Summary

Stage directions describe the room in which the play takes place – specifically, the dining room of the Birling family home. Central to the action is a large dining table, and there is also a fireplace and a set of armchairs. There are “a few imposing but tasteless pictures and engravings,” with a “general effect” making the room feel “substantial and comfortable and old-fashioned but not cozy and homelike” (5).

As the play begins, “the four Birlings and Gerald are seated at [the] table, with Arthur Birling at one end, his wife at the other” (5). All are wearing evening dress. Edna, the parlor maid, finishes clearing and offers around port. There are descriptions of what the characters look like and how they behave – “… they have all had a good dinner, are celebrating a special occasion, and are pleased with themselves” (6).

Birling insists that Mrs...