Sheila Birling, the daughter of Arthur Birling and fiancee of Gerald Croft understands the effect she had on Eva. One day whilst Sheila was at Milwards a very nice shop, Sheila was experimenting with some hats and she new very well that they didn’t suit her much so she asked Miss Francis to show her how they should be worn. Miss Francis asked Eva to put it on and show Sheila how they should be worn. Eva was a very pretty girl and the hat looked beautiful on her so at this point I think that Sheila might have been a bit jealous of Eva. When Sheila was trying the hat on in the mirror it looked quite ridiculous and in the reflection she noticed Eva Smith laughing at her. Sheila was furious and was very rude to Miss Francis and Eva. Sheila went straight to the manager and complained that Eva was being very disrespectful and wanted her fired. She also complained, that if Eva was working in the shop then next time she came in to buy clothes she would walk out immediately and never shop there again, and tell her Mother to close her account with you.
It seems a pathetic reason for Eva to be fired, but customers and clients are always right. I think that Sheila was jealous of Eva and to show off her power she got her sacked from her last decent job. All these incidents are adding up and must be very painful for Eva.
Gerald Croft was the fiancee of Sheila and had a large contribution to Eva Smith’s death. He had an affair with her and then just abandoned her when he felt like it. This all started when he saw her one night at the Stalls bar in the Palace Theatre. A fat man was harassing Eva, so Gerald started talking to her and found out that she was starved, jobless, penniless and homeless. He insisted that she should stay at his flat in the city because he is never there. Gerald lived in the country and only used the flat when he was in the city. Eva didn’t want to feel that she was under any obligation by living at the flat, but Gerald insisted and in the end she did stay there. After a few weeks Gerald kept popping round to see how she was getting on and things progressed to Eva being his Mistress and Gerald became the love of Eva’s life. Eva loved Gerald very much but knew that things would come to an end soon because they were both from very different classes. Gerald didn’t feel the same as Eva as she quotes “ If she ever found out that Gerald didn’t love her, her heart would be broken “
Gerald eventually ended the relationship but this was no surprise to Eva because she new this day would come soon. Eva didn’t want to live at his apartment know more as there was no relationship so she moved to the seaside to try and sort her emotions out.
I don’t think that Gerald had a great part to do with Eva Smith’s path to suicide because there relationship had to end one day and even though it is very upsetting for her, she knew it would happen soon enough. The only bad role Gerald plays in this is that he had been unfaithful to Sheila Birling.
Mrs Birling is mother of Sheila and Eric and the wife of Mr Birling. She is a very strict snob who only cares about herself. At first Mrs Birling gives the impression out that she had nothing to do with Eva Smith’s death and had never heard of her.
The Inspector proves her wrong as he shows her a photo of Eva.
Mrs Birling is a member of “Brumley Women’s Charity Organisation”. This charity helps women who have problems and need help.
Eva Smith went to this organisation for help and when she arrived Mrs Birling spoke to her about her troubles and asked her for her name. Eva replied “ My name is Mrs Birling” Eva didn’t realise that it was Mrs Birling who was helping her. Mrs Birling was furious with this and refused to help Eva. Mrs Birling thought that Eva was being very cheeky. Now that Eva was gone, Mrs Birling still didn’t take any responsibility for her death.
Eric Birling is the last person to be interrogated by the Inspector and we instantly know that he is the father of Eva Smith’s child. He is a drunken, misunderstood youngster who really is not seen by his parents as much. Erica also had a fling with Eva but admits it wasn’t love or anything serious. Eric tried to help the girl as much as possible but she refused to marry him, claiming that she didn’t love him. Eric wanted to help her as much as possible so he offered her money stolen from his Dad’s safe. He said that he would pay is Father back in time. Eva knew that it was stolen so she refused to take it. Now she had no husband or job and she was due to have a baby soon enough. I think that this was the last straw in her life.
The mystery of the Inspector was never revealed and I think that this was why I liked the story so much. It is what keeps the play alive, you never know what’s going to happen next it always keeps you on your guard. But all the characters are realistic and believable. The inspectors goal was to make all of the characters feel guilty of what has happened and he did it very well. The question that will stay on people’s mind is was the inspector real or did he have different photos for each different character? This is what keeps the Fire burning in the story. We will ever know?