Mr. Birling and Gerald share the same views in society, profit being there number one priority. Gerald thinks he can buy his way through Sheila’s marriage, throughout the play; Gerald uses his money and authority to solve his problems,
“Gerald: (smiling) well perhaps this will help to stop it. (He produces a ring case.)
Sheila: (excited) Oh – Gerald – you’ve got it – …”(Act 1)
Gerald assumes that everything could be brought with money, including love. He displays this during his interaction with Daisy Renton when he offered her a place to stay, “ I insisted on Daisy moving into these rooms and I made her take some money” He also uses money to remove off his guilt as he gave Daisy some money before she left as “a parting gift” and “to see her through to the end of the year” Contradicting to his speech, he actually uses money to make himself feel better as if he had done a poor girl a favor and donated the money. However during her stay, Daisy did have a very pleasant time and it improved her life for the better, so it is wrong to say Gerald only has been using her for his sexual needs. During her stay, Gerald must have treated her well and therefore made her fall in love with him.
Sheila is naïve and has child-like qualities to blindly fall for Gerald’s cunning tactics. She is more concerned about the ring then what’s happening to her relationship with Gerald, making the relationship to fall apart as they later realize in the play that they did not know each other as well as they thought and the only way to continue the relationship was to restart and express themselves truly towards one another, so they could overcome difficult problems that may arise in their future.
Gerald’s lack of commitment and Infidelity is exposed when he unsuccessfully attempts to disguise his connection with the deceased girl but his efforts make the exposure more unpleasant. Gerald consequently tries to protect Sheila from knowing, however Sheila knew this was coming. Sheila in fact new even before the inspectors entrance:
“Sheila: …never came near me, and I wondered what had happened to you.”(Act 1) showing their unsteady relationship as they are not yet certain of each other and each one has not been able to make themselves trustworthy to their counterpart as their relationship has been dominated with lies.
After Gerald’s confession she realized why Gerald was so distant, due to his affair with the young lady, Daisy Renton.
In the opening of the play he compliments and agrees with every speech made by Mr. and Mrs. Birling as an attempt to deceive them of his true personality. His true self disgusts the Birlings as they hear about his relationship with Daisy Renton, as Mrs. Birling expresses her feelings, “ It’s disgusting to me.” His opening speeches were very short and brief as he needs to ensure he does not confess anything that might interfere the marriage. He later speaks lengthily and with prose, and also his true manners begin to show as he starts describing the molesting by Joe, “half drunk and goggle eyed, hard wedged her into a corner with that obscene fat carcass of his”
Even though he seems very irresponsible in his relationship he does take some responsibility of the consequences as he admits and apologizes his wrong doings, “I’m sorry Sheila”. As he confesses he now has learnt how to take care of his own doings and has learnt from his mistake. He is ready to move on and feels that his feeling for Sheila was true and that he could commit to her.
In Act three, it illustrates Gerald’s awareness and intelligence. He is a very perceptive man and refuses to accept the truth and reality of the situation. He takes complete charge of the situation and is assertive. After he makes a phone-call to the Infirmary Mr. Birling states:
“ Mr. Birling: There you are! Proof positive. The whole story’s just a lot of moonshine. Nothing but an elaborate sell.”(Act 3)
Gerald then smiles and takes a drink conveying his happiness and contentment, as he wins back Mr. Birling’s high opinion and respect. Mr. Birling is impressed ‘on how he handled the situation’. His relief is also coming through strongly:
“Gerald: (smiling) thanks, I think I could just do with one now”(Act 3)
It is apparent that Gerald and Mr. Birling is going back to their old ways and is pretending that nothing happened. They don’t seem to have changed their ways so this can mean that they would do what they have done previously again. The reason why Mr. Birling and Gerald agree so much is because they both come from similar if not identical backgrounds, as they both are upper class. Additionally Gerald continuously seems to take sides with Mr. and Mrs. Birling.
He is oblivious to the consequences of his actions and is only concerned with whether Eva Smith is dead or not:
“Gerald: …How do we know if the girl killed herself today?”(Act 3)
If Eva Smith is dead then it will look very bad in the public eye. He only cares whether Eva smith is dead or not for Mr. Birling’sake, to make him feel content. He like Mr. Birling has a very superficial and narrow outlook towards life. The only care about there public appeal and profits. Though, you can’t blame them, as they don’t know any better and that’s the way they have been raised.
Overall, Gerald is generally a good man, however since he has grown up in a high class he has difficulty in expressing his true feelings. Gerald treats women with respect but his treatment of Sheila is questionable, if he loved her why did he cheat on her and lie to her and then try and cover it up whether what happened was a genuine mistake or not. The message the inspector was trying to get across is primarily about the theme responsibility. Moreover, you are not alone in the world so if you want people to care about you, you have to care about them. However, Gerald failed to realize this, as soon as he realized the inspector was a fake. Though this might not be the case because Gerald is a very good liar. He is always on “show”, impressing Mr. and Mrs. Birling and taking their side. So Gerald’s character is very complex and his true personality doesn’t come through clearly.
