What is the Function of the Inspector in ‘An Inspector Calls’?

As a policeman, the Inspector, straight away takes charge of the situation. The Inspector uses his 'massiveness' to keep on top of the investigation. He straightaway questions Birling, now we see the inspector in his role as a police officer easily, he goes straight to the point. As you can see the Inspector never lets the Birlings know anymore than is necessary. He is always watching the other members of the family to assess their reactions and he even sometimes uses it against them:

'Naturally that was one of the things that prejudiced me................You admit to being prejudiced against her case?' The Inspector always thinks carefully about what he is going to say and to whom he will say it to. You also notice that he repeats the information many times adding some more information each time he says it:

'Two hours ago a woman died in the infirmary. She'd been taken there this afternoon, because, she'd swallowed some strong disinfectant.' He says it again before questioning Sheila this time telling Sheila that Eva worked at Milwards and was sacked after a customer made a complaint and he does the same with Gerald and Mrs Birling and Eric. The Inspector fails quite miserably in terms of provoking Mr Birling's conscience:

'Community and all that nonsense... A man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own', even though this was said before the Inspector arrived it is clear that Birling still believes this after the Inspector had left. Mr Birling is vaguely remorseful and accommodating as the story develops.

When Sheila enters the room she is told about the death of Eva Smith and about what his father had done. Sheila, like Eric, had been very distressed about the way Eva had died. Sheila, unlike her father, accepts responsibility for what she had done. The Inspector is used here as Priestley's mouthpiece:

'A nice little promising life there I thought and a nasty mess somebody's made of it. This supports Priestley's views in saying that, it is everybody's responsibility and that it has to be somebody's fault. The Inspector shows that he is a good inspector answering questions short and sharp:

'All in good time'. The inspector is successful in provoking Sheila's conscience, because she feels remorse and is accepting responsibility:

'So I'm really responsible'. Sheila seems to take the inspector's words directly onboard and appears changed by this ordeal. The Inspector does not let Sheila take all the blame and easy on her: 'if you're easy with me I'm easy with you'. Sheila is intelligent and independent. Right from the beginning of the Inspectors story she expresses sadness, regret and interest in Eva's story. She is the first to admit to 'killing' the girl and is genuinely remorseful.

The inspector again repeats the information but this time he mentions that Eva had changed her name to Daisy Renton.

Lies are a major part of this play; they are not simply confined to simple misrepresentation of the truth as Mrs does:

'No. Why should I?' some of the characters find out that their entire lives up to that point were a lie and they must start over again.

Gerald gives himself away straight after the Inspector had said that Eva had changed her name. Gerald attempts to deny ever knowing Daisy or Eva, at first he is eager not to be questioned. Gerald seems not to be so worried about telling his story but telling it in Sheila's presence is what made him worried. The supposed romantic love between Sheila and Gerald is just one of the types of love shown in the play. There is the husband and wife love that love of Mr and Mrs Birling and the phoney love of parents to their children. Priestley seems to invite us to examine these expressions of love and make up our own minds how true they are.

By this time Sheila realises that the Inspector is strange and knows that he will find out the truth even if:'you build a wall between us and this girl Eva'. Sheila watches the Inspector 'dubiously and wonderingly' and attempts to warn her mother of what in store for her. Sheila seems surprised when her mother fails to realise her wrongdoing. The Birlings think that their social status is very important and Mr and Mrs Birling try to use it to intimidate the Inspector:

'That- I consider- is a trifle impertinent inspector'. Mrs Birling does not listen to the Inspector's words and does not want to take responsibility:

'In the circumstances I think I was justified.' The Inspector does not have much of an effect, if any, on Mrs Birling. It's ironic that Mrs Birling is condemning her son without even realising it.

When Eric returns he, like Sheila, is already showing deep signs of remorse:

'You know don't you?' Even though Eric has admitted to it, his father and mother still try to cover up Eric's part in it. Eric is spoilt, moody and irresponsible young-man but he too seems to take the inspectors lesson to heart. Eric tells his story truthfully without lies; he appears to be truly ashamed of his actions. Before the Inspector leaves again he is used, as Priestley's mouthpiece but still has no effect on Mr and Mrs Birling. It is ironic that Mr Birling is shouting at the other saying that he is ashamed of them but it is he, in fact that should be ashamed of himself.

More than anything else the play shows that pride should not come before the well being of others or taking responsibility, especially the false pride of some of the characters. It is shown that characters can reach an honest relationship with each other and indeed, themselves only by abandoning their false pride. Mr and Mrs Birling are so unwilling to let go of the "false pride" so much so that they cannot see past it.

Even though Gerald has the least to be guilty about he appears to bear no guilt whatsoever for betraying Sheila. Mr Birling is still willing for his daughter's "business deal" marriage to go ahead. It seems, in this play at least, that the younger generation can deal with problems, learn from then and move on, whereas the older generation are too set in their ways to change.

Priestley makes the three roles the Inspector very clear. Priestley made sure we knew that the Inspector was three-dimensional. Firstly as a police inspector, he used good techniques, knew his facts and got the information he wanted. Then as the manifestation of the character's conscience where he tried to provoke a reaction of remorse, he was not completely successful in doing this. Finally as Priestley mouthpiece, Priestley used the Inspector well in this form and was used quite often to get the point across. The important points about Priestley's views is that he believed that business men should not make profit at the expense of others. Priestley also believed that the younger generation are willing to change:

'Between us we drove that girl to commit suicide'. Although the Inspector looses his patience once he I portrayed as a very good policeman and is used very well to tell the story and to express the themes of the play. Gerald seems to bridge the gap between the two generations of Birlings in terms of the way he deals with the event. On the one hand he seems to be moved and saddened by the news about his ex-girlfriend and seemed somewhat remorseful. But this guilt seems to evaporate when the Inspector leaves and he goes about deducing how he might have pulled the wool over their eyes.

In conclusion the Inspector fills his three roles in five ways: The way he speaks with huge moral authority, cutting short, interrupting and challenging people He controls the situation throughout; The Inspector is not afraid to contradict and be rude to his social superior; The Inspectors omniscience, he seems to already know all the about the family's involvement. He claims he read from a diary but we know this could not account for the extent of his knowledge; He delivers a strange almost religious or biblical speech, which is not the job of a policeman: His whole appearance seems to be a precursor to another questioning session.

By Eric Nyero-West