1. AN INSPECTOR CALLS: FINAL REVISIT
Themes: The central theme is social responsibility, morality and social change. This includes concepts of guilt, forgiveness/repentance, sin, justice and injustice, and corruption. Priestley wanted to warn people of the immorality of a capitalist society. Each character commits one of the 7 deadly sins. Who does what? He uses dramatic irony created through the setting of 1912 to do this. He also wanted to show that social responsibility is necessary whatever your gender, class or position in life, and that change was necessary. Other themes include (but are secondary to this) Class, Gender, Age. Class, Gender and Age are all about Power - which groups have it? Why? Why not? Rank the characters according to who has the most to the least. Characters are used to convey themes - Mrs Birling = Age (older), Gender (female), Class (upper). Eric= Age (young), Gender (male), Class (aristocratic). The setting is used to convey themes.
Context: The play was first performed in 1945 and set in The lives of 3 women are presented - all with very different perspectives. Women, like Eva Smith, living in poverty had very few choices. Younger women could get jobs in factories, but if that was difficult, many would turn to prostitution. If an unmarried woman got pregnant, she would be shunned by society to 1913 was known as the ‘Great Unrest’, with thousands of workers going on strike. The sinking of the Titanic exposed the class divide. 62% of first class passengers survived and only 25% of third class passengers. The Suffragettes campaigned for the rights of women. By 1912, women had begun to use more violent methods of protest. Priestley believed in Socialism and the need for community. Many of the problems of the world, he believed, had come about because of the Capitalist values of the past - placing greater importance on money, property and possessions. WW2 had created a shift in the class and gender divide. Women were required to do a variety of jobs, both women and men of all classes had to work or fight side by side. This raised awareness of class difference and created a sense of equality that had not been experienced before. The play aims to promote the need for
Structure: Unities of time, place and plot are typical of a tragedy. The action is in ‘real time’. The audience must experience the tragedy and destruction of the family, as it happens to them. The audience also move from ignorance to knowledge with the family. The three acts contain the exposition, the rising tension & climax and the denouement. Act 1 is meticulous in stage directions and details to set the scene. The detail and control continues throughout, with Priestley guiding the audience to see the characters the way he wished to show them, frequently directing with parenthesis (‘unhappily’, ‘very distressed’.). There is no room for interpretation. The individual interrogation increases the dramatic tension.
Setting: In the exposition of the play, the meticulous detail of the setting shows the obsession the Birlings have with material possessions. The room is ‘substantial and heavily comfortable, but not cosy. Their home is a microcosm of society - it represents the wider world. Similar to the theme of class and wealth, they are protected from the horrors of poverty and need. The characters ‘look pleased with themselves’. The Inspector’s entrance interrupts the ‘comfort’ of the Birlings, both metaphorically as their lives will never be the same when he departs but also literally, as the lighting changes from pink to brighter and harder. Goole’s entrance is also marked by the ‘sharp’ ring of the doorbell. The structure and the setting make the pay seem claustrophobic, that there is no escape.
Inspector Goole: Priestley’s mouthpiece. Embodies Socialism. Diametrically opposed to Mr Birling - he is everything Birling isn’t. The only quality they share is a certain aggressive manner. He is a catalyst for the change in plot direction. he ’creates an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness’. Priestley uses the semantic field of power. Goole juxtaposes the lives of the Birlings with the conditions of the working classes. They drink Port, while Eva ‘drank disinfectant’. Goole delivers the powerful final speech which has an unequivocal message ‘We are members of one body’. He uses anaphora (We), emotive language and metaphor (‘Fire, blood and anguish’) He is deliberately ambiguous leaving the audience to question whether as his name suggested, he was a ‘ghoul’, a supernatural being. Priestley’s argument is that, as Sheila recognised, it doesn’t matter. His power would have been diminished if the ending was different.

2. Mr Birling: Embodies Capitalism. Birling juxatposes Goole
Mr Birling: Embodies Capitalism. Birling juxatposes Goole. He represents the sin of greed and is driven by a desire for more for himself and his family. The working classes are a commodity, dehumanised for the purpose that they can fulfill. As a male head of a household in a patriarchal society, he also sees his daughter in a similar way - as a commodity, useful for the betterment of his family. Arthur aspires to be further up the social class ladder than he is. He is ‘portentous’ (self-important) and ‘provincial’ (narrow minded, without etiquette). He is mocked by Priestley in the opening speeches. These are full of dramatic irony as he praises the titanic, ignores the threat of war and underplays the worker’s strikes. Priestley undermines Birling and exposes him for his outdated and immoral values. The inspector interrupts his speech that ‘a man has to mind his own business’.
Mrs Birling: Embodies Capitalism. Represents the sin of pride. She believes her social standing makes her not only ‘socially superior’, as stated in the stage directions, but also morally superior to everyone. She colludes with Edwardian society to keep women in an inferior position to men, teaching Sheila to behave in a similar way. She becomes undone when the true nature of own family is publically exposed. She moves from speaking ‘triumphantly’ to the Inspector to ‘nervous and frightened’ as the truth is revealed. Mrs B feels no sense of responsibility by the end, despite her actions and role in the charity. She thinks the children will be ‘amused’ by the events in the morning.
Eric: Represents men and the upper classes, but also the conflict of youth when the status quo is challenged. He is in transition between the old world and the new, youth and adulthood. This transition is shown by his being ‘not quite at ease, half-shy, half-assertive’. Eric argues frequently with his parents. Eric is critical of his parents but still benefits from the privilege of his upbringing. This and his playful language at the beginning shows Priestley saw him as a sympathetic character. He is guilty of theft but acts immorally for a moral reason. He represents the sin of gluttony - consuming alcohol and women. He is truly repentant by the end - even the news that the inspector was not real, does not lessen his sense of burden.
Sheila: Represents the archetypal Edwardian woman, submissive and subservient to men. She commits the sin of wrath, envy and vanity. Priestley uses Sheila to work with Goole and represent the social change that is needed. She embodies social change -her acceptance of her role, her repentance and her determination to improve lives. Out of all the characters, it is Sheila who understands the damage a Capitalist society can do to individuals. In one way , she is diametrically opposed to Eva. She is privileged and protected. However, both women must submit to the power of men. Priestley uses her character to explore gender issues that exist, even with the benefit of class. The quality that both women share is the willingness to speak up. She begins ‘pleased with life’ and ends up needing ’to think’ about what to do next.
Gerald: Represents privilege, men and capitalism. Gerald seems to change in the play, by showing remorse for what happened to Daisy, but ultimately uses his class and position to protect himself and his reputation. He epitomises the hard reality of what will happen if there is no social change - delight in ‘getting away with it’. His absence from much of Act 3 to protect his feelings is symbolic of his behaviour overall. He attempts to use his intellect to absolve himself of responsibility, similar to the way Priestley felt politicians would attempts to absolve themselves of taking responsibility for the working classes.
Eva Smith: Represents poverty, the working classes and women. Smith has traditionally been the most common surname in Britain. Her multiple identities , not just to herself, but in different roles to the family, show that she can be anyone, anywhere struggling to survive the consequences of capitalism. Eva embodies social responsibility. Even with the risk she was taking, Eva ‘started the trouble’ by asking for higher wages for the girls. She is voiceless to show that she has no power. She is female, poor and without family. Eva is used to Priestley to explore Class and Gender.