Why did priestly set the play in 1912?

Answer 1

An Inspector Calls was set in 1912 which was near the end of what the Edwardians called a 'Golden Age', where technological advancements were being made and the middle classes were thriving. It is also set at this time as it is important to the plot in several ways: - Eva Smith was involved in the strikes. These strikes really happened in Britain around 1910 where workers went on strike to protest against the low pay they were receiving in the factories. - The class system was very much still in effect. The Birlings are middle class - not born into money, but rich due to their business ventures. Mrs Birling and the Crofts are upeer class - they were born into rich established families. The lower or working class is represented by Eva Smith. You can see this in the play where Sheila exerts her powers in the shop to have Eva sacked, where Gerald sets Daisy up in a flat as his mistress, where Eric uses Eva for sex, and where Mrs Birling refuses to help the pregnant Eva because she has dared to use the name 'Mrs Birling' herself. - The play is actually set in late March or early April 1912 because it mentions the upcoming maiden voyage of the 'unsinkable' Titanic (in Birlings speech in Act One). As you probably know, the Titanic sank on its first voyage. This undermines this idea of technological advancement that the Edwardians were so proud of. It also brought to the forefront the issue of class division as most of the surviving passengers were first class as they were put on the lifeboats before those travelling in steerage - lower class. - Also in Birling's speech he mentions the threat of war, which he disregards as ridiculous. Of course, not long after, in 1914 WW1 began, followed shortly by WW2. These wars completely changed Britain, and of course, Priestley's audience in 1946 when the play was first performed, would be all too aware of this dramatic irony. (Dramatic Irony = where the audience know something that the characters on stage do not) The setting of the play in 1912 should be contrasted with the plays performance in 1946. Would the fate of Eva Smith have been any different if this had all happened in 1946 instead of 1912?