Mrs Birling

Immovable in her morals and beliefs, Sibyl Birling is her husband’s social superior and therefore represents the upper class and their attitudes. Priestley uses her as a reminder of the old world – a remnant of the Victorian era which conflicts with the emerging ideals of the younger generation. At “about fifty” in 1912, Sibyl has grown up and been moulded within the ideologies of the Victorian era: she is shown to have a lack of interest in alcohol, exude authority over those she deems beneath her (i.e. Edna and Inspector Goole), and is exposed for her “cold-hearted” attitude towards Eva Smith’s illegitimate pregnancy and dire state of destitution. She retains her distanced and unemotional façade throughout the play, proud and prejudiced against the lower classes.