An Inspecor Calls - Sheila Flashcards
“Sheila is a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited.”
Highlights Sheila’s beauty, youthfulness and happiness: not a serious character
“Yes, go on, Mummy. You must drink our health.”
Reveals that Sheila refers to her mother as “Mummy” - childish diction - makes her seem younger than she actually is - immature, infantile, or inferior to her parents
Somehow assertive: telling her mum what to do in soft way
“(rather distressed) Sorry! It’s just that I can’t help thinking about this girl - destroying herself so horribly - and I’ve been so happy tonight. I wish you hadn’t told me. What was she like? Quite young?” + “Pretty?”
Anacoluthon - quick paced:
Stage directions: exemplifies her heightened emotional state
Shown to genuinely care about Eva’s death, tries to relate and be empathetic
However questions are shallow and vain, only cares about people who are like her, and physical appearances
“But these girls aren’t cheap labour - they’re people.”
Sheila doesn’t share the same capitalistic views that her parents hold
Socialist views on the employees - shows sympathy for them
Sees the women that her father employs as people first rather than sources of cheap labour - reverse of what Mr Birling says
Description of “girls” shows her child like character
“(laughs rather hysterically) Why - you fool - he knows. Of course he knows. And I hate to think how much he knows that we don’t know yet. You’ll see. You’ll see.”
Hysterical+ repetition of “you’ll see”: reflects her unhinged frame of mind
Immensely upset about the things that she has has found out about Gerald, she loved him
Reveals Sheila as insightful, understand the Inspector’s methods the most, some sort of omniscient detective, she’s seen how the characters has fallen into the trap of revealing things about himself - any lie is futile
“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 the end she - she committed suicide. That would be to horrible -“
“I know I’m to blame” - accepts responsibility
“desperately sorry” regrets her actions, emphasises how badly she feels about Eva’s death
Agrees with the Inspector very eagerly that it’s not entirely her fault
Willing to take some responsibility, not all of it
“Don’t interfere, please, Father. Gerald knows what I mean and you apparently don’t.”
Shows a level of maturity and independence from her as a daughter
Father not Dad or Daddy - changes in language to show increasing maturity - word choices are less infantile
First word is a command word to assert dominance
Although polite, commands her Father what to do or not do
Inverts the typical family power seen in 1912
“I behaved badly too. I know I did. I’m ashamed of it, But now you’re beginning to pretend that nothing much has happened -“
Frequent use of first person pronoun shows that Sheila is aware of her poor behaviour and that she has accepted responsibility for the things she has done.
Sheila is trying to adopt the assertive, mature persona that she has developed across the play
- example that Sheila has learnt from the Inspector’s teachings.
“(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.”
Trying to act maturely and responsibly, trying to face the facts of the situation and feels guilty of how she used to treat Eva and even tries to correct the behaviour of her parents.
Stage directions: lack of control on her emotions: immature + childish
- still trying to adjust on trying to act maturely and makes mistakes from time to time.
“I tell you - whoever the inspector was, it was anything but a joke. you knew it then. You began to learn something. And now you’ve stopped. You’re ready to go on in the same old way.”
Insights gives the audience a clear summary of what has happened in the play
- reveals that Sheila really has learnt from the Inspector
- condemning people for not learning their lesson and rejecting social responsibility.
Priestley’s Intentions through Sheila
Praising Sheila’s generation - his and his audience’s
- celebrating women’s post-war rise in status
- highlighting that those from a capitalist background canstill be part of the solution.
