Furthermore, much of the play’s success was reliant upon the dramatic irony which Priestley creates. We see this in Mr Birling’s flamboyant expression of his faith in technology, claiming that the Titanic was ‘absolutely unsinkable’. Just like the audience who first saw the play in 1946, we identify that he is mistaken, and so we assume that other views are equally wrong. Mr Birling fired Eva Smith from her job at the factory. However, he claims ‘I can’t accept any responsibility’ for her suicide. The audience are likely to disagree with his statement as a consequence of his earlier foolishness. Therefore Priestley has successfully used dramatic irony to manipulate to audience’s opinion of this character.
Sheila is also shown to have played a part in the death of Eva Smith. It is reveals that she ‘had her turned out of a job’. This suggests that she, unlike her parents, is willing to accept some responsibility for the girl’s death. Priestley has shown different morals between the younger and older generation of this family. Mr and Mrs Birling, alongside Gerald, are quick to accept the idea of a trick, which reduces the seriousness of the admissions they have made. Contrastingly, Shelia and Eric feel guilty for their actions; the Inspectors final monologue left a lasting impression on them both, perhaps making them more mature. The young generation realise that they will suffer ‘in fire and blood and anguish’ for what they have done. However, their parents are left ‘trying not to face the facts’.
Gerald is perhaps the only character that really cared for Eva Smith. The other characters acted out of greed, anger, jealously, lust or pride. Whereas it can be argued that Gerald was motivated by sympathy and then genuine attraction. He ‘insisted on Daisy moving into those rooms’, but didn’t ‘ask for anything in return’. This shows a caring and sensitive side to Gerald’s personality. However, the Inspector suggests Gerald still holds some of the blame for the girl’s death, because he asked her to leave as soon as he no longer wanted her.
Priestley presents Eric as ‘half shy, half assertive’ character. It can be argued that he played the most significant role in her death because he was the father of her child. However, in a comparable way to Shelia, Eric has realised the consequences to his and his family’s actions. He articulates ‘it’s what we all did to her that matters’. This demonstrates his growing maturity, it appears that he has become a more moral person as a result of the events that have transpired.
In my opinion, the Birling family and Gerald Croft share an equal amount of responsibility for Eva Smith’s death. As the Inspectors phrases it; ‘a chain of events’, ending in a tragic suicide of an innocent girl. Priestley is trying to put a moral message across to his audience; we a responsible for all the ‘Eva Smiths’ and ‘John Smiths’ out there. He claims that if we do not accept this, we will suffer ‘in fire and blood and anguish’. This could be a reference to World War One, which transpired shortly after this play was set. To conclude, the family were all equally guilty of a moral crime, and from writing this play Priestley aims to prevent us repeating their mistake.
