This article focuses on some of the key quotes for Sheila Birling in the play, ‘An Inspector Calls’ along with explanation and analysis of these quotes.
These quotes can be used in exam answers. Some of the larger quotes do not necessarily have to be quoted in full but just the relevant words or sentence which connects to the point being made.
Many of the quotes cover the same themes and points, however this list of quotes is intended as a resource for students and readers of the play so each quote can be used in its own way or for explaining some of the same points as other quotes do. It would be up to the reader to decide which quote he would prefer to use if for instance two different quotes support the same point.
1. Quotes: I should jolly well think not, Gerald, I'd hate you to know all about port – like one of these purple-faced old men.
Analysis: This quote has to be seen in the context of the scene. It could be argued that Mr Birling is trying to impress Gerald by the fact that he (Birling) is drinking the same expensive wine as Gerald’s family in other words he is socially equal to them. This could perhaps stem from Birling’s inferiority complex originating from the fact that he is not from a rich family but a humble family but wants to be accepted by the traditionally rich.
Sheila has no such mentality and rather be impressed by port being an expensive wine and the Birling’s rich enough to have it on their dinner table she disapproves of it. We can already see a generational difference between Sheila and her father and also some class issues too. She also does not want Gerald to be like the older generation of rich men. J.B. Priestley wanted a new, fairer Britain and he hoped the new generation could help realise that including by rejecting some of the values of their parents.
2. Quotes: (half serious
Analysis: In response to Sheila’s comment above Birling says he is not a purple old man and she replies with this quote. She might be saying that contrary to the impression that he might be trying to give Gerald that he is well acquainted with this expensive wine, he in fact is not. In other words there is a degree of artificiality on the part of Birling by pretending to be something he is not by trying to impress Gerald. This is not totally clear from the text or conclusive but is quite possible.
Click on the Link to Read About: Mr Birling Character Analysis
3. Quotes: Yes – except for all last summer, when you never came near me, and I wondered what had happened to you.
Analysis: There is obviously a degree of resentment as well as curiousity on the part of Sheila about Gerald’s absence during that period of time. Ironically part of her may end up wishing she never knew the full reality of what happened, including Gerald’s infidelity to her by having an affair with Eva Smith and also the eventual death of Eva Smith.
4. Quotes: Yes, that's what you say
Analysis: Gerald replies that he had been busy that summer with work, rather than accepting that and saying ‘I see’ for instance, Sheila says semi-playfully that is what Gerald claims implying he may not be telling the truth, which is indeed the case. He is lying and if he a member of the upper class of society is lying then he is a flawed person and not necessarily inherently morally superior to the working class which many in the upper class despised and held in contempt.
5. Quotes: I don't believe I will. (half playful, half serious, to Gerald.) So you be careful.
Analysis: This is said in reply to her mother reproaching Sheila for the comment above and telling Sheila important men will be busy with work and she must get used to that. Sheila says she doesn’t think she will and that is in fact partially true because a few years after the play was set and with the first world war, British women entered the world of work in massive numbers for the first time whilst their men folk were sent to the battlefield.
This comment by Sheila is interesting as it hints to the change in gender-relations which occur during this period and once again the different mentality she has to another of her parents. In the first few lines of the play we can see how Sheila is different to her parents. This represents a possibility for change and a hope for a better, fairer Britain.
6. Quotes: You're squiffy.
Analysis: This comment in itself is nothing of immense significance it is the reaction from her mother and the wider disgust. Mrs Birling is upset and surprised by Sheila using such a word and assumes she picked it up from somewhere. Sheila is subject to influences which lie outside of Mrs Birling’s control. Again this points to a society which is in a state of change with the new generation of the upper class being different to their parents.
7. Quotes: Neither do I. All wrong
Analysis: Sheila agrees with her mother on this point namely that her father should not talk about business during a celebratory family event like this. This is another example of her not being in total agreement with everything her father says.
8. Quotes: What's all this about?
Analysis: Sheila had just entered the room and catches the inspector midway through his speech with a reference to ‘streets’. She asks about what is being discussed to which her father replies that they will be finishing. Rather than just comply with what her father has said she stays. If she had left the room she may have never heard about the sad story of Eva Smith and also her role in it. This is why this quote is important in that things would have been very different if she ignored the inspector and left the room.
9. Quotes: Oh – how horrible! Was it an accident?
Analysis: Her reaction to being told by the inspector that a young woman has died. It is a human reaction. She does not know who the person is or their social class or anything about them but her natural human reaction to hear of the death of a fellow human being is compassion and sadness. There is good in Sheila and others like her from the wealthy elite in society, if that goodness can be drawn out more and used to call for change in society it can make Britain a fairer place. This is what Priestley wants.
10. Quotes: Sorry! It's just that I can't help thinking about this girl – destroying herself so horribly – and I’ve been so happy tonight. Oh I wish you hadn't told me. What was she like? Quite young?
Analysis: Sheila was happy but her happiness has been destroyed by hearing of the sad death of this young woman. She is not indifferent to the suffering of others. On a larger scale the rich in society should not be happy whilst others live and suffer in misery in the same country. Maybe the older members of the upper classes could but not all of the younger members and nor should they. Quote 9 and 10 illustrate Sheila’s humanity and compassion.
11. Quotes: What do you mean by saying that? You talk as if we were responsible--
Analysis: This is her response to saying the ‘girl’s dead though’. The irony is that they , the Birlings’ were all partly responsible for Eva’s sad death. On a larger scale the rich in society can be responsible for the suffering of the poor so have a moral duty to try and ensure a fairer and more just society.
12. Quotes: Why should you? He's finished with you. He says it's one of us now.
Analysis: This is said to her father who says he will go and speak to the inspector privately and end the matter.
If Sheila had been an ultra-compliant daughter never challenging her father she would never have found out the whole horrors of the suffering of Eva Smith and her role and her family’s role in it. She would have stayed ignorant as many as the rich in society were ignorant of the suffering of the poor. This play amongst other things was done to provoke the moral conscience of the rich, to dispel their ignorance
13. Quotes: (warmly) I should think so. It's a rotten shame.
Analysis: Her reply to the inspector speaking of Eva with no money, half-starved and no friends and ‘feeling desperate’ .
Again we see that Sheila unlike her parents does not view the working class with contempt but as fellow human beings like herself worthy of basic dignity.
14. Quotes: But these girls aren't cheap labour – they're people.
Analysis: One of the most important Sheila Birling quotes in the play.
Working class female employees like Eva Smith are not just objects to be utilized for making money and profits, not just ‘cheap labour’, they are human beings, people with all that entails in terms of feelings, emotions, a basic right to respect and dignity.
Priestley wants the capitalist elite to stop viewing their workers purely as tools to be used to make money but as people, human beings.
15. Quotes: I've told my father – he didn't seem to think it amounted to much – but I felt rotten about it at the time and now I feel a lot worse. Did it make much difference to her?
Analysis: Sheila upon being shown the picture of Eva Smith goes in to tears and leaves. She then returns. This quote alludes to her telling her father about getting Eva fired. We see the contrast between her and her father. Her father is in different and essentially does not care but she felt ‘rotten’. There is a generational difference, highlighted once again in this quote where once again we see Sheila’s essential goodness and caring nature.
16. Quotes: So I’m really responsible?
Analysis: Rather than the arrogant statements of her mother who is dismissive of her role in Eva’s demise and a clear feeling that Eva as a member of the working class is inferior, Sheila has none of that. She is more sincere, less entrenched in class snobbery and has a more human attitude. She genuinely asks if she is guilty for Eva’s death.
17. Quotes: I went to the manager at Milwards and I told him that if they didn't get rid of that girl, I’d never go near the place again and I’d persuade mother to close our account with them.
Analysis: Sheila admits to her role in Eva Smith being fired from her job and thus ending up destitute, penniless. She also shows the huge power that the wealthy in society can wield and how abuse of this power can have horrible consequences. Perhaps Priestley is telling wealthier viewers of his play to be aware of their power and not misuse it and even unintentionally cause great harm to others.
18. Quotes: Because I was in a furious temper
Analysis: Sheila went to the manager to get him to fire Eva on what could be called a mere whim. She was angry with a mere smile and destroyed Eva’s life. There is a huge imbalance in power between the rich and poor in society, in addition to the imbalance in actual money. Britain is not quite the completely feudal society of the medieval period but it is quasi-feudal in terms of huge class differences.
19. Quotes: When I was looking at myself in the mirror I caught sight of her smiling at the assistant, and I was furious with her. I'd been in a bad temper anyhow.
Analysis: She by chance saw Eva smiling. Smiling in of itself is not a breach of any job or being rude to a customer. Sheila being in a negative state emotionally may have transferred some of her anger on to Eva by either being unhappy at seeing someone smiling or being paranoid that the smile was indicative of her sneering at Sheila. Regardless of all this it does not warrant someone losing their livelihood and having their life destroyed.
Priestley is showing how much at the mercy of the wealthy elite the working class are. There is a huge power imbalance and this power if abused can even ultimately be fatal.
20. Quotes: No, not really. It was my own fault. (suddenly, to Gerald) All right, Gerald, you needn't look at me like that. At least, I'm trying to tell the truth. I expect you've done things you're ashamed of too.
Analysis: Sheila accepts that it was not Eva’s fault. Eva had done no wrong in smiling. She does react to Gerald and prophetically (but unknowingly as she is not yet aware of Gerald’s affair with Eva) tells him that he too might be ashamed of things that he has done. It is not just Sheila responsible but other members of her family and ultimately in a wider context the wealthier classes of society in general.
21. Quotes: How could I know what would happen afterwards? If she'd been some miserable plain little creature, I don't suppose I’d have done it. But she was very pretty and looked as if she could take care of herself. I couldn't be sorry for her.
Analysis: Sheila says how good Eva looked in the dress that she (Sheila) had wanted to wear, much better than Sheila in comparison. Sheila ended up complaining and now expresses regret for this after hearing it contributed to a series of events leading to Eva’s death. It also shows upper class ignorance of the reality of life for the working class. Sheila assumed because Eva was pretty and relatively healthy she would not be impacted too much by this harsh act. Little did she know what would happen. She, like many of the upper middle class in British society, are completely ignorant of how life is for the working class. This sort of ignorance is what Priestley is seeking to tackle in the play.
22. Quotes: You not only knew her but you knew her very well. Otherwise, you wouldn't look so guilty about it. When did you first get to know her?
Analysis: This continues on from Sheila’s earlier comments about Gerald being largely absent last summer. She knows from Gerald’s reaction he knew Eva well, perhaps she didn’t know how well he knew her in that he and Eva were in a sexual relationship.
23. Quotes: Yes, you did. And if you'd really loved me, you couldn't have said that. You listened to that nice story about me. I got that girl sacked from Milwards. And now you've made up your mind I must obviously be a selfish, vindictive creature.
Analysis: Sheila admits to getting Eva fired from her job and it is clear that what she did is wrong and she feels a great sense of shame. She even feels that her fiancee Gerald will judge her negatively. By accepting this sort of behaviour is wrong implicitly Priestley is telling his audience that the rich must respect the poor and not treat them badly.
24. Quotes: (Distressed) don't please – I know, I know – and I can't stop thinking about it –
Analysis: Sheila has a sense of morality and is very distressed over this. She cannot rest in mental peace over this whole sad tragedy and her role in it. She is partially responsible for this in the same way that the dominant wealthy elite in society are also all partly responsible for the sad state of the working class poor, thus reinforcing Priestley’s message of social responsibility.
25. Quotes: Yes, that's it. And I know I'm to blame – and I'm desperately sorry – but I can't believe – I won't believe – it's simply my fault that in that in the end she – she committed suicide. That would be too horrible –
Analysis: It wasn’t simply Sheila’s fault, but it was the collective fault of her whole family. We cannot separate ourselves from the other members of the same society that we all live in. What happens to others will ultimately impact us. Our actions against others may harm them negatively. Priestley is urging us to move away from a self-centred, classist and individualistic view of society to a more collective, compassionate one.
26. Quotes: we all started like that – so confident, so pleased with ourselves until he began asking us questions.
Analysis: The evening began on a happy note in the relative bubble of the Birling house. However this house is divorced from the reality of the majority of working class Britons at that time. That evening the Birlings get a glimpse of the reality of life for the poor. On a wider note the play also forces those amongst the wealthy in British society to watch to ask themselves questions about their own behaviour, lifestyle, views and how society is functioning in general. The rich need to engage in introspection.
27. Quotes: mother, I couldn't possibly go. Nothing could be worse for me. We've settled all that. I'm staying here until I know why that girl killed herself.
Analysis: Sheila’s morality compels her to stay until she knows why that girl killed herself. Sheila is an honest person not interested in labels, titles and reputation but in the reality of human suffering. If she finds out why the girl killed herself perhaps she can avoid behaviour that would lead to such suffering ever again and even work or campaign against such behaviour. Sheila wants the truth, to be educated about reality rather than stay in a delusional bubble centred around class privilege.
28. Quotes: you mustn't try to build up a kind of wall between us and that girl. If you do, then the inspector will just break it down. And it'll be all the worse when he does.
Analysis: This is Priestley speaking through Sheila to the rich. Do not view the working class poor as another not worthy of trying to be understood. Do not build walls with them but try to understand them, try to understand the reality of the vast majority of your society and the world you live in, otherwise if you do not then the ‘inspector’ who it could be argued is generally representative of ‘life’ , of morality, or being questioned on judgement day will expose things to you ultimately.
It will be worse then because if you try to understand the poor and then help them it is better than if you treat them harshly and then later on find out the cruel consequences of your behaviour. We could even extend this a bit further and say that when reality is revealed than there may be a horrible impact on society. Priestley wrote less than 30 years after the Russian revolution and the removal of the Russian emperor (the Tsar) and the Russian aristocracy. Centuries of Russian feudalism were dismantled, there was no guarantee that if the working class poor in British society were not treated fairly then one day Britain itself could implode. This is not mentioned explicitly in the test but there are some who could draw that interpretation from it.
29. Quotes: I don't know. Perhaps it's because impertinent is such a silly word.
Analysis: ‘Impertinent’ is such a silly word because it implies hierarchy. Sheila has the right to speak down to socially ‘inferior’ people like Eva Smith to whom she admits she was rude to in the shop but they cannot dare reply as equals let alone with the same degree of rudeness for that would be ‘impertinent’. The word impertinent in that play and the wider context of British society implies that certain people can speak to others in a certain way and others cannot speak to others in another way. Those in ‘lower’, ‘inferior’, social positions do not have the right to speak to others in a certain manner. It is based on classism, and is discriminatory and unjust.
30. Quotes: And Eric's one of them.
Analysis: This is said in the context of young men drinking too much. Eric is not immune to this vice. Despite being of a middle class background this does not render him perfect or automatically make him more virtuous or morally superior to others e.g. the working class. Priestley is dispelling upper class notions that they are morally superior. He is showing they are as human as anyone else. We are all humans. We all share on society composed of human beings, rich or poor and as we see in the play our actions impact others.
This quote also alludes to the elder Birling’s arguable failure in raising Eric properly an additional flaw of this upper class family, thus reinforcing the fact that the upper class are not necessarily superior and must also engage in self-scrutiny and introspection.
31. Quotes: I don't want to get poor Eric into trouble. He's probably in enough trouble already. But we really must stop these silly pretences. This isn't the time to pretend that Eric isn't used to drink. He's been steadily drinking too much for the last two years.
Analysis: Priestley is telling the upper class/upper-middle class English that they should not believe they are perfect. They should not engage in ‘silly pretences’. Just as Sheila is aware of the ignorance of her parents about Eric, the upper-class in England should be aware of the reality of their own society.
32. Quotes: yes, of course it is. That's what I meant when I talked about building up a wall that's sure to be knocked flat. It makes it all harder to bear.
Analysis: The truth will ultimately come out in the end sooner or later. Social systems have risen and collapsed. It is better for the British elite to understand the reality of their country than to live in false delusions because ultimately society itself will see these realities. Great empires rose and fall be it the Romans, the Napoleonic empire and countless others but later on in history the reality of many empires and societies was exposed. On a more personal level a rich person in society would sooner or later have to encounter the reality of social injustice, inequality, poverty in Britain and their own direct or indirect role in it. It is better to be aware of it beforehand and try to do something to make things better rather than finding out later.
33. Quotes: No, he's giving us the rope – so that we'll hang ourselves.
Analysis: This is a very interesting quote. On a more surface level it means that the inspector will elicit things from the Birlings that will make them incriminate themselves in their role in the sad demise of Eva Smith, however on a deeper level it can be interpreted as the rich in society causing their own ultimate downfall be it in the form of a social revolution or some other type of upheaval. Remember Priestley was a socialist and though there are many types of socialists some believed or even yearned for a collapse of the existing social order, a revolution and the replacement of the current system with a new, fairer, more egalitarian system.
34. Quotes: well, we didn't think you meant buckingham palace
Analysis:Sheila has become more assertive and slightly sarcastic, contrary to the role of a deferential daughter that her mother and others would like to play. On a wider level this may be representative of the younger generation being more assertive and challenging the ways of their parents and thus making a better Britain.
35. Quotes: nothing would induce me. I want to understand exactly what happens when a man says he's so busy at the works that he can hardly ever find time to come and see the girl he's supposed to be in love with. I wouldn't miss it for worlds--
Analysis: This is said in response to Gerald suggesting to Sheila that she leave the room. Sheila is defiant. Though not quite a mini-revolution of the sort that some leftists in Europe wanted at that time it is still an example of someone who is normally expected to follow certain norms defying them and being more assertive. Sheila clearly states she will stay in the room to find out why her fiancee was so busy last summer.
36. Quotes: but you're forgetting I'm supposed to be engaged to the hero of it. Go on, Gerald. You went down into the bar, which is a favourite haunt of the women of the town.
Analysis: This is said immediately after Mrs Birling say that Sheila shouldn’t hear the sordid details of Gerald’s story to which Sheila replies that she is engaged to the ‘hero’ of this same story. The use of the word ‘hero’ is sarcastic but is clearly intended to show that Gerald (and by extension the upper-class in society in general) are not free from dishonourable behaviour. She is also in some ways more aware of the real world than her mother as we can see her being aware of the bar where men and women of the town frequent to engage in sexual promiscuity.
37. Quotes: and probably between us we killed her.
Analysis: Sheila moves on from the sheer shock and remorse of her role in the death of Eva. She was clearly emotional and shaken before but now we see a calmer and more sarcastic Sheila who in a calmer state of mind is reflecting on the sad reality of the collective responsibility of all the Birling’s in Sheila’s death which on a wider level this represents the responsibility of the wealthy in society for the suffering of the working class poor.
38. Quotes: you wait, mother.
Analysis: Sheila’s mother replies to the statement above by telling her not to speak ‘nonsense’. Sheila does not back down from this and tells her to ‘wait’ meaning that more revelations will come out that evening, which they in fact do, proving her correct that all the Birlings did things that ‘killed’ Eva Smith. Sheila who has a far more accurate and realistic understanding of the true nature of Brumley is of course proven correct. The delusional bubble that her mother and perhaps many of the wealthy upper class in British society live in is a false one. Not only is it a false bubble and view of reality it is one which is liable to causing them harm as with the example of Eva Smith she ends up becoming the mother of Mrs Birling’s grandchild who dies before pregnancy.
39. Quotes: of course we are. But everybody knows about that horrible old Meggarty. A girl I know had to see him at the town hall one afternoon and she only escaped with a torn blouse--
Analysis:This is said immediately after Mrs Birling says that they are learning quite a few things that evening. Sheila affirms that they are but on a deeper level perhaps many in Priestley’s audience would have learnt quite a few things about the reality of British society from watching the play. They are not exposed to such realities and like Mrs Birling are in their own little bubbles.
40. Quotes: of course, mother. It was obvious from the start. Go on, gerald. Don't mind mother
Analysis: This quote again contrasts the ignorance based on false assumptions which are themselves based on a false worldview of Mrs Birling with the more realistic understanding of everything by Sheila. Mrs Birling is stunned that Gerald kept Eva as a mistress, this shock is probably based on a few things such as: 1. Gerald is a good boy from a “good” (rich) family and would not do such a thing. 2. Even if he did he wouldn’t associate himself with let alone have an affair with a ‘lowly’ working class girl like Eva.
The rich are good, the poor are bad and morally inferior and should be kept away from in the mind of Mrs Birling.
Sheila however knows that Gerald is a human being and suspected from the beginning he had been cheating on her with Eva Smith whilst listening to Gerald’s answers to the inspector.
41. Quote: just what I was going to ask!
Analysis: This is said directly after the inspector asks Gerald if he was in love with Eva. Sheila wants to know that not only did he just physically betray her but did he carry out, what is considered by many, the more grievous act of ’emotional betrayal’. Implicit in this is an understanding that despite their class differences what supercedes this is a common humanity which both Gerald and Eva share. There is a chance that Gerald may have fallen in love with Eva. All of this would be unthinkable to Mrs Birling and other rich people in Britain who looked down upon the poor with contempt and could not imagine a wealthy young man even falling in love with a working class girl.
42. Quote: yes, and it was I who had the girl turned out of her job at Milwards. And I'm supposed to be engaged to gerald. And I'm not a child, don't forget. I've a right to know. Were you in love with her, gerlad?
Analysis: Sheila asks once again if Gerald was in love with Sheila. She states that she is not a child. This is important to bear in mind because Sheila is an adult and not only an adult she will be amongst the next generation of parents that are to shape the new Britain which Priestley hoped would be a fairer one. Women such as Sheila should not be quiet deferential little consorts to ‘important husbands’ but were adults, not children with their own personalities, views and contribution to society which had to be recognised and respected.
43. Quote:(with sharp sarcasm) of course not. You were the wonderful fairy prince. You must have adored it, gerald.
Analysis: Again contrary to any false notions of the inherent moral superiority of the wealthy upper class in comparison to the working class, they e.g. Gerald have faults. The ‘it’ which Gerald must have adored according to Sheila is the fact of being looked up to with great respect by Eva as ‘the most important person in her life’. Gerald admits he did but says any man would. He is a man, just like any man including working class man. Common human traits transcend class differences and Priestley is trying to elevate our common qualities as humans over secondary differences based on class. He is trying to make us see the common humanity in us all and thus respect which then leads to a desire for a more egalitarian and just society where all are cared for.
44. Quote: that's probably about the best thing you've said tonight. At least it's honest. Did you go and see her every night?
Analysis: Sheila admires Gerald for his honesty. This is in stark contrast with her mother who is more interested in appearances and reputation. If Eva Smith died what would be more important for Mrs Birling is that the Birlings reputation be maintained and not the truth. However Sheila praises Gerald for being truthful, for this is a night where pretences must be removed and ignorance dispelled. Gerald has admitted that he is an ordinary man, a human being with all the inevitable failings and weaknesses that come with being a human.
Intertwined with this honesty is humility and it is these two key qualities that can help the upper-classes of British to see that they are not perfect, as exemplified by the Birlings, and that they need to change society to make it better. Sheila respects Gerald for being truthful. Priestley is encouraging the audience to engage in truthfullness, introspection and humility out of which could hopefully emerge a resolve to work for a better Britain, a fairer society where there would be less Eva Smiths who would suffer.
45. Quote: (cutting in) I do. And anyhow, we haven't had any details yet.
Analysis: This is in response to Mrs Birling saying she wants to hear no more details of this ‘disgusting affair’. Though Mrs Birling may have ideally wanted Sheila to be a nice, good upper-middle class girl kept safe from the more grimy and gritty realities of life this is not the case.
Perhaps by extension Priestley is telling the upper-middle class in general that there is no guarantee that they can hide the hard realities of British society from their children, that they have to acknowledge this reality and subsequent to this acknowledgement can proceed a desire to change it and make a better Britain.
Sheila does not want to stay ignorant. She wants to know more, more of the reality. In a way she is stronger than her mother who is scared, a cowardly fear of unpleasant truths being unravelled and exposed and shaking her false but convenient of the world. Sheila has no such fear and values truth.
46. Quote: but just in case you forget – or decide not to come back, Gerald, I think you'd better take this with you. (she hands him the ring.)
Analysis: Sheila hands back the ring to end her engagement with Gerald. It has been an emotional roller coaster of a night for Sheila with her world being shaken and rent asunder. First she hears of her role in the death of an innocent and poor young woman, then her being betrayed by the man who she thought loved her, or loved her exclusively. What was meant to be a night of celebration and joy has turned in to a night of pain and horror.
How quickly things change, perhaps Priestley is subtly also alluding to how fickle things can be including for the rich. That they may be on the verge of great joy and fulfilment only for all of it to be destroyed in an instant. Sheila’s engagement is the culmination of years, decades of Mr Birling working hard to provide for his family and Sheila, of being financially successful with the end result that he has achieved a level of respectability that even someone from a traditionally very rich woman considers it respectable to marry in to the Birling family.
However this respectability may be destroyed tonight with it being replaced with shame and scandal. How quickly things change. This potential marriage which may have seen the union of the Birlings with the Crofts is now at risk. This is ultimately due to the cruel treatment of Eva Smith. The poor may be ‘unimportant’ but their mistreatment can result in very painful consequences for the rich.
47. Quote: I don't dislike you as I did half an hour ago, gerald. In fact, in some odd way, I rather respect you more than I've ever done before. I knew anyhow you were lying about those months last year when you hardly came near me. I knew there was something fishy about that time. And now at least you've been honest. And I believe what you told us about the way you helped her at first. Just out of pity. And it was my fault really that she was so desperate when you first met her. But this has made a diffence. You and I aren't the same people who sat down to dinner here. We'd have to start all over again, getting to know each other--
Analysis: Sheila does not totally rule out continuing with Gerald but it would have to be ‘getting them to know each other’ properly.
Sheila again expresses respect for Gerald’s honesty. She, in this short period of time, has grown. She is a different person to the one who first sat down at the dinner. Life is about change and growth, about progress. Despite what Mrs Birling may think no one is perfect and everyone has flaws. Just as individuals have flaws then societies which are collections of individuals have flaws and must also scrutinise themselves, look at their own flaws as a society and seek to make themselves better.
48. Quote: don't interfere, please, father. Gerald knows what I mean, and you apparently don't.
Analysis: Gerald knows better than her father according to Sheila. This is Priestley again showing that Mr Birling, and by extension many in the wealthy capitalist elite and business, are not necessarily more intelligent than the rest of others.
It also again shows the generational differences between the younger Birlings (if we count Gerald as someone possibly marrying in to the Birling family) and the elder Birlings, representative of a perhaps wider generational difference in British society, with the young possibly having more progressive and compassionate views such as the ones Sheila has.
49. Quote: it means that we've no excuse now for putting on airs and that if we've any sense we won't try. Father threw this girl out because she asked for decent wages. I went and pushed her farther out, right into the street, just because I was angry and she was pretty. Gerald set her up as his mistress and then dropped her when it suited him. And now you're pretending you don't recognize her from that photograph. I admit I don't know why you should, but I know jolly well you did in fact recognize her, from the way you looked. And if you're not telling the truth, why should the Inspector apologize? And can't you see, both of you, you're making it worse?
Analysis: Sheila condemns the family and clearly highlights everything that has been revealed so far and this is before Eric and his mother’s role in Eva’s fate is revealed. The Birlings cannot pretend to be so wonderful and put ‘on airs’. On a wider level perhaps this is Priestley telling any wealthier views of his play not to indulge in false delusional values of their own inherent moral superiority to others and supposed flawlessness.
50. Quote: mother, she's just died a horrible death – don't forget.
Analysis: The difference in values and outlook between Sheila and her mother is shown again. Sheila is not happy with her mother’s indifference to Eva’s tragic death and reminds her to understand what has actually happened, a person has died. Sheila is the main voice of morality in the play, alongside the inspector at the end. She may represent others in the wealthy elite of Britain who have a greater sense of compassion and wish for a better Britain.
51. Quote: No, no, please! Not that again. I've imagined it enough already.
Analysis: This is in response to the inspector saying he’d wish everyone would have seen Eva’s body in the infirmary that night. Sheila’s pain and anguish is such she doesn’t want to even think about it. Visualising an image of a real, human being dead rather than some unknown anonymous person only spoken about brings the horror of what has happened even more to life. Despite the potential ending of Sheila’s engagement to Gerald and hearing about his betrayal, Sheila has an inherent kindness to her personality. She does not think ‘oh well good that woman whom Gerald was sleeping with is dead’, she is still very appalled and devastated by this.
52. Quote: No! Oh – horrible – horrible! How could she have wanted to kill herself?
Analysis: This in direct response to the inspector mentioning how Eva was going to have a child. Thus two lives have been lost rather than one. Sheila cannot understand why Eva would do this. She has never lived the sort of life that Eva has lived, there is ignorance and a lack of empathy on the part of many of the rich elite in Britain to the reality of the lives of the working class.
Priestley, it can be argued, is through Sheila’s words trying to get his wealthier views to try and understand Eva’s plight and to have empathy for not just Eva but the poor in general.
53. Quote: thank goodness for that! Though I don't know why I should care now
Analysis: Sheila is told that Gerald was not the father of Eva’s child. She has conflicting feelings and is in a state of confusion and ambivalence, on the one hand she still has feelings for Gerald and is glad he is not the father but then says why should she even care now since obviously they are at this point supposedly not engaged any more.
54. Quote: mother, I think it was cruel and vile.
Analysis: This is directly after the inspector tells Mrs Birling despite her having children herself she slammed the door in Eva’s face. Again we see the generational differences between the younger and older female Birlings. Mrs Birling may care immensely about reputation, image and status but her own daughter is condemning her actions in strong language.
55. Quote: (bitterly) for letting father and me have her chucked out of her jobs!
Analysis: This is said when Mrs Birling says that the person to be blamed first of all is Eva herself. Sheila replies with irony and is upset. She does not try to engage in a defensive mentality which seeks to exonerate her and her family from any blame in order to preserve their reputation and standing, which is what her mother is seeking to do.
Rather she is concerned about truth and basic human morality. She is more real and natural than her mother whose mentality is a product of a classist upbringing which creates ways of thinking that people are not born with but develop, ideas of social separation, discriminatory attitudes and false hubris and arrogance.
55. Quote: (bitterly) for letting father and me have her chucked out of her jobs!
Analysis: This is said when Mrs Birling says that the person to be blamed first of all is Eva herself. Sheila replies with irony and is upset. She does not try to engage in a defensive mentality which seeks to exonerate her and her family from any blame in order to preserve their reputation and standing, which is what her mother is seeking to do.
Rather she is concerned about truth and basic human morality. She is more real and natural than her mother whose mentality is a product of a classist upbringing which creates ways of thinking that people are not born with but develop, ideas of social separation, discriminatory attitudes and false hubris and arrogance.
56. Quote: Of course he does. I told you he did.
Analysis: As part of Mrs Birling’s ignorant and false world, the delusional bubble that she lives in that is devoid of many truths, she cannot believe that Eric drinks and Sheila then says that of course he does. Sheila is used by Priestley to highlight the flaws of the Birlings which include her harsh behaviour towards Eva, her father’s firing of Eva, Gerald’s affair with Eva and Eric’s alcohol problems.
This is in stark contrast to the conservative Mrs Birling who thinks or would love to think that her family are all free of any great faults. In some ways Mrs Birling’s mental world comes crushing down this evening but the reality is her family are full of flaws, and so thus by extension are the upper class in general for they too are human just like their fellow human beings in the working class, who are not a different breed of creature or another species but fellow humans like them who have two eyes, two hands and who have feelings.
57. Quote: No, that's not fair, Eric. I could have told her months ago, but of course I didn't. I only told her tonight because I knew everything was coming out – it was simply bound to come out tonight – so I thought she might as well know in advance. Don't forget – I've already been though it.
Analysis: Sheila is honourable. She does not highlight Eric’s alcoholic problems and heavy drinking to make him look bad but because she felt since it was inevitable that everything was going to be revealed tonight (which is what happens) she might as well say it but in the interests of truth, for the sake of everyone to understand the whole reality and she herself refers to her having ‘been though it’ i.e. her faults exposed and her admitting her own errors and shortcomings.
58. Quote: I know. I had her turned out of a job. I started it.
Analysis: This quote needs to be seen in conjunction with quote no 57. This further proves that Sheila telling her mother of Eric’s drinking is not out of a childish desire to ‘get him in trouble’ but out of a want to see truth coming out, the whole truth, including the truth of Sheila’s role in this. The inspector accuses Eric of using Eva for sexual pleasure ‘as if she was an animal’. Sheila says straight after this that she was the one who ‘started’ Eva’s demise. She does not turn on Eric and attack him but switches the focus back on to her own role in all of this. She is after the truth. She is saddened by this and most likely she believes that by everyone discovering the truth something good can come out of it e.g. avoiding future mistakes, avoiding someone else suffering in the same way as Eva.
59. Quote: That's the worst of it.
Analysis: The inspector says that the Birlings cannot say sorry to Eva. For Sheila that is the worst aspect of this entire tragedy. There is no way to lessen any harm, no way to make any amends, no way to apologise. Eva is no longer with us. Perhaps then the only thing that Sheila and others can do to make any good come out of this is to find out the truth and ensure that such a horrible, sad tragedy like this never happens again.
60. Quote: I behaved badly too. I know I did I'm ashamed of it. But now you're beginning all over again to pretend that nothing much has happened
Analysis: Sheila feels that some of the shock is lessening and that people seem to be reverting to their usual mentality and not taking this seriously. She highlights her own blame and is ashamed and wants everyone else to be ashamed but is worried that they are not. The last thing that Priestley would want is for his audience to watch the play , be momentarily shocked by it but then soon after revert to their usual ways of thinking.
61. Quote: But that's not what I'm talking about. I don't care about that. The point is, you don't seem to have learnt anything.
Analysis: Eva can’t be apologised to (see quote 59), she won’t be returning back to life but at least the Birlings could learn something from this. Not only the Birlings but those among the upper-middle classes watching Priestley’s play. This is said in response to her father saying that he does take all of this seriously but in the sense that he will suffer more than anyone else.
Sheila is not concerned at this moment with her father but it is the tragedy of Eva Smith that takes priority. Sheila is not self-centred and thinking of only her family and its reputation but of a fellow human being and human dignity and morality in general. She is a far more noble person than her father, a wealthy industrialist. Priestley is thus again undermining the capitalist elite in society through portraying Mr Birling negatively.
62. Quote: It doesn't much matter now, of course – but was he really a police inspector?
Analysis: This is an interesting part of the play. Priestley plays around subtly with the idea of the supernatural. We are never told explicitly that inspector Goole is a ghost or some sort of paranormal being. He is however mysterious. Sheila knows that the inspector knows everything that has happened but she doesn’t think he is a police inspector. This adds to the element of mystery and enigma around inspector Goole.
It also suggests that despite all of our best efforts that there are other things beyond the normal reality of cause and effect that will catch up with us, that may expose our crimes, and if we take this even further possibly punish us. Goole represents these forces that lie outside the normal material world of cause and effect. Thus we need to be careful to be weary of these elements and of course of our actions.
63. Quote: No, it doesn't.
Analysis: Mr Birling says if he isn’t an inspector it changes everything and makes a huge difference. He is thinking in terms of punishment from the authorities and the possible destruction of his reputation.
For Sheila these are not important, everything is the same, in the sense that a human being died. The death of a poor young mother is a reality, a sad reality regardless if Goole is a real inspector or not.
Sheila prioritises human suffering and human welfare over reputation and status.
64. Quote: Well, it doesn't to me. And it oughtn't to you, either.
Analysis: Sheila stands her ground against her father who is angry at her for suggesting that whether the inspector is a real police inspector or not is irrelevant. Her value system, morality is different to that of her father and the irony it is a child telling the one who raised them on how to think, on what moral values to have. Again an example of the inter-generational differences present in the play and with it the hope for a better Britain with the new generation to come.
65. Quote: (flaring up) I'm not being. If you want to know, it's you two who are being childish – trying not to face the facts.
Analysis: Sheila’s mother tells her to stop being childish and Sheila reacts. The truth is that she is indeed the more mature one.
The elder Birlings prioritise things such as business profits (Mr Birling does), status, reputation, image and the suffering of a human being is either secondary or even irrelevant. These little labels such as the various ‘titles’ and ‘positions’ Mr Birling has had are small, petty things in the grander scheme of things, in the greater context of human suffering, of human happiness and a fairer society. Sheila is more noble, a bigger person but also more of an adult than either her parents.
66. Quote: I'm going anyhow in a minute or two. But don't you see, if all that's come out tonight is true, then it doesn't much matter who it was who made us confess. And it was true, wasn't it? You turned the girl out of one job, and I had her turned out of another. Gerald kept her – at a time when he was supposed to be too busy to see me. Eric – well, we know what Eric did. And mother hardened her hearth and gave her the final push that finished her. That's what's important – and not whether a man is a police inspector ot not.
Analysis: Priestley is using Sheila is the voice of morality, a figure of hope for a better Britain with her more moral and humane attitudes. Priestley is saying, through Sheila, that rather than the rich focusing on whether they will get caught or not for any harsh behaviour towards the poor, they should look inside, to their inner self, their inner morality and reflect, and if required have a sense of shame and guilt.
67. Quote: That's what I mean, Eric. But if it's any comfort to you – and it wasn't to me – I have an idea – and I had it all alone vaguely – that there was something curious about him. He never seemed like an ordinary police inspector
Analysis: Sheila’s intuition is that Goole is not really a police inspector, see quote no. 62 on this. Goole is in fact not a police inspector and Priestley does not make it clear who he is. He goes as vanishes, mysteriously. He is unknown to the police themselves.
Who really is he? This is a mystery that Priestley left unanswered and for the audience to wonder about. He could be viewed as some sort of supernatural being or even a spiritual being and ominously allude to the potential that spiritual powers can expose the behaviour of the rich in the long run or can even punish them.
68. Quote: Oh – Mother!
Analysis: Sheila says the inspector made the family ‘confess’, implying wrong doing on their part. Mrs Birling in her rigid classist arrogance and set deep in her ways rejects this and says she had done her duty as far as Eva was concerned.
Sheila is frustrated by this, this stone cold hearted, stubborn rigidity. Despite all her pleas to the Birlings’ conscience her parents are unmoved. A very sad thing and a critique of the wealthy elite in the form of the elder Birlings by Priestley.
69. Quote: (bitterly) I suppose we're all nice people now.
Analysis: This is said in response to Mr Birling saying Goole not being a real inspector makes all the difference.
Sheila is concerned about the reality regardless of external factors such as the police, authorities but the real, deeper, fundamental world of right and wrong and not of ‘well we be caught and shamed publicly or not?’. The latter mentality is borne out of a self-centred desire to remain safe and to preserve status and image. Sheila does not care about such things. For her a mother and her child died. See quotes 63, 64 and 65
70. Quote: You see, Gerald, you haven't to know the rest of our crimes and idiocies.
Analysis: Again Priestley using Sheila to say the Birlings and thus the upper-middle class are not perfect, that they too have their share of ‘crimes and idiocies’. They are not any less or any more human than their working class counterparts.
The discriminatory classist attitude of social apartheid and prejudice prevalent at the time made some of the rich see the poor not quite as ‘sub-human’ but definitely not on the ‘same level’ of humanity as them. Priestley seeks to tear this apart and show ‘look, we are all people, we all have good and bad, mistakes, be we rich or poor’.
70. Quote: You see, Gerald, you haven't to know the rest of our crimes and idiocies.
Analysis: Again Priestley using Sheila to say the Birlings and thus the upper-middle class are not perfect, that they too have their share of ‘crimes and idiocies’. They are not any less or any more human than their working class counterparts.
The discriminatory classist attitude of social apartheid and prejudice prevalent at the time made some of the rich see the poor not quite as ‘sub-human’ but definitely not on the ‘same level’ of humanity as them. Priestley seeks to tear this apart and show ‘look, we are all people, we all have good and bad, mistakes, be we rich or poor’.
71. Quote: (eagerly) That's just what I feel, Eric. And it's what they don't seem to understand.
Analysis: This is said to Eric who is upset by what he sees as his parents indifference to Eva’s death. Again inter-generational differences and both of the younger Birlings being far better people than their parents, so thus a hope for a better future.
72. Quote: And Eric's absolutely right. And it's the best thing any one of us has said tonight and it makes me feel a bit less ashamed of us. You're just beginning to pretend all over again.
Analysis: Eric says the same as Sheila, it matters whether the inspector is real or not, what matters is a young woman died. This has been covered in the quotes above.
Also the parents do not understand and it seems do not want to understand. This lack of understanding is borne out of ignorance and also the values being disseminated amongst the upper classes at that time which inhibit interaction between the rich and poor and thus perpetuate class hierarchy and the attendant inequality and discrimination that come along with it. Priestley wants people to understand. Sometimes to understand, people need to be shocked, to be stunned and this is what he hopes the play would achieve in its own small way, but he is aware that like the elder Birlings some may not care and seek to maintain the unfair, classist, capitalist society of Britain at that time.
73. Quote: But that won't bring Eva Smith back to life, will it?
Analysis: Mr Birling tells Eric he has to stay to account for the money he has stolen, Sheila is saying that is not the real issue here. The real issue is Eva’s death. Money can return, can come back, Eva won’t.
Human life, human dignity take priority over money. Caring for others takes priority over greedy self-interest or in the eyes of Priestley and other leftists, a more egalitarian Socialist system which seeks to care for all is superior to a selfish capitalist one which perpetuates inequality and poverty.
74. Quote: Well, he inspected us all right. And don't let's start dodging and pretending now. Between us we drove that girl to commit suicide.
Analysis: Again, whether he was a real inspector or not is secondary or irrelevant to Sheila. She assigns collective blame on all the Birlings for Eva’s death.
75. Quote: So nothing really happened. So there's nothing to be sorry for, nothing to learn. We can all go on behaving just as we did.
Analysis: Priestley is being ironic, through Sheila, here and highlighting the possibility and dangers of not reflecting on tragedies such as Eva. There would have been wealthy industrialists like Mr Birling who could care very little if one of their former workers like Eva died but people in general should be better than that and learn from this and change their ways, and that is Priestley’s fundamental goal in ‘An Inspector Calls’ to shock his audience, expose horrible realities, disgust people and make them decide in their own way to work towards a fairer, better more just and kinder society.
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‘Want to pass your GCSE English exam? Want to get a 9? Want to get ready for the exam and for all questions related to ‘An Inspector Calls’
then click on these links below, read them and ask questions in the comments sections!’