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PRIESTLEY'S CONSTRUCTION AND CONTEXT (AO3 (the contemporary 1946…
PRIESTLEY'S CONSTRUCTION AND CONTEXT
Three Unities
Unity of time
this play takes place all in less than 24 hours - intense
Unity of Place
all set in the Birling's dining room
Unity of Action
no more than one main plot - that of Eva Smith's suicide
Disrupted chronolgy
Priestley disrupted the order of the narrative by switching Mrs Birling and Eric
Mrs Birling could incriminate her son and thus expose her hypocrisy - 'I didn't know it was you'
Inverses the detective story genre
Usually they start with many suspects before they dwindle down to one culprit. In this, the suspects increase in quantity.
To highlight how each Birling had their part in Eva's death and also to emphasise the growing number of wrong-doing upper class people.
no one was wholly to blame - emphasising community
AO3
the contemporary 1946 audience would have been more receptive to Priestley's message as after WW2 people did not believe in the rigid social division as strongly. Everyone was forced to unite during the war so that those of different classes didn't appear so different after all.
In 1928, women gained voting equality to men
In the 1940s the NHS was set up - the first moments of the Welfare State. Therefore, charities like the Brumley Woman's charity were no longer the last step - good news for those like Eva Smith
In 1945, there was a landslide labour victory. Hence, many of those in the audience of the play would have been more left-wing and socialist, like Priestley
Priestley wanted to expose the 'harsh economic realities of our time'
Structure of Play
the structure of the play itself - with repetition - reflects that of the world wars and thus highlights the Birlings' arrogance and how they haven't learnt. This is especially marked by the phone ring at the end - signalling a new beginning to the cycle.
The mood of celebration seen at the beginning of the play with the engagement party is mirrored at the end as they '(triumphantly)' celebrate the fact that the Inspector was supposedly fake
Medieval Morality Play
each character represents one of the seven deadly sins
Mr Birling - avarice
Eric - lust, sloth
Sheila - wrath, envy
Mrs. Birling - pride
Gerald - lust