The Inspector can also use connotations as demonstrated here:
‘If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people, they’d soon be asking for the earth.’
This line tells us Birling is quite harsh to his workers. In response to the previous line, the Inspector says:
‘It’s better to ask for the earth than to take it.’
It seems as if the Inspector is saying something quite simple but a closer look into his response to Mr Birling and it can be recognised that he may be implying that Birling has taken something to which he has no right, for example maximum profit by paying out minimum wages to his workers or exploiting them. Birling has a superior attitude towards his workers, expecting them to behave as his inferiors. Birling was outraged that Eva asked for a raise. By exploiting his workers, he is maximising his profits. Preistley shows that women had bad jobs and were the weaker sex.
At the very beginning of the play, we see Mr Birling delivering several long speeches, packed with irony. For example:
‘…you’ll hear some people say that war’s inevitable. And to that I say – fiddlesticks! The Germans don’t want war! No-one does…’
This is very ironic since a couple of years later; there was a world war due to take place and the Germans were the ones who were mostly responsible for it. Another example of his ironic speech is:
‘Why, a friend of mine went over this new liner last week – the Titanic – she sails next week – forty-six thousand eight hundred tons – forty-six thousand eight hundred tons – New York in five days – and every luxury – and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.’
This part of the speech is very ironic because during the time the play was set, the Titanic would sail a while later, and as the audience would be aware, it sunk and many were killed. Preistley may have included irony into Mr Birling’s speeches so as to ridicule him, and make the audience see he is not so powerful and knowledgeable.
The Inspector doesn’t just have an effect on Mr Birling. He also makes an impression upon Sheila, who, in fact was probably the most affected member of the family and the one who has changed most due to the Inspector’s visit. When the Inspector asks Sheila what her connections are with Eva Smith and what she had done to make her loose her job, Sheila answers his questions with negative emotions:
Sheila: (miserably) so I’m really responsible?
Inspector: no, not entirely…
Then a bit further on in the scene:
Sheila: (distressed) I went to the manager at Milwards…
So in both occasions, we can see that she feels ashamed of what she did, because of the stage directions which are written with her lines. The Inspector questions her in such a way that she reveals all to the Inspector, for example:
Inspector: And why did you do that?
Sheila: Because I was in a furious temper.
She doesn’t hesitate to tell the Inspector why she acted how she did, she says it straight away, which may lead up to the fact that she feels so guilty for what she had done. The way she describes her holding the dress up to herself and looking at her reflection may have been Preistley’s way of symbolising that Sheila is looking into herself, with the help of the Inspector and seeing the error of her ways. We can see she recognises what she and the rest of the family have done wrong from the way she acts when the Inspector has left.
Birling: This makes a difference, y’know. In fact is makes all the difference.
Gerald: Of course!
Sheila: (bitterly) I suppose we’re all nice people now.
The way she is ready to disagree with Gerald shows how strongly she feels at the time. She says the above line with huge sarcasm to emphasise her point and this, once again, shows us how much she has been affected. Maybe this is because she an Eva might have been about the same age. Sheila might have been able to relate to her because of this, and she could have imagined how she might have feel if she were in Eva’s position, which was being refused out of two different jobs, forced into prostitution, being dropped by a wealthy man at a time of need, and then being having a relationship with another wealthy man and being dropped again, but this time, being pregnant. Sheila might have been able to understand the distress Eva was in, which may have caused her to be so bitter towards her family who don’t understand. During the Edwardian times, a woman in her position would have only been able to turn to a charity organisation such as the one Mrs Birling was part of. The final push was from Mrs Birling after refusing to help her. Eva had no safety net to fall into and therefore felt that the only answer was suicide. Sheila is aware of the Inspector’s power, and so before he interrogates Mrs Birling, she says
‘He’s giving us the rope – so we’ll hang ourselves.’
This is a metaphor of a punishment and what Sheila means is that the Inspector causes the characters to confess to what they have done, but without using physical force of any kind. He has a way of making the family open up to what they have done and feel guilty about it. This may be because they will feel worse about what they did if they hear themselves talk about it in their own voices. The Inspector is opening their eyes to what they have done, and making them regret what they did. He pushes responsibility on to them so much that they will be forced to the point where can accuse themselves. He lulls them into a sense of him being superior and makes them question or feel guilty of what they used to (or in some cases, still do) take for granted and regard as normal.
Sheila is the only character who believes she should be punished for what she did. Eric might too, but he doesn’t show it the way Sheila does. This metaphor she uses may be something linked in with Sheila wanting the old, vain Sheila dead, and a new, more thoughtful and sensitive Sheila to be replaced.
The Inspector, as well as being able to control situations and twist meanings of words, can also turn people against one another. When he is interrogating Sheila, he mentions that Eva’s name was changed to Daisy Renton, and Gerald immediately says:
‘Do you mind if I give myself a drink Sheila?’
Shortly after that, the Inspector leaves the room, giving Sheila and Gerald time to argue about how Gerald knows about Daisy Renton and how he gave himself away:
Sheila: Well, Gerald?
Gerald: (trying to smile) well what, Sheila?
Sheila: How did you come to know this girl – Eva Smith?
Gerald: I didn’t.
Sheila: Daisy Renton then – it’s the same thing.
Gerald: Why should I have known her?
Sheila: Oh don’t be stupid. We haven’t much time. You gave yourself away as soon as he mentioned her name.
Sheila is referring to her own fiancé as ‘stupid’ which means she is clearly infuriated by what she has learnt so far and is demanding to know the truth. Gerald confesses to the Inspector, with much reluctance, about what happened. He says
‘I didn’t like the idea of her going back to the Palace bar. I didn’t ask for anything in return.’
To which Sheila replies:
‘Why are you saying that to him? You ought to be saying it to me.’
Then Gerald says to Sheila:
‘I suppose I ought to really. I’m sorry Sheila. Somehow I-
Sheila then says:
(cutting in as he hesitates) ‘I know. Somehow he makes you.’
This shows us that Sheila is aware of the ways in which the Inspector persuades them to tell them the truth. One may expect that Gerald is about to explain why he had this love affair, but instead, Sheila says ‘Somehow he makes you.’ Which shows the audience how stunned or bewildered she is to see him be able to do this. Sheila always says what she feels which may make the audience feel she is the most honest member of the family. She often gives short bursts of laughter. Perhaps this is through nervousness, or because she sees her mother’s stupidity. She says ‘impertinent’ is a ‘silly word’ and use of the word ‘silly’ highlights how she feels about her mother’s class prejudice. Because of the Inspector’s techniques to get her to open her eyes to the real world, she sees his power and then challenges her mother to tell the truth and not to fall back on her class prejudice. She tells her mother to stop lying and ignoring the situation, but when her mother doesn’t listen, she just laughs because she sees how ridiculously her mother acts for trying to pretend and deny everything.
Gerald is affected not only by Sheila but by the Inspector too. After confessing his actions to the group, he leaves the house to ‘walk about for a while’ which shows us that he needs time to think about what he has done. He is affected by the Inspector but by taking a walk outside, we can see he is not ready to show his feelings to the rest of the family, which might be telling us that he doesn’t know the family well enough there doesn’t feel comfortable in revealing his emotions. This may be one way of seeing how Sheila and Gerald’s marriage might not work out, because they don’t know each other very well. When he returns, he tells the family that Goole is not a real Police Inspector, and Birling is pleased and tries to act as if the whole thing has never happened and is ready to get back to his old ways. Gerald is the same way because he says ‘Everything’s alright now, Sheila. (holds up the ring) what about this ring?’
Before the Inspector arrives, Gerald gives Sheila ring. When his affair has been revealed, Sheila gives the ring back to him. When the Inspector has left and they conclude he isn’t a proper Inspector, he offers the ring again the Sheila, showing everyone he is ready to go back to his old life and ways of acting. Sheila however sees the errors of their ways and is not ready to go back to how she was before which is why she refuses the ring and says she needs to think. From my point of view, I think that Gerald is very much like Mr Birling, rather over powering and proud, which may be one of the reasons why he wants Gerald to marry into the family.
Mr Birling is much like Gerald, in the sense that he doesn’t act much differently after the Inspector has left. When the Inspector is interrogating him, he seems uneasy. For example:
Mr Birling: How do you get on with out Chief Constable, Colonel Roberts?
Inspector: I don’t see much of him.
Mr Birling: Perhaps I’d better warn you that he’s a friend of mine. I see him fairly frequently. We play golf together up at the West Brumley.
Birling is clearly suspicious of the Inspector’s identity and asks him question to see if he is really a police Inspector. He then says he is friends with the Chief Constable and by naming his name, he might be trying to threaten the Inspector, because he is so used to being powerful and in control of the situation. He may also be trying to imply that he can always influence his friend to sack the Inspector. Again, we see him stating his authority by saying he knows the Chief Constable and emphasising his friendship with him.
Birling also tries threatening the Inspector in this example:
Mr Birling: I don’t see that it’s any of your business how I choose to run my business.
Inspector: It might be.
Mr Birling: I don’t like that tone.
Birling feels uneasy that the Inspector is pushing it a bit and therefore tries to regain his self important and authority by letting him know he is not happy with the Inspector’s attitude. With the Inspector saying ‘It might be’ he implies that he thinks Birling might be behaving unlawfully or unjustly. He is trying to get Birling to think about the values he has based his life upon, and question whether they are right or wrong.
Mrs Birling reacts towards the Inspector’s visit after he has gone, in a similar way to the way her husband reacted. But during the time of interrogation, she acts pompously and as if she is superior to everyone else. When she walks into the room, she must know what is going on, but nevertheless acts in a smooth, carefree manner. She pretends there is nothing wrong and there is no tension whatsoever. She has come on stage to put the Inspector in his place. She completely ignores the situation in a hope that it might go away, together with the Inspector. She also refers to Sheila as a child. Mrs Birling is probably the most false member of the group. She also acts as if she is superior to everyone else. At the beginning of the play, she doesn’t say much, but when she does, the audience will know her words have more than one simple meaning. For example, after Sheila has complained about Gerald avoiding her all summer, she says:
‘When you’re married, you’ll realise that men with important work to do sometimes have to spend nearly all their time and energy on their business…’
This line may be implying Mrs Birling thinks that her husband spends too much time at work and not enough time with her or the family. She may be, therefore, unhappy with the marriage and is warning Sheila of the problems which may arise. When the Inspector arrives, she is aware that he is the most powerful person present, but disapproves of this and tried to put him back in his place and challenges him.
‘Well come along – what is it that you want to know?’
She acts with impatience, maybe because she thinks if she is rude to the Inspector, he will take a disliking to her and leave, or feel uncomfortable and want to escape the scene. When the Inspector has left, she concludes, because she believes he isn’t a real Inspector, that what she did can be excused. She ignores Sheila’s complaints and remarks and is happy to carry on in the way she did before. In the following quote, we can see her expressing how she thinks the Inspector’s visit is a joke:
‘They’re over-tired. In the morning they’ll be as amused as we are.’
She expects everyone to take the Inspector’s visit as a joke and act as they did before. When the Inspector says that Eva was pregnant when she died, Sheila is quick to respond that the father of the child is responsible for her, and not herself. She refuses to take any of the blame and is blind to the error of her ways. She is not aware that the father of the child is her own son. She is probably the most false character, with the least conscience.
Eric is the least person to be interviewed. Throughout the play, he doesn’t say much and if off-scene for much of the play. He leaves the room and his family say he is in ‘an excitable and queer’ mood. Sheila comments that he drinks too much. However, the Inspector is not interested in his alcohol intake, but to interview him and make him see the error of his ways. When he is being interviewed by the Inspector he answers any questions with honesty and doesn’t hesitate to tell about what happened:
Inspector: When did you meet this girl?
Eric: One night, last November.
Inspector: Where did you meet her?
Eric: In the Palace bar. I’d been there an hour or so with two or three chaps. I was a bit squiffy.
The way he answers the questions he is much like Sheila. He knows the Inspector is bound to find out and by denying it, he is making things worse for himself. To me, he seems quite an irresponsible boy, because Sheila says he drinks too much, Mr Birling and his wife refer to him as a child, he leaves the room when he hears about Eva’s death, perhaps in an attempt to avoid the Inspector, and he has stolen a lot of money from his father. The presence of the Inspector puts these issues under the spotlight and makes Eric guilty for what he did and he hopes that the family will change their ways. We can see this because near the end of the play, when Gerald and Mr and Mrs Birling are discussing what happened and mocking the Inspector, Eric and Sheila disapprove.
Sheila: ...And it frightens me the way you talk.
Eric: And I agree with Sheila. It frightens me too.
It seems as if Sheila and Eric are more mature and forward thinking than their parents. We can see Eric is upset about the death of Eva when Birling says:
‘…She drank some strong disinfectant. Died in agony-’
Eric replies ‘alright, don’t pile it on.’
This means that he is still feels very guilty for what happened and doesn’t want the details to be told again in such a merciless way. Sheila and Eric are the most conscientious members of the group, whereas Mr and Mrs Birling, together with Gerald believe that the whole thing is a joke.
Because the stage is meant to be packed with heavy furniture, showing off the wealth and success of Birling’s work, there is a rich feel, but not a homely touch. This may strike the audience as one of the reasons why the Inspector is so merciless in his interrogations, because he doesn’t feel at home. The final speech has so many messages and techniques that the audience cannot fail to notice his peculiar way of getting the message across to people. ‘But just remember this…’ is a way of addressing everyone, including the family and audience and is a sharp way of beginning a speech. When one uses this way of speaking, it seems quite personal, even thought it is aimed at everyone. When the Inspector says ‘one Eva Smith has gone’ he is emphasising her death and perhaps making them feel even guiltier. He uses short and direct sentences to emphasise his message – ‘We don’t live alone.’ This may also mean that the Inspector is watching them at all times. This may also carry the message that there is no such thing as social class, and that everyone just lives together as members of one family.
Some say the Inspector’s speech seems as if the final speech has been rehearsed. Others believe that because he has learnt so much about the family he knows what to say that will make an impression on them. The Inspector can be seen as an embodiment of the nation’s conscience and Preistley may have developed this character in such a way to get across to the audience how conscience can come back to haunt you when least expected.
