After hearing Arthur’s story the inspector goes on telling what Eva did next. He said that she was unemployed for two months until she got a job at a shop called “ Milwards ”. He said that she was happy working at Milwards until she was given the sack due to a customer complaining about her. The inspector then began to question Sheila Birling, Arthur’s daughter. The audience soon realises that Sheila was the customer that had complained because she was jealous that Eva looked better than her in a dress that Sheila liked. I believe that this was one of the main reasons why Eva committed suicide.
Gerald Croft is the next in this “Chain of Events”. When Gerald is first interrogated by the Inspector he seems to be genuinely shocked and feels quite bad: “She was very pretty – soft brown hair and big dark eyes”, “ My God! ” This mitigates his behaviour slightly, as he seems to feel guilty; we know this because his disjointed language shows he is emotional, proving his distress. He could be pretending so that everyone else thinks he feels guilty but I don’t think this is the conclusion Priestley wanted the audience to make. It seems Gerald is in some state of recognition of what has happened but as the play transpires he reverts back to his original state of ignorance: “I’d like to be alone for a while – I’d be glad if you’d let me go”. Significantly he leaves the house, which symbolises his no longer wanting to hear about the truth. He then absolves himself from feelings of responsibility while outside the house. While outside the house he goes to a lot of trouble to establish that the Inspector isn’t real. This shows that he does feel guilty and that he desperately trying to dig himself out of a hole.
I think Sybil Birling was the most responsible for Eva’s death. She doesn’t seem to change at all throughout the play. She is very aware of her social status: “Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things”. At this early stage the audience get a sense of conflict between members of the family. Sybil absolves herself from all responsibility and blames it on other people: “But I accept no blame for it at all”. This clearly portrays her selfish manner. “ I don’t believe it. I won’t believe it “ This encapsulates her character. The verb ‘won’t’ conveys her stubborn attitude.
Eric Birling was also a contributor to Eva’s death. He, like Sheila, feels a sense of moral responsibility by the end of the play: “And I say the girl’s dead and we all helped to kill her – and that’s what matters”. This mitigates Eric’s behaviour as he seems to have learnt a moral lesson. Eric volunteers information: “I stole some money, Gerald, you might as well know. It’s what happened to the girl and what we all did to her that matters”. This might decrease the audience’s sympathy for Eric as he refers to Eva, as “the girl” so she still does not seem to be important to him. On the other hand it might increase your sympathy for Eric as he volunteers information showing he has developed a sense of responsibility.
In conclusion I feel that who is most responsible for Eva Smith’s downfall and subsequent suicide is immaterial and more importantly only Sheila and Eric have reached a point of moral responsibility. Mr and Mrs. Birling and Gerald are still in their original state of ignorance. Perhaps the arrival of the second inspector will change their judgement of Eva and the working class. I think Priestley’s main purpose for writing the play was to raise the moral responsibility of the audience.
