- An Inspector Calls - J.B. Priestley
An Inspector Calls is set in the Birling household one evening in 1912 and asks the question; just how responsible are we for our actions and the effects that those actions have on the lives of other people? A young woman named Eva Smith has just died after swallowing a large amount of disinfectant and a police inspector, Goole, calls upon the Birling family to investigate their involvement.
The head of the household, Arthur Birling, is a factory owner and former Lord Mayor. Arthur's wife Sybil is rather uptight and adopts an air of superiority. His daughter Sheila, a rather naive young woman, has become engaged to Gerald Croft and is in high spirits. Gerald is the son of Mr Birling's business rival but someone with whom he is keen to establish a partnership with that will be advantageous to both. Mr Birling's son Eric is a lively young man who is good humoured and is established as a prolific drinker, although his parent's treatment of him throughout makes him seem much younger than he actually is. There is a general mood of optimism in this opening scene, which is reflected in Arthur's speech. He betrays an overly optimistic forecast for the next 30 years, predicting a steadily increasing prosperity in a world where the problems of "labour versus capital" are a thing of the past.
Arthur later reveals to Gerald, in private, that he is on the brink of receiving a knighthood. He claims that people are basically alone in the world and must fend for themselves. It is at this point that Inspector Goole descends upon them, announcing the self-inflicted death of Eva Smith. His manner is ominous and he begins questioning each member of family in turn whilst revealing the turns Eva's life took and the events which led to her committing suicide.
Firstly, Goole reveals that Eva was dismissed from Mr Birling's factory, a fact that Mr Birling himself only remembers after Goole's prompting. Eva, despite being regarded as a good worker and a candidate for promotion, was apparently one of a few employees who were leading a strike in order that they may receive a slight pay rise. Mr Birling initially denies any responsibility for his part in Eva's demise.
Goole then turns his attention to Sheila. After being fired by Mr Birling, it is revealed that Eva got a job at Millwood's, a clothes shop that Sybil and Sheila frequent. Sheila was trying on a dress one day and caught a glimpse of Eva smiling at a colleague and later holding the same dress up to herself. Suspecting that Eva was mocking her, she used the leverage of her family's custom to have her fired. Sheila later confessed that she was envious of Eva's looks and thought that she could take care of herself as a result of this. She, unlike her father, shows much remorse and acknowledges her responsibility in Eva's downfall.
Unable to find a steady job, Eva changed her name to Daisy Renton and embarked on "another kind of life" apparently becoming a prostitute. His reaction to Eva's new name gives Gerald away and he is prompted into telling his part by both Inspector Goole and Sheila. Gerald had met Daisy at the Palace Bar, a notorious night-spot in town and escorted her home. She was being harassed by a gentleman familiar to the Birlings, one whom Sybil in particular is shocked to discover was at the Palace Bar. In fact, Sybil seems more shocked by this than by Eva's death. Although Gerald claims that they only talked on that first night, he finds her a place to live after a friend leaves him the keys to some rooms in town. They do ultimately become lovers but the relationship runs its course and Gerald leaves her, Daisy musing in her diary that she may never again be as happy as she was with him. At this point, Sheila gives Gerald back his engagement ring and he leaves the house, promising to return.
Goole continues and turns his attention to Sybil. It is now revealed that Daisy was pregnant when she died. Penniless and pregnant, Daisy went to seek the help of a charitable organisation for women in need, which is coincidentally run by Sybil. She initially lies to Sybil about her situation, calling herself 'Mrs Birling' and claiming that the father of the baby had died. Although she was then honest about her circumstances, Sybil had already taken a disliking to her and rejected her claim for assistance. This is revealed by Goole to be the tipping point for Daisy as she saw no way out of this predicament.
Goole then uses Sybil's moral superiority against her as he goads her into claiming that it is the father of the child who has full responsibility for Eva/Daisy's suicide. At this point Goole reveals to them that Eric is the baby's father. When she returned to her life of prostitution, Daisy became a conquest of Eric after a night of heavy drinking, the implication being that he bullied her into sleeping with him. Eric and Daisy began a predominantly sexual relationship and Daisy became pregnant. She didn't tell Eric and left him after she found out he has been supporting her with money stolen from his father's business. Eric does bear the burden of responsibility but Goole reminds everyone present that they all had a part to play, with Gerald apparently being the only one who had any affection for her at all.
It is also noted that at no point did Eva do any of the others any harm at all, yet cumulatively their actions resulted in the loss of her life. Goole warns them that a lesson must be learned from all this, otherwise they would be taught by "fire and anguish".
Once Goole leaves, Gerald returns and the family begin to muse upon the strangeness of Goole and of the situation as a whole. The elders in particular begin to speculate that Eva Smith/Daisy Renton may not even be one single person, since Goole only showed a photograph to each of them individually. Arthur also suspects that Goole was not a real police inspector at all and telephones the Chief Inspector to confirm this. Gerald also corroborates this after he had asked a policeman about Goole on his earlier walk, the officer having no knowledge of him.
Both Eric and Sheila are extremely upset about the whole situation, they are adamant that the story is real and that no amount of talking around it can absolve the others from guilt. With both Arthur and Sybil now claiming the entire story must be some kind of hoax, Gerald telephones the local infirmary to check whether anyone matching Eva's description have been admitted. Gerald discovers that no young women have been admitted that night, and no suicides have been reported for months. Arthur, Sybil and Gerald all breathe a sigh of relief that they have apparently been had.
However, the telephone rings and Arthur informs the others that just then, a young woman has been admitted to the infirmary after swallowing a large amount of disinfectant, and that an inspector is on his way.
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