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Gender Stereotypes In An Inspector Calls Essay

1410 Words6 Pages

Priestly depicts gender stereotypes to emphasise gender in a capitalistic, misogynistic and patriarchal society, in his play 'An Inspector Calls'. Priestly portrays women as emotional, commodified, materialistic and irresponsible to highlight the way that a misogynistic capitalist society operates. In a similar manner, Priestly presents men as arrogant, ambitious, dominant, and strong. By doing this Priestly aims to critique capitalism and the underlying implications and undercurrent of problems which capitalism brings to provoke a reaction in the audience to promote socialism.

Priestly presents women as weak, emotional and irresponsible throughout the entire play by using Sheila to show the 'pink and intimate' safety bubble and facade which her family lives in. The emotional side of Shelia is shown when she recognises the …show more content…

The repition of "I am a hard headed man of business" shows his arrogance and his capitalistic and emotionless mentality. "I say there isn't a chance of war" show his stubborn and arrogance. Priestly uses this dramatic irony to persuade the audience to side against Birling as they will think that he is foolish, unsympathetic and untrustworthy. As of portraying their stubborn and heard headed personality was not enough, Priestly makes it sure that the audience is able to clearly see mentality and coldness that capitalism brings to a human by making men emotionless and unsympathetic. "Well, we've several hundred young women there, y'know, and they keep changing." This was said by Birling as soon as the inspector announced Eva’s death and clearly shows the lack of empathy and Birling’s misogynistic view of life. The tone of Birling’s response also depicts his lack of emotion. Priestly uses this to criticize capitalism because men having a capitalistic mind-set condones this arrogant, unemotional and unsympathetic mentality that men

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