Gerald, Sheila’s fiancé is also involved in this case of Eva Smith. He had an affair with her the summer before. Gerald had thought his involvement with Eva Smith was “all over and done with last summer” but generally comes to recognise that his actions have had lasting consequences. When inspector Goole reveals the death of Eva Smith, he responds with the phrase: “My God”. Priestly shows Gerald in a more sympathetic light. Gerald is the one to reveal to the others the fact that Goole is a hoax. He is described as smiling as he says, “everything is alright now”. Although he helped Eva Smith, he fails to understand that whether or not he has actually driven a girl to suicide; he is just as guilty of selfishness and hypocrisy. His guilt seems to evaporate after the inspector leaves.
Eric, the son of Mr Birling is shown to have the honesty the others lack. He is the only one to respond spontaneously to details of the girl’s death. He had slept with Eva Smith and caused her to become pregnant. When he found out, he offered her money stolen from his father’s account, but Eva refuses to accept it. Although Eric is not a particularly pleasant character, he is still sincerely ashamed of his behaviour and is capable of changing for the better. After the inspector has gone, him and Sheila are the only ones that seem to have learnt a lesson from the incident.
In this play “An Inspector calls”, Sheila is shown to be the most affected by this ordeal. In the start of the play she is described as a “pretty girl” who is very “pleased with life”. Later however, her prettiness is revealed as vanity and her happiness selfishness, bought Eva Smith her job. At first Sheila’s reaction is superficial, she seems upset her evening has been spoilt, “and I have been so happy tonight”. But unlike her parents, Sheila quickly realises her part in Eva Smith’s death. She comes to see Eva as an individual. “These girls aren’t cheap labour – they’re people”. As the story is revealed, Sheila immediately learns about Eva’s unfair dismissal from Mr Birling’s factory, she is critical of her father. Sheila is readier than the others to admit her guilt and express her regret to her actions. She makes minimal effort to excuse herself from her behaviour. Her reaction is very different from her father’s. She denounces the act for what it was “I think it was cruel”. She also admits she behaved badly and that she is “ashamed of it”. She feels deep remorse while the inspector is there. After the inspector leaves she still remembers the story and still feels sorrow. She is concerned at the rate that her parents recover. She is amazed they haven’t learned anything from it. Even though the inspector was a hoax, she still thinks they all behaved in an unsuitable manner. She learns to be responsible even to those less fortunate than her.
Sheila has a very important role in the play. She represents Priestley’s point of view. After the inspector leaves she states: “It doesn’t make any real difference if he was a real inspector or not” because in her own opinion the inspector has fulfilled his purpose. She acts as the conscience in this play. Hers is the voice that challenges the older generation and the great moral divide between people. She helps the inspector during his questioning. Her bond with the inspector is shown in her echoing of his words when she says to Gerald: “we haven’t much time”. The inspector is always aware of the lack of time and everything controlled by it. Both Sheila and Eric represent the younger generation and they seem to stand up against the older generation. Priestly also shows the audience the contrast between Sheila and Eva Smith. They are both approximately the same ages yet are shown to live completely differently lives.
In the production of “An Inspector Calls”, how Sheila changes could be illustrated in different ways. At the beginning of the play when celebrating her engagement, she would speak in a light-hearted, jovial tone to show how contented with life she is. However in the final act, her tone of voice would be more serious and this would show the audience, that she is much more mature and more serious about life. She could also be shown moving from an enclosed life into a real world, by moving into the inspector’s light. This would show her being enlightened by the truth of Eva’s death. To reveal Sheila’s growing concern for others in the society, the director could have the actress change costumes. When she runs out of the room in Act 1, she could return wearing a simple dress.
This would suggest to the audience she has began to feel regret for her actions and is becoming more serious minded.
In many ways the engagement ring symbolises Sheila’s transformation. When Gerald gives her the ring in Act 1, before the inspector arrives, she accepts it happily. In Act 2 she returns the ring to him after hearing of his involvement with Eva. Finally in Act 3, after the inspector leaves and is discovered to be a hoax, Gerald tries to persuade her to
accept the ring again but she reacts by saying “No, because I remember what he said”. This shows she has not just put the matter aside and she is still shaken by it.
Priestly expresses his views about the society in 1912. He is inviting the audience to examine the great moral divide between the rich and poor. He sets the play in 1912 before the Titanic and the two world wars, so the audience can see how the characters values and attitudes are very different to theirs. In the play Mr Birling states “ The Titanic, unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”. The irony in this sentence is that the audience know the Titanic sinks, but the characters do not. Irony is also used when Mr Birling states, “There isn’t a chance of war”. Two years later a war broke out. Priestly uses this to show how capitalist caused the war.
Sheila’s language changes at different points of the play. In the beginning of the play she quite childlike and uses the word “mummy” to her mother Mrs Birling. As the play progresses the word “mummy” changes to “mother” after she realises all that has happened and different people’s attitude to things. She also becomes much more inquisitive and evaluates each member of her family and their actions. She helps the investigation in many ways, to bring out the truth. She is willing to learn from her
Mistakes and tries to encourage the others to learn as well. Sheila’s changes reflect the political idea that we need to take responsibility towards others less fortunate. Priestly uses Sheila to encourage socialism and equality, he discourages capitalism. The fact that she questions the values and attitudes of her parents, reflect the changing attitudes of the younger generation and increase in women’s independence. The only other person that shares her attitude is Eric. This shows that the younger generations are more open-minded and are able to learn from their mistakes and change. The older generation is being forced to learn appropriate values of life by the younger generation. Priestly uses Sheila and Eric to represent socialists who can bring hope to the future.
To sum it all up, Sheila changes the most in “An Inspector Calls”. She helps the inspector in bringing out and questioning different people’s views of life. Priestly uses Sheila to express his views about capitalism. He uses Sheila to show the audience that there is room for change to bring about a better future for all.
