The Inspector’s entrance is dealt with in great detail in Priestley’s stage directions. As he enters the Birling’s dining room, the lighting in the room changes, ‘The lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder.’ This change in lighting may suggest to the audience that the family is being examined, or to an extent, interrogated, by Inspector Goole. His entrance also shows what kind of man he is, ‘…he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.’ He doesn’t even greet the family, or introduce himself. He simply says, ‘Mr Birling?’ This entrance completely changes the atmosphere of the scene. It changes from a pleasant, fairly quiet family celebration, to an examination of all that they know.
The inspector is dressed immaculately, in a business suit whilst they are dressed in evening clothes. This is mainly because he is on ‘duty’, and they are having a celebratory meal.
The Inspector seems to know a lot about the suicide of Eva Smith, even though the Birlings have not divulged the information to him. This makes him at once seem almost clairvoyant, or that he has already seen it all happen. As we think through this suggestion, we may notice his name, Goole. Could the Inspector be a Ghost or Ghoul? As I said earlier on, Priestley uses the Inspector to voice his own socialist opinions of society, so could he be J.B Priestley speaking from 1944, the year the play was written? At the conclusion of Act 2, the Inspector holds up his hand for silence, and right after he has done this the family hear the front door, and Eric enters. ‘The Inspector holds up his hand. We hear the front door. We wait looking towards the door. Eric enters looking extremely pale and distressed. He meets their inquiring stares.’ Mr. Birling backs up this proposal by saying things like, ‘The Germans don’t want war…’ and ‘…the Titanic, unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.’ This is known as dramatic irony, because the audience knows what really happens.
Inspector Goole’s part in the play seems to act as a catalyst between the Birlings and Gerald. He seems to start arguments and conflicts between the characters because of the probing questions he asks. A good example of this is the argument between Gerald and Shelia, about what they should and shouldn’t tell the Inspector. Another part of the inspector’s role is to induce the family to confess about what part they played in the suicide of Eva Smith. He does this by repeating the gory details of how she died and what she looks like now. ‘Two hours ago a young woman died in the infirmary. She’d been taken there this afternoon because she’d swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant.’
The Inspector goes about his job in a methodical manner. He tells the Birlings to wait their turn to see the alleged picture of Eva Smith. Gerald says, ‘I’d like to have a look at the photograph now inspector.’ And the inspector replies, ‘All in good time.’
All this detail about Inspector Goole taking control of the inquiry is all rather unusual. The inspector is obviously of a lower class than the Birlings, which may be why they come away from the situation seeming rather taken aback, or offended by his manner. In society as it was in 1912, a mere police inspector would be expected to defer to people such as the Birlings – perhaps even to ignore any involvement they might have. Mrs. Birling says ‘Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I say I couldn’t imagine a real police inspector talking like that to us?’
The Inspector moves the play along by asking the Birlings progressively probing questions. He also creates tension in the plot. The stage directions state, ‘He speaks carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking.’
He seems to do this when he says, slowly, ‘Are you sure you don’t know?’ Then he stares at Gerald, then Eric, then Sheila. This hints that the Inspector already knows how they have contributed to Eva Smith’s suicide
In conclusion, it is my belief that J.B Priestley uses the Inspector to convey his socialist opinions to the people of Britain, and that ‘An Inspector calls’ was an alternative way of speaking to them to his wartime radio broadcasts.
Peter Constantine
