Sheila and Eric are shocked by Arthur's selfishness, “But these girls aren’t cheap labor, they’re people.”
The Inspector then turns his attentions to Sheila, who is again shocked and ashamed when she realizes the consequences that her actions contributed to; she got Eva sacked from her last proper job because of her jealousy.
The Inspector suggested that Eva Smith changed her name to Daisy Renton to which Gerald's reaction is obvious, he then finds an excuse to leave Gerald and Sheila on their own in the room by asking Eric to show him to show him to where the two elder Birlings are, but waits behind the door to eavesdrop on Gerald and Sheila and when he feels the time is right, he returns to the them, this has the effect of making him confess without interfering too much.
Gerald had known Daisy from when he met her at the Palace music hall when she was a "woman of the town". He took pity on her and put her up in some apartments owned by one of his friends and gave her some money, they did have a relationship, though, which explains an earlier quote of Sheila, "Except all last summer when you hardly came near me." The relationship was ended by Gerald though, he gave her some more money which she went on holiday with, "to make it last longer".
Gerald shows little regret or remorse but that is understandable; like the others he was linked to Eva Smith, But unlike the others he did not do much to regret, apart from having had a relationship with her.
With the arrival of Sybil during the last exchange, the Inspector questions her; she is head of the Brumley Women's Charity Organization, where she was chair person, Eva had applied to that organization for help under a separate assumed name; Birling. This exposed Sybil’s arrogant streak, immediately prejudicing her against the case. From then on the case was doomed to fail, the claim was rejected, and this was the last straw for Eva. Mrs Birling told her that, because she was pregnant, this was the father’s responsibility...
In her arrogance, Sybil does not seem to think that she did anything wrong, that her snobbishness is justified and that this woman deserved to face the consequences of (inadvertently) using her name. The Inspector also loses his neutrality here making his first judgment; "I think you did something terribly wrong - and that you are going to spend the rest of your life regretting it."
Arthur continues his concern for himself and his reputation here, "...when this comes out at the inquest, it isn't going to do us much good. The Press might easily take it up-"
There are hints as to who the father of Eva's baby is, but they seem to go unnoticed, such as when Eva is quoted as telling Sybil that he was; "...only a youngster - silly and wild and drinking too much..." she is also quoted as saying; "...he was someone who didn't belong to her class..."
Sybil seems to have quite a backwards mentality, hinted at when the Inspector asks her who the responsibility lies with; she seems to imply that other people's actions were the girl’s own fault. Then when given the opportunity, she blames the unborn baby's father; "If the girls death is due to anybody, then it's due to him." and says that "...he ought to be dealt with very severely-" She is interrupted by Sheila who seems to have realized that every member of the family has encountered this girl and played a part in her death and may have also recognized the clues (mentioned above) and who they point to... But she is ignored, and Sybil carries on and says that this man should be made an example of and that it is the Inspector's duty to do that.
Sybil tries to get the Inspector to go but when he tells her that he is waiting to do his duty she finally realizes what Sheila was attempting to tell her, but still tries do deny it; "But surely . . . I mean . . . It's ridiculous . . ." and she also realizes the hole that she has landed her son in.
The elder Birlings continue their denial until Eric actually confesses what he has done.
Eric admitted that he had met Eva Smith, they had both got drunk and they returned to her lodgings together and he got her pregnant. Eva did not want to marry Eric, so he decided to support her financially with money he "borrowed" from his father's office.
Arthur's immediate reaction is that the whole affair needs covering up, "You must give me a list of those accounts. I've got to cover this up as soon as I can." but then wonders about the other options Eric had, "You damned fool - why didn't you come to me when you found yourself in this mess?" To spectators of the play, the answer should be fairly obvious; that Arthur's prime concern would be his reputation and trying to hide these events from public view instead of confronting and resolving the problems they posed, this is confirmed when Eric tells his father that he is, “…not the kind of person a man can go to when he is in trouble…”
The first thing Arthur does as soon as the Inspector leaves is blame Eric and talk about a scandal and then implies that Eric does not care about anything, this is ironic because due the actions of him and his family a girl is dead, which is of far more importance than a knighthood. He then says that there is an excuse for what he and his wife did, but not for Eric's actions and belittles Eva's death.
Sheila suggests that the experience has not altered her parents' perspectives on anything; they are still worried about their reputations and public opinions instead of concern for other people, "I suppose we're all nice people now."
The parents and Gerald (who up until this point has remained relatively neutral) attempt to find ways of exonerating themselves, including asking whether this man really was an inspector, or whether all these things happened to the same girl or if she did ever commit suicide, and when two of these are answered as "no" (Gerald asked a uniformed constable if he knew of an inspector Goole and Arthur phoned up the local infirmary) the three seem to think that it is alright, forgetting the moral of this experience (explained in the conclusion).
At this point, Eric agrees with Sheila, that it is not all OK and that people are still as responsible for others as they are for themselves. Meanwhile, the other three are having a drink to celebrate not having done anything, Sheila says: "...whoever that inspector was, it was anything but a joke. You knew it then. You began to learn something. And now you've stopped." Sheila and Eric are dismissed by their parents as "hysterical" and "over-tired".
At the end of the play, the phone rings, it is the police, saying that a girl has died on her way to the infirmary after swallowing some disinfectant, and that a police inspector is on his way to ask some questions...
In Conclusion:
There is a recurring theme throughout the play; that the parents want to cover things up, deny that they ever happened or blame someone else. By the end they have not changed at all. By contrast their children have shown concern, honesty and remorse and become entirely different people to their parents.
Gerald Croft is a form of middle ground in all this, he did nothing wrong, possibly apart from having a relationship with Eva, but when the inspector has left, he sides with the parents in thinking that if this man was not an inspector after all, everything is fine.
Arthur seems to consider himself superior to a lot of people, and I doubt he would like admitting inferiority to anyone.
The moral of the play is summarized in the final thing that the inspector says before leaving, and it is essentially this: If people do not learn to care for each other, regardless of social or economic status, they will be taught how in fire and blood and anguish. (Referring to World War I, The play is set in 1912, so that would start in two years, (1914 - 1918)(I noted that when talking to Eric and Gerald, Arthur mentioned the impossibility of war))
The moral directly contradicts the speech that Arthur was giving the two young men near the start of the play just before the inspector arrived.
I cannot help wondering, assuming that if (in the context of the play) the things that happened to this girl are true, that they all happened to the same girl and that it is a genuine inspector coming round to ask these questions after the end of the play, whether Arthur and Sybil Birling would behave any differently to the way they did in the previous few hours.
