Mr Birling, a prosperous manufacturer employed Eva Smith at his factory. While working at his factory Eva Smith started a strike asking for higher pay rise which resulted in her sack.
She managed to get a new job in a shop that was very popular among the Birling family. Sheila being the stuck up child that she is was shopping in there one day when she was trying on a certain garment and believed this Eva Smith was smirking at her. She complained to the shop resulting in Eva’s second sacking.
Gerald Croft unsurprisingly also had a part to play in this. But, he knew Eva Smith as Daisy Renton when he met her in the Palace Bar. Daisy is impressed with Gerald, the way he has made something worthwhile in her life, added some quality into her life. I believe he is least to blame out of the 5, he bought a little enjoyment into her life, and he treated her like a lady, even if it was just for short period of time.
Eric Birling is a drunk and he insists on going home with Daisy, and slept with her on a few occasions resulting in her pregnancy. But, Eva refuses to marry Eric because she knows that he does not love her. Eric does try to other his financial support by giving her money which was stolen from his Father’s factory. Although, Gerald and Eric both had a sexual relationship with Daisy, I believe that Gerald actually had genuine feelings for Daisy rather than a drunken sexual relationship. I believe this pregnancy is one of the main factors of her suicide because if she were to have this baby she would have to give up her job as a prostitute, therefore becoming homeless, with a child to look after, rather than just herself. Being a single mother in the early 1900’s was much different to today, their peers looked down on single parents.
As a last resort Eva Smith turned to ‘Brumley Women’s Society’ where Sybil Birling happened to work. But Mrs.Birling turned Eva Smith away. This was the decided factor of her suicide according to the Inspector. She drank a substantial amount of bleach and died a painful death in hospital.
The story comes to it’s finally where the officer has worked his Magic on them all. They’re all starting to feel guilty and realise what they’ve done.
Eric and Sheila most of all. This is where the twist is, Gerald returns from a walk to try and clear his head, when he lets the group in on something he had pondered over on his walk. He told them he didn’t believe that Inspector was an official Inspector. He has asked his friend in the Police about this Inspector and he had said there was no Inspector Goole. This is where Mr and Mrs Birling start to realise that this was all just a set up and the whole group had been fooled. They start to discharge the responsibility that they had taken in for Eva/Daisy’s suicide. Only Eric and Sheila realise that this makes no difference, what they did was wrong and they can’t just pretend it never happened. When all Mr and Mrs Birling were worried about was a public scandal and ruined reputations. Mr.Birling checks with the Morgue to make sure that this was all true, and the undertaker confirmed it.
Here’s the twist: Just as the Birling’s returned to their smug little world of superiority, the phone rings and the person on the other line says “A young lady has just been bought into the morgue after drinking a substantial amount of bleach. An Inspector is on his way over to ask some questions.”