CONTEXTUAL POINT
NO HEALTH SERVICE OR WELFARE STATE OR BENEFITS
LINK WITH
In Edwardian times, the government would not help you if you were sick or
unemployed: you were on your own and had to fend for yourself. There was
no welfare state or National Health Service. This meant that if you were sick
or out-of-work you had to rely on family or charity to support you. This made
life very difficult for working class people who earned very little and had no
"safety net" to fall back on. Women, however, could always turn to
prostitution.
How is this problem shown in An Inspector Calls?