There appears to be links between the Inspector and the supernatural, he appears to have some supernatural connotations, his very name suggests this:
Inspector – page 16
The fact that this will sound to the audience like ‘ghoul’ (meaning ghostly specter) means that they immediately wonder about his origins; the characters on stage may not necessarily pick up on this, especially as he clearly spelt his name out for them, to avoid confusion perhaps. The obvious pun on Inspector Goole’s name could portray him as some kind of spirit, sent on behalf of the dead girl to torment the consciences of the characters in the play. Alternatively, he could be some sort of cosmic policeman conducting an inquiry as a preliminary to the day of judgement, or simply as a forewarning of things to come. It seemed that J. B priestly did not want to give away the Inspectors true identity, to have revealed his identity as a hoaxer or as some kind of sprit would have spoilt the tension that makes the play so effective.
There is an air of menace about the Inspector, he is there for a particular reason, and intimidates the other characters.
Stage directions – page 11
- He speaks carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking.
He speaks carefully so that nothing is misunderstood, so he fits in with the upper class and middle class people. He is there to give them all a vitally important message and it can not be confused, he speaks with a sense of authority and his disconcerting habit is very intimidating. If he does not behave in this way, he may not be taken as seriously and so his message will not be noticed.
On the stage, the Inspector must appear real, at first there must be no mistake in his identity, these stage directions ensure this.
Stage directions – page 11
- Creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.
He seems to fill the whole stage, the characters may not notice him at first, but the audiences certainly do! It is very important that he appears to be real as questions may be asked about his identity and existence before he leaves. He has a job to do, he is there for a purpose, and it is not a social call!
The Inspector questions each of the Birlings and Gerald Croft individually and in very different ways. Not necessarily in the way an Inspector would traditionally ask questions relating to a suicide.
Inspector – page 12
- One person and one line of enquiry at a time.
He wants to be in control of the enquiry. If everyone is talking at once, key details may be missed out. The Inspector changes his style of questioning depending on who he is talking to.
Inspector (to Sheila) page 23
This is an open question, which requires a detailed answer; the Inspector only uses open questions on Sheila, Eric and Gerald because they are easier to get information out of. He has to use closed questions for Mr. and Mrs. Birling.
Inspector (to Mr. Birling)
- I think you remember Eva Smith now, don’t you?
Mr. Birling must answer yes or no to this question, there is no other way around it.
Mrs. Birling is even more difficult to question.
Inspector and Mrs. Birling page 46
- Inspector ‘and what did she reply to that?’
- Mrs. Birling ‘ oh- a lot of silly nonsense!’
- Inspector ‘ what was it?’
- Mrs. Birling ‘ whatever it was, I know it made me finally…’
Mrs. Birling does not give the Inspector a straight answer, she almost ignores his questions, and this makes the Inspector angry because she is only making it worse for herself. Sheila can also see this and tries to warn her mother, but she does not listen. The Inspector is trying to make the characters acknowledge some responsibility for Eva’s suicide, and to show some conscience or regret. But, like her husband, Mrs. Birling is not accepting any responsibility for her death. The Inspector is certain of his facts; the other characters question these facts only after he has left. Whilst the Inspector is present, nobody challenges his version of events.
The Inspector shows a photograph – supposedly of Eva Smith to Mr. Birling, Sheila, and Mrs. Birling. He does not need to show Eric or Gerald the photo because they recognize her name – Eva Smith. Questions are asked about the photograph, does he show the same one? It seems a coincidence that each member of the household has met the same girl in quite different situations. Perhaps it was a devious plan made by the Inspector to make each character face up to the fact that they need to find the courage to judge themselves: only then will they have learned enough to be able to change.
Almost at once Sheila, Eric, and Gerald admit that they knew Eva Smith, or as she was also known, Daisy Renton. The Inspector knows that the younger ones are more impressionable, and that they will learn that they have done wrong.
I think that it is most important for Sheila, Gerald and Eric to acknowledge their responsibility and to change, so that they will go on to teach other people that ‘a man looking after himself and his own’ is not necessarily right.
The Inspector in this play has several functions, he acts as ‘the story teller’ linking the separate incidents together, he supplies dates and small details to fill in the background. He most probably already knows all of the details that the Birlings have to share with each other, but he persuades them to reveal things that they would rather were not known. Another function is to encourage the characters to accept some responsibility for the poor girl’s death.
In conclusion, the role of the Inspector in this play does not appear to be ordinary. While a normal Inspector would be there to establish the facts pointing to the perpetrator of a crime, the Inspector in this play is there to give the message that a man simply ‘looking after himself and his own’ is the wrong attitude in the post war world.
In short, he wants to invoke a social conscience in the post war era, where people would look after each other, and think about how their actions can effect other people. The Inspector acts as J.B Priestley’s mouthpiece; he disagrees with the class system, and wants change.