When Inspector Goole enters and tells the family about the death of a young woman, Birling does not understand how it relates to him. He is to proud a character to admit that he could have been at fault even though he sacked her two years previously. However the Inspector disagrees, “Whatever happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards, and what happened to her afterwards may have driven her to suicide. A chain of events.” Mr Birling shows no compaeeio and is emotionally unaffected by the Inspector’s words. Birling is simply determined to defend his name, as he does not want his reputation blackened in society. He is a, “hard headed business man.” who refuses to accept any responsibility for Eva’s death and becomes increasingly annoyed by the Inspector’s questioning. Birling’s view of himself remains unaltered, which is show as he tries to bribe the Inspector or “make everything better” by using money, “Look Inspector, I’d give thousands…”
When the Inspector leaves, Birling wants everything to return to normal. He cannot comprehend Sheila and Eric’s insistence that something has to be learnt from Eva’s death and the Inspector’s visit. When the phone call concludes the play, J.B Priestley exposes MR Birling as genuinely ignorant, unfeeling towards others, and incapable of taking responsibility his actions and contributions to Eva’s death. This shows that though the Inspector has explicitly highlighted Mr Birling is selfishness, he has no reason to change and his view of himself in society has not wavered, showing that the Inspector had no effect on Mr Birling.
Sheila is the next family member to be interviewed by the Inspector. Sheila is described in the stage directions as “a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited.” J.B Priestley is deliberately trying to portray Sheila as perhaps dizzy or unable to make an independent decision of her own. She is very happy at the beginning of the play, although later her happiness and love for her family are put to the test.
When the news of Eva Smith’s death has finally been revealed, Sheila is shocked – “How horrible – was it an accident?” In contrast to her father’s reaction Sheila shows some compassion and interest. However as Sheila is better informed about the situation, she reacts “I can’t stop thinking about this girl – destroying herself so horribly – and I’ve been so happy tonight. Oh, I wish you hadn’t told me.” Although quite distressed about the news, this shows Sheila as a selfish individual who is upset simply because this death has ruined her evening.
As the scene progresses and the Inspector is discussing cheap labour in workhouses and factories, Sheila begins to change her views of her position in society. She starts to think as Eva as a person and not as cheap labour. When the Inspector shows Sheila the photograph, she instantly recognises Eva and she has to leave the room. When she re-enters, she admits that she did have her sacked, as she was jealous. Sheila is emotionally affected by the Inspector and she has a moral conscience, “I feel rotten at the time and now I feel a lot worse.” Shelia is very distressed by the girl’s suicide and thinks that her father’s behaviour was unacceptable. She readily agrees that she behaved very badly and insists that she never meant the girl any harm when she abused her power and status. She is prepared to admit her faults. It is clear that the Inspector has had a dramatic effect on Sheila who is determined to change the way she acts in the future as she says, “I’ll never do it again.” She now acknowledges of her responsibilities to others in society. Her readiness to learn from experience greatly contrasts to her parents, “but these girls aren’t cheap labour-they’re people.” She is unable to accept her parent’s attitude and is both amazed and concerned that they have not learnt anything from the dealings with the Inspector.
Gerald is present throughout Sheila and Birling’s confession and he believes he has no part to play, until he hears the name “Daisy Renton” Gerald’s view of himself in society is that he is of the, “absolute first class,” Gerald does have genuine feelings for Daisy However he allows the class difference to prevent him taking the affair any further. Although he expresses regret for the way he used her because of his lack of respect for the working class, he does not have the same compassionate response as Sheila did to the Inspector’s message. To an extent the Inspector does alter Gerald’s view of himself in society as he admits he abused his status to sleep with Eva, yet ultimately the Inspector does not alters his view of himself.
Although he is shocked by her death and takes a little responsibility for what he has done, he shares the same lack of understanding as Mr Birling, of what the Inspector’s message was. Like Birling, Gerald is unable to admit he is wrong and his dealings with the Inspector are unlikely to affect his view of himself, yet it is likely the Inspector will have affected his viewpoint of himself in society, as he felt he abused it with Eva. Although when the Inspector leaves, Gerald is actually the first to inquire whether he is an impostor, showing his desperation to find an excuse for his dealings with Eva and is willing to return to his original views of society if the Inspector happens to be a fraud.
Sybil Birling is her husband’s social superior as she comes from a higher class than Mr Birling. Mrs Birling is ignorant and prejudiced throughout the play as she hears and witnesses the confessions of her fellow table members. She completely believes that she had no part to play in the death of Eva Smith. Her lack of understanding about how people live is shown in the snobbish comments about a “girl of that sort”. She judges and makes snide comments about her family’s poor attempt to settle the matter of Eva’s death, and refuses to blame her position in society for the reason she refused to help Eva.
When the Inspector questions her, she remains unmoved and even goes to the extent of refusing to recognise the photograph shown. After telling her story of neglect and disregard for the pregnant woman, she still believes that she has no responsibility for Eva’s suicide, she feels insulted that a woman of a low class should use her name, “she’d impertinently made use of our name, though she pretended afterwards it just happened to be the first she thought of.” Mrs Birling completely misses the Inspector’s point choosing instead to focus on Eva’s behaviour.
Mrs Birling´s ignorance extends to blaming the entire death of Eva Smith of the father of the child – “I blame the young man. He should be made an example of. If the girl’s death is due to anybody, it’s due to him.” Unbeknownst to her, the father of the child, is her own child. When she finally realises this she shows signs of weakening. The speed at which she recovers after the Inspector’s departure really shows her complete and utter ignorance of what has happened, and how the Inspector has not affected any of her views of herself and position in society.
When Eric first hears about the death of a girl, Eva Smith, he is undeniable shocked as he responds “Oh, God.” Like Sheila, Eric feels immediate sympathy for Eva for the way she was sacked by Birling, and unlike his father can see how his father’s high status in life contributed to Eva’s death. After his mother’s confession and opinions, Eric enters the room shaken and distraught. He has to confess he has a stronger sense of guilt than the others, because his actions were so much worse than everyone else’s. He condemns his mother and accuses her of killing both the girl and his child and is uncouth towards his father, this increases each time he drinks.
For Mr Birling this is the most disturbing part of the play, in which he learns that his own son is shown to be a thief, a drunkard and is responsible for fathering Eva’s child. When he learns of all this he exclaims, “you damned fool-why didn’t you come to me when you found yourself in this mess?” Eric’s reply indicates that Mr Birling and he were never close and that Mr Birling is not very considerate towards others especially anyone lower than him. It explains how Mr Birling is disgusted that Eric has disgraced the family and could have ruined his place in society.
Even though, Eric is selfish and thoughtless, he is impressed by the Inspector’s message and has been greatly affected by it. He wants his parents to admit their mistakes as freely as he admits his. Eric has learnt a lesson, he is earnestly ashamed of his behaviour and he is capable of changing for the better, thanks to the Inspector. Eric, like Sheila, acknowledges his responsibilities for causing Eva’s suicide and owing to the dealings of the Inspector can see everything at a personal level showing less of a divide between the classes.
Mrs Birling like both Mr Birling and Mr Croft do not accept responsibility for their actions because they believe they have not done anything wrong. The desire to remain unaffected about the events is clear.
The tension remains as the two generations (younger and older) confirm the differences as suggested by the Inspector. Sheila is disgusted at the way her mother, father and ex-fiancé are happy to forget all as the Inspector is soon find to be a fraud, “so nothing really happened, so there’s nothing to be sorry for, nothing to earn. We can all go on behaving just as we did. Eric is the only other who has been affected by the Inspector like Sheila, they are the younger generation and are both sorry for their faults, and are very likely to change their view of themselves thereby reducing the divide between lower and upper class people, as they realise how the both abused their position in society. Mr Birling and Mr Croft represent Priestley’s criticism for businessmen who are only interested in making money and social climbing. Mr and Mrs Birling and Croft will never alter their ways even after the Inspector has exposed their true natures. However Priestley does convey a sense of hope for the younger generation who learn from their mistakes and challenge society’s class divide because of the Inspectors dealings.
