Furthermore, due to a number of hints, the audience can see that the relationship between Sheila and Gerald is not quite what it seems. Sheila ‘with mock aggressiveness’ dares Gerald to object to her father treating him like one of the family, and then Gerald says,
‘Wouldn’t dream of lt. In fact, I insist upon being one of the family now. I’ve been trying long enough, haven’t I?’
This hints that something has been going on because as soon as Gerald says he has been trying to be part of the family for a long time we find out that the summer before Gerald did not come near Sheila ‘except for all last summer when you didn’t come near me.’ Moreover, the stage directions also say Sheila is ‘half playful, half serious’; this allows the audience to make the link later in the play when we find out that Gerald was having an affair with Eva Smith.
‘were you seeing her last spring and summer,…Yes, of course you were
In addition, this shows that Sheila values honesty and openness, as we see later in the play when Eric asked the inspector if Eva Smith told him anything Sheila said ‘she told mother’. Here Sheila reveals to Eric and the inspector that Eva Smith had spoken to Mrs Birling before she died.
Moreover, Birling is more interested in what Sheila’s marriage to Gerald will do for his businesses than her happiness, ‘Your father and I have been friendly rivals in business for some time…Now you’ve brought us together.’ This gives the audience the notion that Birling cares more about profit than his children, reducing the audiences’ respect for him. Eric makes a toast to Gerald and Sheila and says Sheila, has a temper but is not bad really; also, the stage directions imply that he is drunk ‘rather noisily’. This comment made by Eric hints to the audience that Sheila can do things out of anger but she isn’t a bad person. This prepares the audience for when the inspector arrives because Sheila is the first one to realise he knows everything that happened, so Sheila rises to the moral challenge of being open about it all.
After Eric’s unwanted toast, Birling leads a discussion about the country’s future. Although Sheila is present during this discussion she is engrossed in looking at the engagement ring Gerald gave her. Showing Sheila’s naiveté about the things happening around her, preparing the audience for later in the play when she gets Eva Smith dismissed from her job. Furthermore, Eric tries to voice his opinion in the conversation but is constantly interrupted by his father. This wins the audience’s sympathy for Eric and helps explain why he drinks too much.
As Birling is talking, he often refers to himself as a ‘…hard headed practical man of business.’ Birling’s self image is completely wrong, due to the fact that everything he says is wrong, giving an effect of dramatic irony. ’Steadily increasing profit’, ‘there isn’t a chance of war’, also ‘…the Titanic…absolutely unsinkable’ these are just a few of the absurd predictions Birling makes, using his profit orientated, one dimensional way of thinking. This results in an increase in the audiences’ mistrust of him and our lack of respect for him, because there were two world wars after and also the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage. This is where Priestley’s use of time is crucial in preparing the audience for later events in the play, because although the play was written in 1945 it is set in 1912, giving the audience the power of hindsight, enabling them to disregard everything Birling says.
This also prepares the audience for Birling’s final speech before the inspector arrives. As Sheila and Mrs Birling leave the men to their port, Mrs Birling calls Eric and tells him to come with her and this once more emasculates Eric. When Eric returns, Birling makes a long Speech giving advice to Eric and Gerald. Due to prior events, the audience is not going to take notice of anything he says. This Adds humour to the play, since the audience are laughing at Birling but at the same time shaking their heads in disbelief. In this speech he talks about how a man should look after himself and his family and not be concerned with other people, ‘…a man has to make his own way- has to look after himself and his family too…’ He also talks about how community and people being mixed up like bees in a hive is all nonsense, but, due to Priestly’s portrayal of Birling, we know he is wrong. This speech by Birling is in direct contrast to the inspector’s final speech, which says that we are all responsible for one another: ‘We are members of one body.’ and ‘We are responsible for each other’. The difference between Birling’s final speech and the inspector’s is that Birling’s speech seems to be his opinion ‘…take my word for it’. Where as the inspector’s speech seems to be fact ‘We are’ ‘Will be.’ These words the inspector uses suggest he knows for sure that what he is saying is true, unlike Birling. This is what Priestley prepares the audience for, so we have no choice but to agree with the Inspector or we will be taught it in ‘fire, blood and anguish’.
By Debo Amon
