J.B. Priestley
Born in Bradford (1894) into a working class family. What did this give him experience of?
His father became a teacher so he received a full education, which similar working class children were
deprived of? What did this give him experience of?
Left school at 17 to work in the wool trade. What did this give him experience of?
1914 – joined the army. He hated the idea of war and indeed the war itself but was loyal to his country.
He was discharged in 1918 due to injuries from a gas attack. Why is this an important experience?
Priestley hated the class system in the army where membership of the higher ranks was dictated by class
and not experience; this led to disaster as inexperienced officers gave appalling orders, which resulted in
many unnecessary deaths. However, he was impressed by the sacrifices of ordinary men. How did this
experience shape his views?
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He believed in equality (he was a Socialist). He campaigned for the Labour Party but stood for Parliament
as an independent candidate.
His main concern was INHUMANITY, other concerns which could come under this umbrella term are:
selfishness, immorality, materialism, abuse of power, greed, prejudice, class divides, inequality of the
sexes, double standards, ignorance, etc.
He had lived through two world wars and seen the destruction and horror. He wanted to warn society
about conflict, its causes and consequences. He thought that all types of inhumanity could lead to war
and rebellion. Perhaps you can think of modern day examples?
He was fascinated with the theories of time of Ouspensky and Dunne:
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Ouspensky’s Theory of Time (1931): when we die we re-enter our life once more from the
beginning. We are born again into the same house to the same parents and continue to repeat
all the events of our life. This cycle would go on if we changed nothing of significance. If,
however, we improved in some spiritual way we could eventually open the way for us to escape
into a new life.
How might this relate to the play?
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Dunne’s Theory of Time (1927): Dunne laid out the idea that you could be given the gift of seeing
forward in time as well as looking back. This would mean that, just as you could look back and
see what actions led to your present situation, you could look forward and see the consequences
of your actions. So, if you wished, you could change those actions and so avoid the
consequences.
How might this relate to the play?
Timing of the play
Priestley wrote the play towards the end of the Second World War (1945). However, he chose
to set it in spring, 1912, just before the beginning of the First World War. Even when the play
was being performed, most people considered the years before 1914 as a time of peace and
stability. Priestley wanted the audience to have more knowledge than the characters and
therefore see their failings and the failings of 1912 society. He wanted a society in which people
would consider/care about one another. Having experienced two world wars he had seen the
dire consequences of the selfishness of mankind and wanted to teach people a message.
Social position was far more important in 1912 than it is today. Industrial production expanded
massively in the nineteenth century and many industrialists made huge fortunes. Men such as
Arthur Birling may have come from humble backgrounds but this new wealth allowed them to
climb up the social ladder. Marriages between these nouveaux riches families and aristocratic
(but often impoverished) land-owning families helped to secure new social positions.
The Labour Party, which was founded by James Kier Hardie in 1893, was only just beginning to
make an impact on the political life in the country and the rights of workers, such as Eva Smith,
were still not taken seriously by many employers in 1912.
Priestley has set the play in the fictional industrial city of Brumley. Brumley would have been
typical of many towns where the factory owners, who provided much needed employment, were
able to run their businesses exactly as they wanted to.
At the time, there were many women who were poor and needed help; this is indicated and
acknowledged by Priestley by the existence of the Brumley Women’s Charity Organisation.
Organisations like this were dependent on the support of rich people and were often found in
the large, industrial cities. It is interesting that whether someone received help depended on
whether women like Mrs Birling thought that they deserved help or whether they deserved to
suffer.
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Criticism of Society
Priestley was trying to say that:
 Class snobbery existed in British society – there were two main classes:
o Owners – very wealthy, e.g. Birlings & Crofts
o Workers – very poor, e.g. Eva Smith
o Examples of this snobbery are:
 Mrs Birling. Her family could do nothing wrong in her eyes. She was
indignant when a lowly girl such as Eva could use the name of Birling
before the women’s committee. She doesn’t seem to recognise that
someone like Eva could have feelings. “She was giving herself ridiculous
airs. She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were
simply absurd in a girl in her position.”
 Because of her snobbery and protected idyllic lifestyle, Mrs Birling is
rather naïve. She doesn’t know Eric drinks and is unaware of Alderman
Meggarty’s activities as a ‘man about town’.
 British society is selfish and uncaring. Priestley presents British society as one in
which each man fends for himself, caring little, if at all, for anyone else. For example:
o Birling’s sacking of Eva Smith, indignant that she should ask for a new
reasonable wage. He is simply in the business of making money, regardless of
who he hurts in the process.
o Sheila’s insistence that Eva is sacked in Milwards, to calm her own petty
jealousy.
o Gerald and Eric’s abandonment of Daisy.
o Mrs Birling’s dismissive and non-caring attitude towards Daisy when she
approached the women’s committee for assistance.
o Mrs Birling condemns the father of Eva’s unborn child, until she discovers that it’s
her own son who is the father. She is quick to condemn people she doesn’t
know. Ironically, the tables are turned.
 British society is immoral. Expectations are high; however, in practice moral
standards are not so high. For example:
o Eric and Gerald keep Daisy as a mistress.
o The Palace Bar serves as a meeting place for men and ‘women of the streets’.
o The cruel treatment of Eva by all members of the Birling family.
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The Play
Message
A fable is a story that intends to convey a moral or message. What is the message of Red
Riding Hood? Cinderella? Beauty and the Beast?
It’s the same with ‘An Inspector Calls. On the surface it’s an interesting play about a family who
have treated a girl badly. Beneath the surface it’s about how society is organised so that some
people are more comfortable than others and about the selfishness of human nature.
What is the function of the Inspector in the play?
The character needs to work on two levels:
1. a realistic level - to convince the family that he is a real Inspector so they will cooperate
2. a symbolic level - to convey a moral and social message to the characters and to the
audience
His function:
1. On the realistic level:
 to shock them – puts them on the ‘backfoot’
 make the characters confess
 to make them reveal what he already seems to know through careful
manipulation
 to allow the characters to see how their behaviour affects others
 to encourage the characters to learn from what has happened and change their
behaviour
How does Priestly do this? In a theatrical sense he uses the Inspector as a dramatic
device, by:
 giving him the power to control the action on the stage
 giving him powerful speeches, e.g. final speech, which involve the audience as
well as the characters on stage
 creating mystery about who or what the Inspector is, e.g. is he a time traveller, is
he a spirit? Look at his name!
 making the play work in three different time zones: 1912, 1945, present day
2. On the symbolic level to act as a vehicle for Priestley’ s moral message:
He encourages the audience:
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to learn from the mistakes of the past
to recognise that selfish pursuit of riches and power can be destructive
to see that Capitalism has many victims
to be aware that our lives are all linked and that our behaviour affects one
another to see the need to create a better society
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