards the women that work for him and believes that they have no value, the phrase ‘ they keep changing’ suggests that Mr Birling didn’t even show slight of consideration when he fired Eva or any of his workers. Furthermore, females were also viewed as sexual possessions by males, they were told to remain abstinent before marriage or they were considered ‘impure’. Gerald also states that Eva’s purity was one of the reasons he was drawn to her and hence starting a secret affair with her, “..Young, fresh and charming..” This quote suggests that he has certain views of women and Eva and would dislike them if they don’t meet his standards if they are ‘ hard-eyed dough-faced women.’ It also means that she has never been tainted by prostituition, but she had to go to the stalls bar in order to earn some money after being discharged from her job, leaving her penniless. The phrase also implies that Gerald used her for his own benefit as she was vulnerable, instead of helping her find a place to work at; he slept with her to satisfy himself but abandoning her once she didn’t amuse him anymore. Eric also sexually assaults Eva after when he was badly under the influence of alcohol which further adds on to the fact that men were capable of being in control and could take advantage. ‘’I wasn’t in love with her.. She was pretty and a good sport’’ reinforces the idea that Eric seemed to care about her looks and perhaps didn’t bother caring much about her personality itself although both of them were not in love with each other. The Inspector himself tells Eric that he used her ‘just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she was an animal, a thing’’ . Priestley uses the theme of gender inequality to show how women were mistreated back in 1912 and how they were presented as to be vulnerable by making the character of Eva Smith symbolic to the way workers were treated.

On the other hand, Priestley uses inequality of generations to show their attitudes as the older and the younger generations have very different opinions compared to one another. In the beginning of the play, Sheila and Eric were shown to be very naive, accepting and following what their parents have to say. Later in the play, Mr Birling, and Mrs Birling refuse to accept any change whereas Sheila and Eric have taken responsibility and have decided to improve themselves, “I can’t accept any responsibility”. It also highlights Birling’s arrogant and ignorant behaviour in which was one of the main causes of Eva’s demise and his lack of consideration in accepting change around him as he is more concerned about his reputation and getting in the ‘honours list’. Furthermore, we also see that the Inspector is well aware of the change, “We often do on the young ones. They’re more impressionable. ” The quote proves that the younger generation are capable of changing and Priestley uses this to foreshadow Eric and Sheila’s change towards the end of the play. It also shows that the Inspector is trying to promote his message through Priestley’s viewpoint; since the Inspector is symbolic to Priestley’s socialist ideology. Sheila Birling’s character development is acknowledged when she points out to her father that, “But these girls aren’t just cheap labour – they’re people.” This quote proves and shows that Sheila is sympathetic and states the inequality that the workers face, and is also shown to be shifting to socialism from the capitalist views she was brought up with. She doesn’t seem naive anymore like she used to after doing the correct thing of canceling off her engagement with Gerald and clearly understands the problems around the society and how they’re impacting the lives of people like Eva and she is also contradicting her former capitalist ideas. Eric is also a character that has changed like his sister ad this can be shown by, “We all helped kill that girl.” Eric was shown as initially naive, ‘half shy, half assertive’ , a closed off person in which his parents were clueless about his drinking addiction. The quote tells us that Eric has developed a sense of responsibility, just like his sister Sheila and feels remorseful for his actions and wants his parents to address their sense of remorse as well. He may have raped Sheila and impregnated her over the course of some time but he had at least learnt his lesson and shows some sense of compassion in to it. Eric’s behavior at this point also suggests that he is leaning towards more socialist views just like Sheila. Finally the last quote, “.. You began to learn something. And now you’ve stopped. You’re ready to go on in the same way.” We now as readers understand that Sheila acknowledges the Inspector’s important message and is now one of the characters along with Eric, are trying to point out to their parents that even if the Inspector did turn out to be a fake, they all should have clearly accepted that their actions towards Eva Smith were immoral. both Eric and Sheila are deeply ashamed of their role in her death whereas their parents do not accept any sense of guilt in their involvement. Priestley has contrasted the roles of younger and older generation to show that the younger generation is supposed to be naïve, irresponsible and immature whereas the older generation is more mature and responsible. However the roles have been reversed to show that Eric and Sheila have changed and have become more morally superior and responsible compared to their parents.

Priestley’s message is that anyone has the capacity to change and become a better person, and that the society will be able to do better if people take responsibility for the actions they have caused.

In conclusion, these forms of inequalities show the harsh treatment of the people in that era in Britain. It also shows us that people of the higher classes were blind to what other people faced and simply cared about their own lives and reputation of all. Priestley is also trying to tell the audience that ‘we can’t change the past but we can change the future’ by making sure people in our generation can learn what has happened back then and change our motives and make sure the world is a better place for everyone.