Discuss the role of the Inspector in J.B.Priestley’s play An Inspector Calls
The Inspector’s arrival at the Birling household comes as an unwelcome surprise to the family. He arrives as the Birlings are celebrating an engagement; Sheila Birling and Gerald Croft of Crofts limited are to be married. The Birlings and Gerald have just finished a grand celebratory dinner and are in high spirits when Edna, the Birling’s servant announces the Inspector’s arrival. The Inspector quickly changes the mood of the household when he tells Mr Birling that a girl called Eva Smith had committed suicide earlier that evening by drinking disinfectant, and now rests dead in the infirmary. The Birlings and Gerald’s shock and sympathy for the girl quickly turns to curiosity and intrigue as the Inspector begins to ask them questions. The Inspector questions each of them in turn, and with the help of a photograph of the girl he catches them off guard and forces them to reveal acts they have committed which contributed and eventually led to the death of Eva Smith. As the play evolves the audience is kept in suspense as one by one the characters let slip new items of information. These include affairs, selfish acts and class prejudice which eventually, build up a picture of a series of events that led to the girl committing suicide. As the play draws to a close the Birlings are tainted by scandal which if it became public would ruin their reputation and social standing.
The character of the Inspector in the play is very effective as a dramatic device. We are first introduced to him in the stage directions where he is described to, “create at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.” This makes the Inspector out to be dominant, intimidating and shows that he is not a man to be messed around. It creates an air of superiority about him, and shows that he is not going to be afraid to voice his opinions and stand up to Mr Birling. We are also given the information that the Inspector “speaks carefully, weightily and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking to them.” This backs up the point that he is a very intimidating man, and also suggests that his actions are very deliberate and well thought out. The Inspector is also very mysterious and at times appears to have an air of the supernatural about him. His name, Inspector Goole appears to be a pun on ghoul, a word with ghostly and supernatural connotations. He also appears to be able to see what will happen in the future “if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.” This phrase, uttered by the inspector seems to accurately predict the First World War and possibly also the Russian Revolution. It is also important in the overall context of the play. He is also very careful never to reveal anything about himself “Sheila- I don’t understand about you, Inspector- There’s no reason why you should.” This makes the Inspector seem very mysterious and interesting to the audience. The Inspector also has a strange way of making them talk, even if they are being completely un-cooperative. “Sheila- I know, somehow he makes you.” Although he becomes passionate when talking about his socialist philosophies the inspector never loses his temper and always appears to be very calm and collected, this adds to the mystery surrounding him. Another thing that is noticeable about the Inspector is that he is always in control of the situation. After an initial power struggle with Mr Birling the Inspector asserts his dominance and then leads the events throughout the play. “Inspector- it might be you no, Birling- I don’t like that tone, Inspector- I’m sorry but you asked me a question, Birling- you asked me a question before that, a quite unnecessary question too, Inspector- It’s my job to ask questions.”
