As the inspector explains, this started her bad luck Arthur takes no responsibility ‘nothing whatever to do with the wretched girl’s suicide’ as it was two years ago.
Arthur now believes, or at least hopes that the inquiry is now over and the inspector has all the information that he came for. He gets quite cross with the questions and when he stays, Arthur loses his temper. Gerald sticks up for him but the inspector has already begun a divide between Arthur and his son Eric.
Sheila enters the room, is told the story and takes Eric’s opinion that it’s a terrible shame that she took her life and that she is an actual human being with real thoughts and feelings ‘I think it was a mean thing to do’.
Slowly and sneakily though she is dragged into the situation by the visitor, explaining where Eva had worked, getting a reaction from Sheila ’Milwards! We go their’ as she is a customer there (Milwards).
He describes what had happened, which automatically reveals a nervousness inside Sheila when she begins to ask more questions. Like the last time he calmly shows only her a picture of the girl and this upsets Sheila, who runs off and in the stage instructions it tells us that the inspector stares hard after her-this to send a sense of fright or suspicion into the audience.
The inspector cleverly presents himself as not being totally knowledgeable of the whole Eva Smith story. He also stirs up the family as much as possible often referring to the poor, dead girl ‘It’s too late. She’s dead’ this would help to get the audience on his side as J.B Priestley would want.
The inspector is still very protective of the photographs. He becomes quite heavy handed and tells them how he shall not treat them differently just because of their class. The family is not used to this.
Sheila comes back in hoping that what she had done has not resulted in any great harm to Eva but is told that it did, then reassuming that the girl’s death is now all her fault but again set straight by the inspector, telling her that she was only partly to blame.
It is then explained to the audience and rest of family what happened, and this shows the power the higher classes have against the lower classes, and how that a small thing to one person can greatly effect another.
The inspector tries to make them feel as guilty as possible.
He then tells them that after this she changed her name to Daisy Renton getting a surprised reaction from Gerald.
Sheila and Gerald then have a dialogue about Daisy Renton explaining to the audience briefly of his involvement before another confrontation.
Act Two
The inspector begins to talk to them and agitate a little until they begin to argue. He stands back and listens until crashing in to take charge again, letting the audience know that he never loses power and yet again reminding them why he was there. ‘(massively taking charge) Allow me, Miss Birling’
By this time Sheila is very distressed and acting strange. She is easily the most worried and effected by the inspectors visit.
After a bit off distress he manages to calm the situation before Mrs Birling meets him for the first time. Sheila automatically warns her mother of the inspectors intelligence and how to answer his question. They argue about this for a while until Gerald comes back in.
They begin to talk about Eric and his mother seems to have a better opinion of him than everyone else (showing her ignorance), so the inspector is even stirring up very close relationships.
Then Arthur enters. Quickly getting quite frustrated by the inspectors line of enquiry when he wants to see Eric, who is not available, so instead continues with asking Gerald questions about the Daisy Renton story. He already knows that Gerald has something to do with her from his original reaction to her name being mentioned and previous knowledge.
He explains his relationship with Daisy but finding it quite difficult in front of his fiancé (Sheila).Most of the family believe that she should not be involved in this situation any longer but she insists that she stays.
He still, with everyone there explains how she was a ‘woman of the town’ again showing the way the richer manage to take advantage of the poorer. He told of how he ‘helped’ her because she had little money. This conversation continues but not much more detail comes out until he tells her that he has the information he needs
The inspector doesn’t say to much for a while letting the family get themselves in to a disagreement only stepping in to ask the odd question.
After some arguing he asks Mrs Birling a line of enquiry which begins further disagreement between them and Arthur also joins in getting more frustrated with the inspector. Sheila takes the inspectors point of view. Mrs Birling is very pompous regarding the answers that she gives the inspector. Even after a long discussion she cannot that disregarding and rejecting a request for help by her and her ‘charity’ was wrong, and that there was nothing wrong with her prejudice and tries to calm the whole, uncomfortable situation down. She blames the girl herself and the Father of the girls son for her death for being so irresponsible.
Sheila suddenly realises that this young man Mrs Birling has been making derogatory remarks about is actually her own brother and shortly afterward Mrs Birling realises this. The whole family goes into a great, frantic panic.
The inspector by this time has been through the whole family minus Eric, who played the biggest role in the death, Sheila and Gerald reflect on their mistakes and feel sorry for this young woman. He has affected the younger generation the most making them take notice of the power that they have and how carefully they should use it.
Act three
Eric enters at the end of act 2. The shock and look of disgust on everybody’s face as he walks in, makes him systematically realise that they know about what he has done.
There is a bit of squabbling but the inspector doesn’t stand for it anymore as he now can finish his inspection. He begins to ask Eric questions and with each he answers a new terrible secret is let out, the family, getting more and more angry at his unbelievable actions.
They find out that he has stolen money and spent it on drink, other frivolous activities and the girl, there is much shouting.
After all the information is gathered the final story is put together for everyone present.
The Inspector now has some final, very powerful speeches to the family and the audiences benefit.
‘each of you helped to kill her………Remember what you did’ and how not to use their power irresponsibly. He tells them of their selfishness, greed, lack of thoughtfulness, prejudice, and little understanding of the less advantaged. He continues many times telling them to remember, and his final, most powerful words summing up the whole situation, act as a threat to the audience that if the world does not realise its wrongs that ‘they will be taught it in fire blood and anguish’ he then leaves for everyone to reflect.
This moment is the pinnacle of the play, using the inspector to send J.B Priestley’s main message and warning across to all viewers. He uses it very well and this should make everybody think about the morel of the play, but it is not the end as the inspector slams the door shut.
The whole room burst out in argument of blame until Sheila suddenly finds suspicion in the inspector’s authenticity. They think about this idea for a while and the more they ponder and talk, it becomes more and more obvious to them that he was not an actual inspector.
Gerald comes back and they explain to him what they have discovered. He confirms their suspicions as while he was out he asked a sergeant he knew about an inspector Goole and he said that he did not know of one. This is then confirmed by a phone call they make.
Again they begin to argue about whether this discovery makes much of a difference. Later one comes up with the idea that possibly they were not all involved in Eva and that it was maybe different individual girls and that they had been shown different pictures, again fooled by the visitor. Sheila though reminds them that they still had all done those terrible things.
The decision is made to phone the infirmary to ask about any death of the kind that had been described. It is discovered that there has not. Everyone now seems much happier except Eric and Sheila,
still the most affected.
Just as things begin to settle down the phone rings. It is the police, a girl has died of a similar death to ‘Eva’ and an inspector is coming around to ask some questions.
The curtain falls.
Conclusion
I think that the influence of inspector Goole (ghoul) is very powerful for the audience and the family in the play. He is very idealistic with extreme threats to the social state as it stands at that time. He is a tool to help J.B Priestley express his thoughts on this important and everlasting subject.
The inspector, in many ways acts as a conscience in the family, possibly making up for the little that they have.
I believe that this play would have been effective in educating the audience, to realise some of the injustices that must stop and therefore, I think the play ‘An Inspector Calls’ has carried out its job, with the inspector being the best instrument to carry out this difficult task and is also workable in this day and age.
