When Sheila discovers that Eva Smith has committed suicide, her reaction is quite shocked and distraught. For the first time we see Sheila show some compassion and we see the other side to Sheila; not selfish and shallow. “Its just that I can’t help thinking about this girl – destroying herself so horribly – and I’ve been so happy. Oh I wish you hadn’t told me.” This quote tells me that Sheila may have realised that her life is quite pathetic in comparison to Eva Smith’s and she may have felt guilty in being so happy when a few miles away this terrible thing was taking place. Sheila’s response was like the response you would have expect to get if she had been told of the death of a pet or an associate. Because Sheila didn’t know Eva Smith directly she wasn’t too upset, but she was more distraught when she realised that she may have been partly responsible for Eva’s death.
When Sheila learnt that Eva Smith had been sacked from Milwards, she begins to admit some responsibility because she put in a complaint regarding Eva Smith. Sheila realised that she may have contributed to Eva Smith’s demise, which triggers her to feel remorse and guilt. This is one of the first times that Sheila realises that her actions can have consequences on others. “All she knew - was that a customer had complained about her - and she had to go.” This quote from Inspector Goole agitated Sheila as she may have remembered her involvement with the sacking of Eva Smith.
The discovery that Eva Smith used an alias, Daisy Renton, shocked but shocked her fiancée even more. As soon as Inspector Goole mentions the name Daisy Renton, Sheila sees Gerald’s reaction and knows he was guilty of betraying her. We see a sensible and calm side to Sheila as she finds out that Gerald has “cheated” on her. Sheila doesn’t revert back to being a spoilt childish brat, but remains level-headed and tries to help Gerald. She knows that honestly is the best policy and encourages Gerald to tell the truth about his relationship with Daisy/Eva, which he does. “ It’s no good lying Gerald. You’re wasting time.” I think this proves that Sheila has matured as a person and has been truly shocked by the night’s revelations. Even though he betrayed her ,Sheila admires Gerald’s honesty and the couple are finally honest with each other which makes their bind stronger. “ I don’t dislike you Gerald, as much as I did half an hour ago. Now you’ve told the truth I rather respect you more than I have ever done before. But this has made a difference. We’re not the same people who sat down to dinner together.”
When Sheila finds out that her mother had met and dealt with Eva/Daisy, she is shocked to discover how cold her mother could be. ”Mother I think you were cruel and vile to treat her like that.” Mrs Birling reveals that Daisy was pregnant, and she refused to offer her a job, money or a place to stay. Mrs Birling was blaming the father of Daisy’s child, which Sheila disagreed with. Sheila defended the father saying that, as he was probably a married man, there was no way he could ever acknowledge the child. Sheila shows more signs of intelligence, as she is the first of the group to realise that the father of the baby is Eric, her younger brother. When she does realise this, Sheila becomes upset as she thinks about her family and how much damage this could cause for them. As her new-found intelligence and confidence grows, Sheila voices her concerns about the lies that have been told within the family and whether they are “nice people”.
As Inspector Goole reveals that the father of the child was Eric, Sheila was the only person to lend their support to Eric, and together they stood up to their parents. This was probably the first time this had happened and for the first time in the play, Sheila and Eric are the sensible mature members of the family, which shocks Mr and Mrs Birling. The spoilt, immature young adults at the beginning of the play are now the people with level heads and a true idea of how the night might affect the family’s relationships. Sheila and Eric show their true emotions, whereas their parents are cold and unemotional towards their children Sheila becomes a mother figure for Eric when Mrs Birling rejects him, offers him a shoulder to cry on and supports him when he is at his most vulnerable.
When the Inspector has left the house, the family goes over the night’s events and tries to make sense of what was said. However, several things make the Birlings suspect that Inspector Goole wasn’t all that he claimed to be. When Gerald confirmed that Goole was fake, the family, except for Sheila realises that the night was a huge joke. However Sheila refuses to believe that it was a joke and tries to make her family see that they cannot go back to the way they were before dinner. After realising that being a spoilt immature brat isn’t the best way to be taken seriously, Sheila tries to change for the better. She still believes that her family has a lot to learn from Inspector Goole and that they must not sweep the nights events under the carpet. Sheila desperately tries to make her family see this, but that proves easier said than done. ”I suppose we’re all nice people again because he wasn’t a real police inspector.” She is adamant in herself that she doesn’t want to go back to the “good old days”, which would make her a selfish, naïve young woman again. “And now you’ve stopped and you want to go back to the old ways again. I remember what he said and how he looked. It frightens me the way your are talking as if nothing had happened.”
At the end of the play, Sheila has matured greatly and now comes across as a thoughtful, compassionate young woman. This is the complete opposite of the person we met at the beginning of the play: a selfish, spoilt brat. I think that this proves that Sheila has matured and discovered that life doesn’t revolve around her, but there are other people who matter. Readers of the play can now relate to Sheila and she may have become a role model for other young women. Sheila has made the transformation from immature and irresponsible to caring an intelligent, unlike her parents who seem to have learnt nothing from the nights events.