An Inspector Calls Key Quotations

Role of women/Womens rights

At this time women couldnt vote.
Mr Birling uses women as cheap labour: We were paying the usual
rates and if they didnt like those rates, they could go and work
somewhere else.
Sheila however, views these women as individuals rather than a
group: But these girls arent cheap labour theyre people
As Eva Smith is the only character that is part of the lower class we
see that she is used in many ways: Gerald sees her as a mistress
who could be discarded at will, he only saw her as young and fresh
and charming.
When poor girls couldnt find a job they only had one option and that
was to become a prostitute: she stopped being Eva Smith, looking
for a job, and became Daisy Renton, with other ideas. Those ideas
would be to become a women of the town.
At the Palace Variety Theatre, both Gerald and Eric use Eva for sex.
The husband was usually chosen for benefit of the family, Sheila
marrying Gerald is getting Mr Birling thinking about how perhaps we
may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer
competing but are working together.
We can guess that the role of a woman in those times would have
been to get married, we are told about Erics public-school-andVarsity life but it never talks about Sheila going to school or doing
any sort of work.
Mrs Birling doesnt believe that a girl of that sort would ever refuse
money she must see the lower class as beggars that would take
money from anywhere or anyone.
We are not told much about Edna but we can tell she is a women of
lower class that is working in an upper class family, a job like that
would have been lucky in that time; she respects her bosses calling
them Sir and Maam.

 Because Eva was a woman - in the days before women were valued
by society and had not yet been awarded the right to vote - she was
in an even worse position than a lower class man. Mrs. Birling
describes Eva as: A girl of that sort Her charitable committee was a
sham: a small amount of money was given to a small amount of
women, hardly scratching the surface of the problem. She couldnt
believe that: a girl of that sort would ever refuse money.
Even upper class women had few choices. For most, the best they
could hope for was to impress a rich man and marry well - which
could explain why Sheila spent so long in Milwards. Id persuade
mother to close our account with them [if Eva isnt fired] proves she
goes there a lot.
For working class women, a job was crucial. There was no social
security at that time, so without a job they had no money. There were
very few options open to women in that situation: many saw no
alternative but to turn to prostitution. Women of the town
Mr. Birling is dismissive of the several hundred women in his factory:
We were paying the usual rates and if they didn't like those rates,
they could go and work somewhere else. He also describes his
workers as: cheap labour.
Gerald saw Eva as young and fresh and charming - in other words,
someone vulnerable he could amuse himself by helping.

THE THEME OF WORK

Work is important to each character and plays a vital part in the story
Mr Birling uses his position in his job to
Sheilas part in the death of Eva Smith is highly based around work. It
was the real steady job she had. Work was very important to her and
once she lost this job she went off the rails. When she lost it- for no
reason that she could discover- she decided she might as well try

another type of life. This implies that work was so important to her that
once she lost one job she had no other option. But why did she have no
other option? Maybe she couldnt get another job because of the power
behind getting a good reference from a previous employer. This also shows
the hierarchy of work in those days- if you didnt have a job, you literally
had nothing.

Character: Sheila Birling

She is described at the start as a pretty girl in her early twenties,

very pleased with life and rather excited.
Sheila shows her compassion immediately towards the workers when
she hears of her father's treatment of Eva Smith: But these girls
aren't cheap labour - they're people.
She feels full of guilt for her jealous actions towards Eva and blames
herself as really responsible.
She is very perceptive. She is the first to realize Erics part in the
chain of events. Also, she says to the Inspector: I don't understand
about you. She is the first to question whether the Inspector is real or
not towards the end of the play.
Sheila is curious. She genuinely wants to know about Gerald's part in
the story. It's interesting that she is not angry with him when she
hears about the affair: she says that she respects his honesty. She is
becoming more mature.
Moreover, she is angry with her parents in Act 3 for trying to pretend
that nothing much has happened. She says It frightens me the way
you talk: She is feeling against her parents for their selfish and
immature manner.
Towards the end of the play Sheila changes from a selfish girl who
gets Eva fired to a mature woman who understands her
responsibilities and is more aware of the working class world: we are
all to blame

 At the start she is described as a pretty girl in her early twenties, very
pleased with life and rather excited.
Even though she is engaged to Gerald, she still has her suspicions
from the start: except for all last summer, when you never came near
me and even though Gerald insists that he was working she replies
with: thats what you say.
Sheila blames herself instantly when she finds out the horrific story:
so Im really responsible?
When describing to the Inspector why she got Eva Smith fired she
admits that she was jealous of her: And it just suited her. Even
though she accepts some responsibility she is still selfish: I feel now
I can never go there again even though she is a regular customer.
She realises very quickly that Gerald has something to do with this
chain of event: You gave yourself away as soon as he mentioned her
other name.
She also understands the Inspectors little game fairly quickly: you
havent finished asking questions have you?
She tries to look out for her mum, advising not to do the same things
theyve done so far: youre beginning all wrong.
She is interested to listen to Geralds part of the story, youre
forgetting Im supposed to be engaged to the hero of it making the
situation humorous, which might be to make herself feel better.
As the play goes on she is the first to accept collective responsibility
between us we killed her.
Sheila matures during the play, this whole suicide story has
completely changed her: You and I arent the same people who sat
down to dinner here.
She is also the first to realise that Eric is the father of the unborn
child, begs her mum to stop so she doesnt embarrass herself:
Mother stop stop!
She gets angry at her parents: The point is, you dont seem to have
learnt anything it is as if she has become a parent trying to teach her
kids a valuable lesson. She says to her parents: its you two who are
being childish which is ironic.
She is the first to spot out suspicions about the Inspector not being a
real one: Is that when the Inspector came, just after father said that?
When Gerald comes back she describes how the Inspector was
frightening which is a sign she is looking for comfort.

 She tries to defend what the Inspector has said when her parents
think its all fine because he isnt real: He inspected us all right []
Between us we drove that girl to commit suicide.
At the end of the play it is as if she is the Inspector repeating his
exact words Fire and blood and anguish, he has had a huge impact
on her.
Gerald quotes:
He is described as an attractive chap about thirty, rather too manly to
be a dandy but very much the easy well-bred man-about-town.
Youre just the kind of son in law I always wanted- Mr Birling sees
Gerald as being like himself- a determined business man; Mr Birling
sees the engagement as bringing the two businesses together.
Were respectable citizens and not criminals- This is an obvious
reference to class. Gerald is so sure of himself at the beginning,
when first talking to the inspector, that he makes such a bold
statement. In this Priestley is showing us how before the wars and
the less segregated classes, the higher classes were so sure of
themselves and that no one had the right to question this.
Why stay when youll hate it?- Gerald says this as he knows that
eventually, the Inspector will force him to reveal everything about him
and Daisy Renton to the family and Sheila, who already has figured
some things about them
He did have some genuine feeling for Daisy Renton, however: he is
very moved when he hears of her death. He tells Inspector Goole that
he arranged for her to live in his friend's flat because I was sorry for
her; she became his mistress because She was young and pretty
and warm-hearted - and intensely grateful.
Im rather more upset by this business that I probably appear to beGerald hides his feelings like an English gentleman is expected to do.
Deep down he is greatly saddened by the girls death and has a
strong feeling of responsibility.

Context/setting quotes:
Priestley deliberately set his play in 1912 because the date represented an
era when all was very different from the time he was writing. In 1912, class
and gender boundaries seemed to ensure that nothing would change. Yet
by 1945, most of those class and gender divisions had changed. Priestley
wanted to make the most of these changes.
Youre squiffy- colloquial language used in 1912; Sheila to Eric
telling him that he is drunk.
A friend of mine went over this new liner last week - the Titanic - she
sails next week - forty-six thousand eight hundred tons - forty-six
thousand eight hundred tons - New York in five days - and every
luxury - and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.- dramatic irony Mr
Birling to family; now in 2014 we know that it sank after 3 days after
hitting an iceberg.
The Germans dont want war- shows that the play was set before
the First World War; makes Mr Birling look foolish as there was war 6
years later
Eric Birling Quotations
~Act 1~
"Eric is in his early twenties, not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive."
"Eric suddenly guffaws. His parents look at him."
"Sheila You're squiffy / Eric I'm not."
"Sheila Don't be an ass, Eric."
"([Sheila] kisses Gerald hastily ) / Eric Steady the Buffs!"
"Eric What about war?"
"(Takes decanter and helps himself ) Mother says I musn't stay long. But I
don't think it matters."

"(Eagerly) Yes, I remember - (But he checks himself ) / Birling Well, what

do you remember? / Eric (Confused ) Nothing." - foreshadowing/ mystery
"Eric Somebody's at the front door. "
"Eric Yes, you've piled it on a bit tonight, father. "
"Eric (defiantly)"
"[Inspector ] Burnt her inside out, of course. / Eric (involuntarily ) My God!"
- only one to react out of Mr Birling, Gerald and himself.
Showing a difference of opinions - "[Birling] It's a free country, I told them. /
Eric It isn't if you can't go and work somewhere else."
[Later...] "Gerald You couldn't have done anything else. / Eric He could. He
could've kept her on instead of throwing her out."
[Later...] " Eric I'd have let her stay. / Birling ... it's about time you learnt to
face a few responsibilities. That's something this public-school-and-Varsity
life you've had doesn't seem to teach you." - Also giving background
knowledge.
~Act 2~
"We hear the front door slam again"
"Birling .. he was in one of his excitable queer moods"
"Eric enters, looking extremely pale and distressed. He meets their
inquiring stares"
~Act 3~
"Eric (bitterly ) You haven't made it any easier for me, have you, Mother?"
(Sheila reveals she told their mother about his drinking,) "Eric You told her.
Why, you little sneak!" "Sheila ... I could've told her months ago..."
"Eric (miserably ) Could I have a drink first?"

"Eric goes for whiskey. His whole manner of handling the decanter and
then the drink shows his familiarity with quick heavy drinking"
"Inspector When did you first meet this girl? / Eric One night last
November"
"Eric ...she was pretty and a good sport"
"Eric I intended to pay it back / Birling We've heard that story before" suggesting a past of him borrowing money/being in debt to his father.
"Eric You're not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble"
"Birling ...you've been spoilt"
(He blames his mother for Eva's death, just as she blamed him:) "you killed
her - and the child she'd have had too - my child - your own grandchild you killed them both - damn you"
"Birling Why you hysterical young fool"
"Eric I'm ashamed of you as well - both of you."
"Eric You told us that a man had to make his own way... that we weren't to
take any notice of these cranks... and then one of those cranks walked in...
I didn't notice you told him that it's every man for himself"
"Eric He was our police inspector alright"
"Eric (sulking )"
"Eric Whoever that chap was, the fact remains that I did what I did. And
mother did what she did. And the rest of you did what you did to her."
"Eric We all did her in alright"

The Inspector
He establishes they each did something cruel or unkind to Eva Smith/Daisy
Renton.
He takes control of the situation, and while being polite, refuses to let
anyone else be superior to himself.
His leaving speech is an impassioned speech about social justice.
There are various possibilities of who or what the Inspector represents
including Priestley and God.
He has the biggest impact on Sheila and Eric, the least on Mr and Mrs
Birling and Gerald lies in between.
A man of 'massiveness, solidity and purposefulness'.
The inspector is an imposing figure who will dominate the play and will
achieve his aims.
'One person and one line of enquiry at a time. Otherwise there's a muddle.'
He wants to do things his way and he likes to do things in an orderly way.
They allows J.B. Priestley to build the play as a 'chain of events'.
'It's my duty to ask questions.'
He takes his responsibilities seriously and shows the others that they
haven't done so.
'He never seemed like an ordinary police inspector.'
The word 'ordinary' could mean 'usual' or it could mean that he was
somehow 'extraordinary', more than human.
Its better to ask for the earth than to take it.

The Inspectors lesson to Mr Birling is that at least Eva Smith only asked for
a rise. Mr Birling just takes all of his money without asking anyone.
You were annoyed with yourself and passed the annoyance onto her.
The Inspector knows why Sheila did what she did to Eva Smith.
One Eva Smith has gone but there are millions of Eva Smiths all
intertwined with our lives if men will not learn that lesson, then they will
be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.
Eva Smith
-never seen in the stage play
-described as being pretty. a pretty, lively sort of girl, who never did
anybody any harm
-belongs to the working class, Mr Birling says that she is country-bred
Death timeline
1) Eva Smith approaches Mr Birling for a salary raise
they wanted the rates raised so that they could average about
twenty-five shillings a week
2) Arthur Birling sacks Eva Smith from Birling and Co. At the end of
September, nineteen ten she was one of my employees then I
discharged her
3) Eva Smith fired from the dress shop. By Sheila I told the manager at
Milwards that if they didnt get rid of the girl that, Id never go near
that place again
4) Daisy Renton gets dumped by Gerald I broke it off completely
5) Eric finds out his mother refused to help her, whilst she had their
child. You killed her and the child shed have had too my child your
mother refused that help
6) Shes dead. A girl has just died on her way to the Infirmary after
swallowing some strong disinfectant

INSPECTOR CALLS
THE THEME OF WORK
Work is important to each character and plays a vital part in the story
Mr Birling uses his position in his job to make a girl redundant. He is overly
obsessed with the power that his work gives him. He tells Eric Unless you
brighten your ideas youll never be in a position to let anybody stay or
to tell anybody to go He also believes that one day he can combine with
the Croft family, which also represents the theme of class and how
business only happens between the same classes. Perhaps we may look
forward to a time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing
but are working together It is, however, the women like Eva Smith, who
actually work there, while he sits idly and refuses to pay them more than
any other company. They were averaging about twenty two and six,
which was neither more nor less than is paid generally in our
industry. He is greedy for money, and will not give in.
Similarly to Mrs Birling, Eric and Sheila dont seem to work. Sheila spends
her time shopping in Millwards, whilst Eric lives Varsity lifestyle.
Sheilas part in the death of Eva Smith is highly based around work. It
was the real steady job she had. Work was very important to her and
once she lost this job she went off the rails. When she lost it- for no
reason that she could discover- she decided she might as well try
another type of life. This implies that work was so important to her that
once she lost one job she had no other option. But why did she have no
other option? Maybe she couldnt get another job because of the power
behind getting a good reference from a previous employer (Mr Birling). This
also shows the hierarchy of work in those days- if you didnt have a job, you
literally had nothing.
Mrs Birling, despite not having a job, still has some power in the chair of
Brumley Womens association, a status which she uses promote her own
upper class values; hence not helping women like Eva smith. First she
presented herself as Mrs Birling this shows that she disliked her from

the start. Her repetition of the word impertinence makes her seem
pretentious and like she is above everyone else, although Eva, has actually
worked for a living and made an effort.
The only people in the play who seem to actually do work are Eva Smith
and the Inspector. Putting this into perspective with the context of the play
(the war years), it was not uncommon for women to work in this time
period. A good worker too. Despite showing the working conditions for
lower classes and also Evas desperation that she ended up working for
him. Eva links to the theme of gender and represents the independent
women who emerged to take the roles and jobs of the men who went to
fight in the war.
The inspector, works harder than anyone else in the play as it is his duty to
work towards finding the truth.

Responsibility/Duty

'I consider I did my duty'

'I consider it your duty'
'To do my duty'
'Go and look for the father of the child. It's his responsibility'
'and now you're pretending you don't recognise her'
'She feels responsible'
'Cheap labour'
'It's my duty to ask questions'
'It's my duty to keep labour costs down'
'One Eva Smith has gone - but there are millions and millions and
millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their
lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness,
all intertwined with our lives, and what we think and say and do.'
'And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn
that lesson, when they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish
'Brumleys women's charity organisation'
'Each of you helped to kill her'

 'Between us we killed her'

'Still, I can't accept any responsibility'

Mr Birling
'Heavy looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties but rather
provincial in his speech'
'I speak as a hard headed businessman, who has to take risks and
know what he's about'
'It's exactly the same port your father gets'
'The Germans don't want war'
'Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable'
'She had to go of course'
'Cheap labour'
'A man has to make his own way'
'The whole story's just a lot of moonshine'
'Feels like you might have done better for yourself socially'
'Public-school-and-varsity-life'
'I've got to cover this up as soon as I can'
'You're not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble'
'Still, I can't accept any responsibility'
'But take my word for it, you youngsters - and I've learnt in the good
hard school of experience - that a man has to mind his own business
and look after himself and his own'

Time in An Inspector Calls

Time is an important theme in the play An Inspectors Calls. At the end of the
play, you wonder whether the actions has taken place in the characters mind, or

whether its a premonition, something that could be avoided if there were time
to make changes in the casual chain of events unraveled by the Inspectors
presence.
The play is set in 1912, before WW1 and the Titanic. BUT it is written in 1945.
Its very ironic because as a modern reader, we are aware of the facts such as
the eruption of WW1 and the sinking of the Titanic.
The Titanic, she sails next weekabsolutely unsinkable by using dramatic
irony here, it made the speaker Mr. Birling seems foolish.
If it didnt end tragically, then thats lucky for us Priestley was trying to show
that all our actions have consequences and that as a result of unsuitable social
system, people think it was acceptable to not worry about what they have done
because even if it didnt turn out badly.
between us we killed her
Most of the story lines are memories traced back by each character, so although
the whole play happens all in one night, it managed to develop dramatically.
I blamed the young man who was the father the play was set during when
people were getting nostalgic about pre-world war. Community was nonexistence, so a pregnant girl like Eva Smith , have no other choice but to end
her own life.

Class and Society

Mr Birling (pg 10)

youd think everybody has to look after everybody elsecommunity

and all that nonsense
Mr Birling (pg11)
his 4 lines after the Inspector arrives - portrays how Mr. Birling was
establishing his authority and perhaps to belittle the inspector in his
commanding approach to first meeting him.
Mr Birling (pg 16)

Perhaps I ought to warn you that hes an old friend of mine, and that I
see him fairly frequently Reminding the Inspector of his status and
authority

Mrs Birling (pg 30)

Girls of that class. takes a very stereotypical view of the different classes
and depicts them in a demeaning manner

Mrs. Birling treats Eric and Sheila as if they are two small children
even though Sheila is engaged to Gerald and so is a young
woman. This is shown when Sheila refers to Eric as 'squiffy' and
Mrs. Birling scolds her by saying 'What and expression, Sheila!
Really the things you girls pick up these days!' This also shows
the difference between the generations; Sheila is younger and so
does not act in the same way that her mother thinks women
should act. It also suggests that she is reluctant to let her children
grow up because once they reach a certain age they would move
away and she would live with just her husband, a prospect that
she seems unlikely to look forward to. Although the audience is
unaware of any problems she and Birling may have, we are given
a hint later when she tells Sheila that 'When you're married you'll
realise that men with important work to do sometimes have to
spend nearly all their time and energy on their business. You'll
have to get used to that, just as I had.' This suggests that their
relationship is not very close. Later, Eric says that he sees some
of Birling's 'respectable friends' with 'fat old tarts round the town'.
Birling's reaction to this is angry and he clearly does not want any
further mention of that topic. From this reaction, it is possible to
conclude that Birling might also go to prostitutes, as that sort of
behaviour was fairly common amongst upper middle-class men at
that time.

Mrs Birling
Arthur, youre not supposed to say such things.- Shows that Mrs Birling is of
a higher class originally, and is socially superior to her husband.
(To Sheila) when youre married, youll realise that men with important work
to do sometimes have to spend all their time and energy on their business.
Youll have to get used to that, just as I had.- Backing up Gerald whist hes
explaining what he was doing last summer, which of course she doesnt
realise at the time that he was cheating on Sheila.
(To Inspector Goole) You know of course that my husband was Lord Mayor
only two years ago...- Mrs Birling tried using her social superiority to
threaten the Inspector.
Girls of that class.- Portraying the social snobbiness of Mrs Birling
(On Erics drinking) hes only a boy.
Weve done a great deal of useful work in helping defending her honour
and the Brumley committee
I didnt like her manner. She impertinently made use of our name. Her
social status clouded her judgment over Eva Smiths case.
I did nothing Im ashamed of.- unwilling the accept any form of
responsibility
She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply
absurd in a girl of her position.
I blame the young man. He ought to be dealt with very severely. dramatic
irony used to emphasize the bizarre and quite farcical situation the Birling
family find themselves in.