Mr. Birling says that business always comes first and his attitude is he more for his business than his family. Half way through an engagement speech he engages talk about business,
She’ll make you happy and I’m sure you’ll make her happy. Your father and I have been friendly rivals in business for some time now”.
He should not have started talking about business because his family matters are more important.
Birling’s attitude towards war is that he does not think it will come,
“German officers have to much to drink and begin talking nonsense, you’ll hear some people say that wars inevitable. Ant to that I say fiddlesticks!”
As I already said Birling did not have any feelings for the community, he believed that a man should look after himself and his family. It also makes him look silly because the audience know that war happened.
When Birling discovers that there has been no suicide he is relieved because he thought the news would get out and the only thing Birling was concerned was the news becoming a public scandal. Birling does not accept any responsibility for Eva’s death, he said the only reason he sacked was because of the business,
“She was one of my employees and then I discharged her”,
This illustrates to the audience that Mr. Birling is a hardheaded businessman and that he did not appreciate Eva asking him for a raise. It also tells the audience that he will sack people, as he feels free and will not feel any guilt.
Mrs. Birling’s attitudes are different to her husbands. She shows the inspector an assertive and uppity tone of manner and is the only one that gives the inspector a fight; she also does not let the inspector get to her inner emotions.
“So far you seem to be conducting it in a rather peculiar and offensive manner”.
Mrs. Birling is quite threatening and offensive in this quote and does not seem to like the inspector’s tone or manner.
Mrs. Birling’s community involvement is that she is higher in society than her husband and she runs a charity shop. What is ironic about Mrs. Birling’s community involvement is that she is supposed to be running a charity shop and yet when Eva Smith turns to her for help she turns her down. Mrs. Birling is a cold woman and a snob because she rebukes the family and says in a quite vicious tone,
“I’m talking to the inspector now”.
It is as if she wants the inspector to herself. Also she responds to Gerald’s remark of,
“I gather he does drink pretty hard”.
Gerald is talking about Eric, Mrs. Birling’s son and she responds in an offensive manner,
“And this is the time you choose to tell me”.
Again we see the cold side of Mrs. Birling.
Mrs. Birling will not accept that she had something to do with Eva’s death, she looks down her nose at Eva and what she had become,
“A woman of the town”.
She is referring to a prostitute and she is very dismissive to the idea that she is responsible in reply to Sheila saying,
“And between us we probably killed her”.
She replies sharply,
“Sheila, don’t talk nonsense”.
After the inspector leaves, Mrs. Birling doesn’t want to face up to reality and accept that she turned down Eva Smith, which later resulted in her committing suicide.
Sheila is different to her parents because she is sorry for messing up Eva’s life. By getting her sacked from the first steady job she had had in a while, through jealousy. She feels guilty and responsible for Eva’s suicide. When the inspector is interviewing Sheila she gets emotional and he drives her to the edge. He makes Sheila feel guilty for pushing Eva over the edge and he draws her to tears. She did play a big part in Eva’s suicide, but it was Mrs. Birling who was responsible, so the inspector takes advantage of Sheila and makes her confess. Sheila replies to the inspector with a distressing comment,
“Don’t please- I know, I know- and I can’t stop thinking about it”.
Sheila comes across as if she is quite anxious to leave the room, this makes the audience pass the blame to Sheila for the suicide.
After the inspector had left the audience started to respect Sheila more because she was the only one who took any blame and sincerely repented for what she had done to Eva’s life. Sheila is frustrated with herself because she feels that she is the one to blame for Eva’s suicide. She is partially to blame but her mother is more to blame. She is also frustrated with the inspector because he had taken advantage of Sheila’s situation and backed her into a corner until she snapped and could not hold the truth in any longer, so she had to confess to him. Sheila had learnt a lesson that the other characters had not, this was to face up to you problems and accept when you have done something wrong and tell the truth, because the inspector will find out in the end. Sheila says eagerly,
“Yes and I know I’m to blame and I’m desperately sorry”.
Sheila is being brave and not trying to turn her back o the truth.
The photograph is a clever and dramatic device because the inspector shows the photograph to only one person at a time, therefore each time the inspector was showing the photograph it could have been a photograph of a different girl.
The effect of showing the photograph to one person at a time builds up the tension and the audience is waiting for that one person’s reaction that the audience does not take in what else is happening, on the stage. Also it makes you wonder if it is the same photograph.
Mr. and Mrs. Birling and Gerald Croft try to argue that because it could have been a different girl in each of the character scenarios that it does not matter that they are off the hook. In which case believe that even though they each interrupted one girl’s life it doesn’t matter.
“But the whole thing is different now, can’t you see that. Come, come, you can see that, can’t you?”
Mr. Birling tries to convince Sheila and Eric, but they believe that not only have they ruined one girl’s life but that they have ruined five girl’s lives between them.
“It doesn’t matter to me the one I knew is dead”.
Eric tries to explain that he still ruined a girl’s life and so did Sheila and everybody else.
In my opinion it doesn’t matter if they were shown different photographs by the inspector, because at the end of the day they all did medal with at least one girl’s life.
In conclusion Inspector Goole tried to teach the Birlings and Gerald Croft a valid lesson by telling them that their everyday life or routine effects a lot of people and to think before their actions. He also tried to tell them that everything you do has a result whether good or bad. The impression we are left with of Mrs. Birling is that she is a cold woman and she is only running a charity shop for the social respect of the public. The impression we are left with of Sheila Birling is that deep down she is a good person but she needs to think about the result before she takes action.
