An Inspector Calls - Review.

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An Inspector Calls                                      

An Inspector Calls

The play ‘An Inspector Calls’ was set in 1912 before World War I. The time period was called the Edwardian times because King Edward was on the throne. In this time women did not have any significance in society because the laws said that women were the property of their husbands and could not own property or money. Middle class women did not have jobs. Instead they did charity work, which followed the stereotype of women being the cultivators of society. Lower class women, on the other hand, had to go to work. The suffragette movement was the action taken by women to fight for women’s rights in that era.

The play was first performed in 1945 when World War II had just come to an end. During this time, plenty of women of different classes had to go out to work, in order to help their country. This experience gave women a kind of freedom, which they all enjoyed; this changed the status of women in society.

The character Sheila Birling is a middle class woman in her early twenties. In the opening notes, Priestly describes her as “a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited”. The impression of her is young and naïve: “Oh – Gerald - you’ve got it - is it the one you wanted me to have?” when she says this, it gives us, the audience, the impression that she likes things to be done for her like a child. At the beginning of the play she is celebrating her engagement to a wealthy businessman, Gerald Croft.

Mrs Birling is described as “a rather cold woman and her husband’s social superior”. Immediately this creates a negative impression in our minds of Mrs Birling, as the words used to describe her are negative so she seems to be a firm, stuck-up woman. Mrs Birling is an upper middle class woman who married below her class, for Mr Birling’s money. She appears to be in her fifties.

In act one when the inspector arrives, he announces the death of a young woman this is how we hear of Eva Smith. Priestly creates sympathy all through the play for her using the inspector and other characters. Eva is a working class girl and is in her early twenties just as Sheila.

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My impression of Sheila before the inspector’s arrival is that she is young, naïve and innocent. “Gaily” and “possessively” are used to describe how she speaks which shows us she has the attitude of a child and she also refers to Mrs Birling as “Mummy” showing her child-like innocence. Her parents refer to her as “Sheila-girl” or “girl” in the beginning of the play. When Gerald gives her the ring she is exuberant and perky; “Oh - it’s wonderful!” 

When Sheila learns of Eva’s death she becomes disturbed and feels very saddened by it. Then, when she hears ...

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