Though a small part within the scope of the text, Edna’s character is important to consider. She is the parlour maid who clears the dinner after the family’s celebration and is therefore the representation of the working servant class within the play. Through the hierarchical structure of countless generations, the notion of a serving class had evolved from the concept of unpaid serfdom of the medieval period. Serfdom was an early form of subservience, where those who worked and lived on land owned by someone else were subject to their will and word. Evolving to the image of service we associate with later generations, men, women, and children of lower means were employed to look after wealthy aristocratic families, with many born to families in service following their parents’ footsteps and staying in service their entire lives. In situating his play in an upper-middle class home, Priestley uses the character of Edna to represent this section of Edwardian society. Every time Edna addresses Mr or Mrs Birling, she shows her subservience by addressing them as “Sir” and “Ma’am,” whereas she is simply “Edna.” Through this, Priestley subtly acclimatises the audience to the class system and the respect Mr and Mrs Birling are used to receiving. Whilst it was common to refer to others with the titles of Mr, Mrs, or Miss (or with their ranking titles), many servants were referred to by their given first names, thereby demonstrating the power imbalance at play within the text.
