People were expected to know their place in society and stick to it and moving from one section of the class system to another was frowned upon by those in power.
Workers were beginning to let it be known that they wanted to have a say in what happened to them and did so through strikes and the formation of trade unions to co-ordinate these actions.
This was a strange idea to those who owned the factories and workplaces, who expected to have complete control over all aspects of their workers lives. The bosses wanted things to stay as they always had been, with them in control of the labour, jobs, conditions and pay. The bosses, being of a higher class than the workers, believed that they knew best and should make decisions for the masses. These were mainly based on how much profit they could make and they rarely considered the welfare of the workers.
In the play itself the main family, the 'Birlings' are wealthy middle class landowners and proprietors of a large factory that was built up by the father of Mr. Birling. He has hopes of gaining a Knighthood, due to his service as a magistrate and as Lord Mayor, which he sees as his way to climb the social ladder to the lower rungs of the aristocracy. This is shown in the way in which he compares this to the mother of his daughter's fiancée, Lady Croft, who is already, part of the aristocracy. Therefore, it can be seen that by marrying Gerald Croft, Sheila is playing a part in the families' social climbing.
Is it fair for the wealthy to control the lives of the poor for their own profit?
Should all people have a say in their lives and their conditions of work?
Do you think that the poor could have done anything other than strike?
Theme 2 - Women in the play.
Women at that time were seen as being delicate, fragile and obedient to their husbands or fathers. The ideal was for those pinched at the waist - slim. Women were trying to get rights the same as men, beginning the Suffrage movement.
Under Roman law, which influenced later British law, husband and wife were regarded as one, with the woman the "possession" of the man. As such, a woman had no legal control over her person, her own land and money, or her children.
Mrs. Birling - middle class woman of considerable influence - involved in good works, considered a suitable occupation for a lady in society. Women of higher classes did not work, but did only charitable work. This was seen as acceptable as it was a caring role that fitted with the idealised Victorian view, still held then, of women as mothers and carers.
Sheila - follows this path by not working, the only occupation mentioned which she does is shopping.
Daisy/Eva - a working class girl, possibly an orphan, who has to work for a living and is seen to be completely at the mercy of men.
Should women be seen as the property of their husbands?
What effects would this have on women?
How have opinions and laws changed/not changed since that time?
Theme 3 - Sex.
Pre-marital sex frowned upon in the middle and upper classes if you were female, but not if you were male (an attitude still held today in many respects?).
This was due to fear of pregnancy outside of marriage as there was little contraception. Also moral code of the time where ladies were supposed to remain chaste and pure until they married.
According to a double standard of morality, respectable women had to be chaste but respectable men did not, but sex was supposed to be only with working class girls, mainly through use of prostitutes and mistresses, as doing so with their own class would have been breaking the moral codes. This shows that lower class women didn't hold the same status. The upper class men could not fall in love and marry the lower class women though, as this was considered unsuitable. You only married within your class, or preferably higher.
Working class girls were at the mercy of rich men and could find it hard to refuse sex to a man as it was these men who held social and economic power. Many of these women became pregnant and had no resources to care for themselves or their children. Unmarried mothers were frowned upon and in some cases treated as if they were mad and locked up.
Is it right for single mothers to be treated and thought of in this way?
What should be the responsibilities of upper class fathers of these children?
Is it right that men used money & influence to buy lower class women's bodies?
What if this situation was a woman's only chance of surviving if unemployed?
What should happen if the woman becomes pregnant by the upper class man?
Theme 4 - Family.
Father was head of the family and his word was law within the family.
Mothers had some influence in areas, but were less direct in doing so.
Children, even when older and in adulthood were expected to completely obey parents.
Age
The older generation and the younger generation take the Inspector's message in different ways. While Sheila and Eric accept their part in Eva's death and feel huge guilt about it, their parents are unable to admit that they did anything wrong
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