Although much of the tension within the play is an effect of disagreements between the members of the Birling family, it can be seen that, before the Inspector arrived into the household the family were supposedly “having a pleasant family meal” during the course of which there is seemingly much less conflict between characters and by nature, less tension. However, as soon as the Inspector begins to raise suspicion among the characters, arguments that before, may have been kept hidden are revealed. For instance, Mr Birling begins to turn the blame on the other members of the family. This is shown during Mrs Birling’s questioning when, at first Mr Birling supports his wife, saying, “Is there any reason why my wife should answer questions from you Inspector?” however, as soon as Mrs Birling’s story puts his own interests in jeopardy, he seems to turn on his wife, “I must say Sybil, that when this comes out at the inquest, it isn’t going to do us much good”. Mr Birling’s immediate change of heart show’s that he thinks of his own social standing as a higher priority than his own family, something that, before the Inspector arrived, although hinted at, was not revealed. The uncovering of each character’s stories and natures takes away the niceties within the family, forcing them to confront their- and each other’s- flaws, creating tension within the family as they are questioned. Another example of this is between Sheila and Gerald. At the start of the play, Sheila makes a partly bitter comment about “last summer when he never came near me”, the mentioning of this foreshadows a possible revelation later on. It is evident that Sheila was suspicious of Gerald all along, as she quickly comes to the conclusion when the name “Daisy Renton” is mentioned. In some ways Sheila seems to have expected this as she confronts Gerald, saying, “how did you come to know this girl- Eva Smith”, her absolute certainty of this shows her intelligence and feeling of betrayal.
The Inspector’s arrival along with the grim nature of his reasons cause the family to react in different ways. Birling, obviously threatened by the Inspector, tries to impose his authority as soon as the Inspector enters, conveniently mentioning the fact that he was “Lord mayor two years ago- and still on the Bench”. He uses this information to try and gain superiority over the Inspector, however it seems to have no effect. Sheila on the other hand, is eager for the truth and gives the Inspector information willingly- even admitting blame. She expresses remorse, “I felt rotten about it at the time and now I feel a lot worse”. Sheila seems regard the truth as more important than the feelings of her family, something that other members of the family also show- although for other reasons- this is a large source of conflict within the Birling family, as each character does what they can to achieve their own outcomes with no consideration for the feelings of others, which is essentially destructive. For example, Mrs Birling tries to conceal evidence from the Inspector, something that Mr Birling also attempted and was not successful. Similarly to her husband, Mrs Birling tries to assert authority over the Inspector which is implied in her speech, “I’m Mrs Birling y’know” here she is assuming that, in knowing this, the Inspector will evidently be less inclined to provoke her, something that, as Mr Birling found before, is a lost cause. Sheila picks up on this and tries to stop her mother, saying, “No mother- please!”. However, Mrs Birling does not take heed of Sheila’s warning, regarding her as hysterical and belittling her as she says to the Inspector, “you seem to have made a great impression on this child Inspector” the use of the world child shows that Mrs Birling does not think of Sheila as an independent adult, something that is hinted at during Sheila’s questioning. The audience, however are beginning to realise that Sheila is right. Priestley’s use of dramatic irony to build up tension is very effective here.
The way Mrs Birling regards Sheila shows a severe lack of understanding between the generations, causing a large conflict of interest leading to arguments within the family. The older generation of the family try to take control of the situation when the Inspector arrives, attempting to intimidate the Inspector and making matters worse. During Mr Birling’s questioning, Mr Birling continuously interrupts Eric in irritation, “Look-you just keep out of this, you hadn’t even started in the works when this happened”, Mr Birling refers to this in a condescending manner, regarding Eric as a child and trying to show Eric’s youth. This belittling manner causes much conflict between Mr Birling and his son, which could partly be the reason for Eric’s betrayal of his father. Eric and Sheila express sympathy for the strikers in Birling’s company, something unknown to Birling’s Capitalist views.
As the Inspector begins his interrogations, it can immediately be seen that the younger generation of the Birling family are hardly like their parents at all. During the start of Mr Birling’s story Eric shows that, unlike Gerald, he does not approve of the way Mr Birling treats his workers. This is shown when he disagrees with Birling’s harsh refusal of Eva’s request insisting that “it isn’t as if you can go and work somewhere else” in disagreeing with his father Eric shows his independence and strength of will in contrast to Mr Birling, revealing the younger generation’s openness to new ideas and separating them from the traditional ways of their parents. Eric also takes the side of the Inspector, causing tension between him and his father after the Inspector has left, this side is also taken by Sheila, causing a "split" in the family, which can be seen by "I suppose we're all nice people now." and "What's the use of talking about. Nobody's brought her to life, have they?" Whereas Birling says, after the Inspector was found to be fake "This makes a difference y'know. In fact it makes all the difference." The fact that Sheila and Eric are honest and admit their faults highlights the flaws of the older generation. This could also be a reference to the flaws of Capitalism at this point in time. The large gap between the beliefs of the two sides of the family causes a lack of understanding and therefore a lack of empathy. This creates tension between the two generations leading to conflict later on.
In conclusion, much of the tension Priestley creates in the play using reasons for conflict between characters. Whether in misunderstandings between characters or differing beliefs. Priestley uses dramatic irony to foreshadow later events that the characters themselves are oblivious of. He keeps key facts from the audience, using subtext and hidden implications to create curiosity and tension between characters.
