This is a very effective piece of theatre and is a dramatic moment in the play. The doorbell is described as ‘sharp’. This is significant as the Inspector is going to puncture Birling’s philosophy.
The doorbell interrupts the speech. It is the ominous Inspector Goole. The Inspector enters and tells the family about the death of a young woman. Birling primarily reacts with confusion. He is then shown a photograph of the dead girl, Eva Smith. He immediately recognises her as one of his employees who protested for twenty-five shillings a week. Birling sacked her two years ago and believes that he has no responsibility for her death. The Inspector echoes Mr Birling’s words throughout the play. The Inspector is able to turn the characters words against them and reveal to all the characters their true persona, enabling them to see the others as they really are. The most disturbing part of the play for Birling is the scene in which he learns that his own son is shown to be a thief, a drunkard and is responsible for fathering a 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 was never close to his son
‘Because you're not the kind of chap a man could turn to when he's in trouble'.
Such a response indicates that things aren't going to improve much after the play ends. At the end of the play, his views and attitudes are not altered. He still believes that his actions towards the girl were practical business and he was justified in sacking the girl.
After Mr Birling, Sheila is questioned. She starts off being slightly naïve, asking ‘was it an accident?’ when the Inspector tells her of Eva’s death. Her happiness is soon to be destroyed, as is her faith in her family. She does change nevertheless, she becomes argumentative with her father and sees Gerald in his own light, and in the end she is more mature. She seems to share the Inspector’s views but only when she is forced to have an opinion. At the end of the play however she seems wholeheartedly to agree with the Inspector and he seems to have the greatest impact on her. Perhaps this is because she is the happiest and loses the most. He extracts the truth from her with ease; he simply shows her a photograph. The whole story is told and Sheila regrets her part in it and begins to feel very guilty and remorseful. The Inspector isn’t too harsh on her, and she opens up to him.
Gerald is interrogated next and until then is quiet. He gives himself away when the Inspector mentions the name Daisy Renton, but unlike Sheila he is not willing to talk. The Inspector has to pressurise him into telling the truth. He does though and we find out about his affair. He seems genuinely upset and repentant for his actions towards Daisy Renton. The Inspector’s force and power are demonstrated when he is concentrating on Gerald and his involvement in the girl’s suicide. Even someone of Gerald’s social status feels threatened by the Inspector’s powerful personality, and reveals what he would not under regular circumstances.
‘I want you to understand that I didn’t install her there so that I could make love to her. I made her go to Morgan Terrace because I was sorry for her,’
This shows that Gerald did generally feel sorry for Daisy Renton. Of all the characters Gerald is the only one who showed her any love and affection. He is the only character that felt sorry for her before her suicide. Gerald had an affair with Daisy Renton. This however, is ironic as he showed Daisy love and consideration.
‘I know. Somehow he makes you.’
Sheila shows the Inspector’s hypnotic influence over all the characters. The Inspector has an influential, dominant and authoritative personality. When Gerald admits that he had an affair with Daisy Renton, she is upset but is emotionally strong enough to cope with it and to even to acknowledge that she is impressed by Gerald’s honesty. Her realisation that honesty and truth really matter show that she is capable of learning and changing.
‘That’s probably about the best thing you’ve said tonight. At least it’s honest.’
Gerald is developing as a person because of the pressure and authority of the Inspector. He is becoming honest and is showing compassion, sympathy and sensitivity. However when Gerald moves away from the power and influence of the Inspector he reverts back into a callous and intransigent person.
The Inspector’s powerful influence destroys the affectionate and devoted relationship between Gerald and Sheila.
‘You and I aren’t the same people who sat down to dinner here’
Sheila has become a sensitive person. She recognises that they have both changed and has found out the truth below their reputable and respectable surface. The Inspector has revealed what the characters are really like underneath their burnished appearance. The Inspector drives an emotional wedge between Sheila and Gerald.
J.B Priestley is able to create an image of Daisy Renton clearly in our minds, by the language Gerald uses to describe her character and personality. We learn that Daisy appears to have dignity and does not degrade herself. We get the impression she was very sensitive, considerate and made no demands. We also get the impression that Daisy Renton is a romantic; she does not want to marry Gerald because she knows he does not love her in return. She has principles. It is the Inspector’s questions that build up this positive image of Daisy.
Sheila is not annoyed that the Inspector is questioning the family in the way that Mr Birling is. She feels that the Inspector is not to blame and he is just doing his job. The Inspector manages to gain so much of Sheila’s trust that she too believed the family should be interviewed to help solve the mystery of Eva’s death. This can be seen when Mrs Birling is being questioned. The Inspector is finding it hard to get information out of Mrs Birling, just after the Inspector has shown Mrs Birling a photograph of Eva.
‘You recognise her?’
‘No. Why should I?’
Later in the play the truth comes out that Mrs Birling had met the girl in the photo.
Sheila helps persuade her mother to talk to the Inspector. This makes the audience view Sheila as a morally correct character as she always wants to know the truth and has a strong sense of right and wrong. Sheila uses a metaphor to explain what she believes the Inspector would do if the family hid information from him.
‘You mustn’t try to build up a kind of wall between us and that girl. If you do, then the Inspector will just break it down. And it’ll be all the worse when he does.’
This is a very perceptive and prescient comment from Sheila and shows how she is now sufficiently changed. This is a direct consequence of the Inspector’s visit.
The Inspector seems to have the power to bring out the truth in people, and to make them confess what they have done. Sheila’s outburst is a direct effect of the Inspector’s presence. He has a massive impact on Sheila’s attitude. She is unable to accept her parents’ attitude and is both amazed and concerned that they haven't learned anything from the episode. She learns of her responsibilities to others less fortunate than herself and is sensitive. Her readiness to learn from experience is in great contrast to her parents.
The Inspector is exposing reality to the family beneath their veneer of respectability. In the second act when we realise the significance of what Mrs Birling has said, we have a highly dramatic moment. She was the hardest for the Inspector to crack and find out her involvement and so it is quite exciting for an audience to see her exposed for what she really is. Mrs Birling has a dismissive and condescending attitude towards the Inspector. 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. When the Inspector questions her, in Act II, she remains untouched and even goes to the extent of refusing to recognise the photograph shown. Even after telling her story of neglect and disregard for the pregnant woman, she still believes that she has no responsibility for Eva’s suicide. The audience can clearly see that her refusal to help the expectant mother could have led her to suicide. Mrs Birling´s ignorance goes to the level of blaming the entire death of Eva Smith on the father of the child - “I blame the young man. He should be made an example of. If the girls death is due to anybody, it is due to him.” Unbeknownst to her is that the father of the child is her own child. When she finally realises that she has condemned her own grandchild to death, she shows signs of weakening. The speed at which she recovers after the Inspector’s departure, really shows her complete and utter ignorance at what has happened. Mrs Birling has not accepted responsibility for what she has done because she believes she has not done anything. Her desire to remain unfazed about the circumstances is still strong and her ultimate aim, no doubt, is to reflect the image of respectability. She shows callous disregard for the feelings of other people. This is highly ironic, as she is a chairperson for a charity organisation.
The Inspector shows Mrs Birling at her coldest:
‘…this girl was going to have a baby…’
The Inspector reveals Eva was pregnant. Mrs Birling is the hardest character to break down and has a definite and firm attitude towards Eva. Eva’s pregnancy being revealed builds up to Eric’s role. The Inspector’s shrewd questioning is steering Mrs Birling towards a condemnation of Eric, her own son. The Inspector is not accepting her short simple answers and wants to know the truth. He is pushing at her secretly to condemn her son. The Inspector’s questions become pointed and eventually Mrs Birling condemns Eric.
‘…Inspector holds up hand…’
Everything stops. It is as if the Inspector has a mesmeric effect. The act ends with high drama, suspense and tension.
Priestley deliberately goes out of the sequence in which the characters participated in the suicide of the young girl. This keeps the audience interested and creates a climax.
There is a mood of sustained tension when Eric enters. The Inspector has allowed them to see each other for what they really are. He has exposed them. The Inspector exposes Eric’s drinking. He prevents Eric from turning in to Alderman Meggarty. If the Inspector had not had come Eric would not have changed and would still be a drunkard. Eric is considerate and has drifted away from his father’s and Gerald’s condensing and intransigent attitude. We begin to see a split between the obdurate attitude of Mr Birling and the compassionate attitude of Eric.
Eric is the only character in the play that admits to a crime. All the characters are guilty but none of them have actually committed a crime. They have just done something, which is morally wrong. Eric, however, is found guilty of embezzlement. This is a shock to the audience that it is the only crime which has been committed. J.B. Priestley helps us explore the meaning of wrongdoing.
Birling reacts much more angrily to the fact that Eric stole money from him, than for what he has done to the girl. Mr Birling is more concerned for his material wealth than he is for the girl’s well being. There is an explosive encounter between Mr Birling and Eric. There is no longer a bond between them. The veneer of respectability has gone and there is no false appearance. We are seeing the real Mr Birling and Eric for what they really are. This is a direct result of the Inspector’s visit. Eric is furious with his mother when he finds out what part she has played in Eva’s suicide. He is feeling murderous towards her: she has effectively killed his child. Although he has little respect for Eva his casual attitude towards the relationship shows, saying, “she was a good sport.” Unlike Gerald, Eric offers her marriage but she refuses because of the class difference. Eva knows that Eric does not love her and prepares herself for bringing up the child without a father. Eric offers her stolen money from his father’s office, but when Eva finds out, she refuses to accept anymore. Even though he is selfish and thoughtless, he is impressed by the Inspector’s message. He wants his parents to admit their mistakes as freely as he admitted his. We, as the audience, feel that he has learnt a lesson. He is earnestly ashamed of his behaviour and we believe he is capable of changing for the better. The Inspector unleashes the inner Mr and Mrs Birling and exposes the reality beneath the veneer of respectability. When the Inspector leaves, Sheila is traumatised. She is fully aware of the responsibilities of herself and people around her and will become a better person because of it. She has taken responsibility for her actions and understands that a lesson has to be learnt from the Inspector’s visit. J.B Priestley shows Sheila learning and changing her attitudes and beliefs about people and society, and we feel that her future attitude to others will be more caring, self-controlled and responsible. Gerald did have genuine feelings for Daisy but knowing that she was of a different class, Gerald could not take it any further. The regret for the way he used her was also very indisputable but he does not have the same deep response as Sheila did to the Inspector’s message. After the Inspector‘s final message Eric seems to gain clear understanding of the principle of the community and reminds his parents that ”I‘m ashamed of you as well - both of you’’. He tries to assist Sheila in making the older family members see the lesson that they have been taught, but to no avail. Eric changes from a young man who reluctantly accepts his father’s ideas into one who is able to see that they are totally wrong and is not afraid to criticise them out loud. Gerald is a character whose opinions are difficult to judge, because unlike the other characters he has a motive for stating ideas that are different to what he actually believes. Generally, Gerald attempts to do and say what he hopes Mr and Mrs Birling will agree with and he also attempts to please Sheila, though he is not particularly successful. Gerald comes out of his interview with the Inspector better than any other character, because he did not do anything to Daisy that harmed her in the way that the other characters did. Indeed, had he not been engaged to Sheila his conduct would have been entirely acceptable for a normal relationship. However, the fact that he was means that he is thought of in very low esteem by Sheila and her parents after he tells the details of his affair. When Sheila gives Gerald back the ring in Act 2 he would doubtless have wished to get back in favour with Mr and Mrs Birling. This state of mind means that he appears to finally come out on the side of Birling and he does whatever he can to be supportive towards them. Gerald feels the same as Eric and Sheila, but he cannot afford to agree with them if he wishes to get back in favour with their parents, as this is the only way that he can hope to re-start the engagement with Sheila. This is shown in his systematic destruction of the Inspector‘s story, in which he is constantly prompting Birling to cast doubt on each part of the tale. In the plot of ‘An Inspector Calls’, the characters respond to the message that they are given by the Inspector in different ways. Sheila and Eric fully understand the idea that, as the Inspector says, ”We all live as one body. We don‘t live alone’. Birling and Mrs Birling stubbornly cling to their beliefs and Gerald also comes out on their side, although this could be a result of him trying to impress the elder Birlings.
The Inspector gives a short speech before he leaves and tries to make them think of what they had done to this poor innocent girl, how each and every one of them drove her to her own suicide. Priestley uses this speech and the play to display his and many others of the times political views in a form of his own political message. The message from Priestley is that the individual and the community have responsibilities. That we can all pursue our own self-interests but we have to think about others as well as ourselves.
‘We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish. Good night.’
Kate Andrews
