Characterisation And Roles Lf Characters Flashcards
Roles of Gerald
● Not very honest
○ He lies to Sheila about where he
was during the Summer
○ He has an affair with Daisy
Renton
○ He thinks that he can keep his
involvement with Daisy Renton a
secret from the Inspector
● He changes from being resistant to
telling the truth to becoming more open
○ Willingness to communicate with
the Inspector “is there anything
else you want to know”
● Towards the end of the play, he is keen
to try to avoid responsibility
○ What girl…four or five girls” -
shows he is focusing on the
Inspector being a ‘fraud’ rather
than on his own actions and
responsibilities
○ He questions the coincidence
that Eva Smith and Daisy Renton
are the same person. He repeats
this and he also questions the
existence of the inspector to see
if he was an actual inspector.
● Controlling
○ He “enjoyed being the most
important person in her life”
showing he likes controlling
people’s emotions
● Lustful
○ Gerald only felt attracted to Eva’s
physical beauty and remembers
a lot about it. However, he
doesn’t mention much about her
personality.
○ ‘She was pretty’ ‘soft brown hair
and big dark eyes’
○ ‘In her early twenties’
○ ‘Young and fresh and charming’
● Empathetic
○ He does notice Daisy being
squashed into a corner by Joe
Meggarty and rescues her from
that situation, then, when
speaking to her and finding out
she is hungry, he gets some food
for her
○ First reaction to Daisy’s death is
to distance himself but does
show empathy towards her when
it really sinks in she is dead
Characterisation of Gerald
● Represents a younger face of
capitalism than Mr Birling
○ Shown by backing Mr Birling.
He agrees with Mr Birling
about ‘keep[ing] the costs
down’ instead of caring about
people like Eva Smith.
○ Son of the owner of Crofts
Limited
● He is a bridge between the two
generations (older and younger)
○ When he heard that the
inspector isn’t from the police
he doesn’t take full
responsibility
○ This is also shown when he
tries giving Sheila the ring
again at the end of the play
○ Gerald told the inspector his
story, unlike the Birling
parents, but doesn’t take full
responsibility, unlike the
Birling children.
● He represents the upper class
○ Upper class are selfish and
mistreat those lower than
them (having an affair).
Symbolises the way in which
the upper classes take
advantage of the lower
classes.
○ Gerald is used to show that it
was common for the upper
class to behave badly
towards the lower-class by
having Gerald present. If the
Inspector only questioned the
Birling family, Priestley
wouldn’t be able to convey to
the audience how widespread
the problem was.
● Represents ideas about male
behaviour towards women
○ “All right - I did for a time. Nearly any man would have done”-shows he sees his actions as the same as those of other men
Characterisation of Eric
● Weak & irresponsible
- stage directions say ‘not quite at ease’
- He’s ‘half shy, half assertive’
- Drinks heavily - shows not cared for
as his mother hasn’t even noticed he
has a problem with drinking
- Drinking at start of play foreshadows
his raping of Eva Smith while drunk
● Open to change
- Like Sheila, he is quick to tell his story
and accept responsibility (‘You know,
don’t you?’)
- Doesn’t actually deny responsibility
but does try to shift blame, ‘I was in
that state when a chap easily turns
nasty’. Trying to blame it on the
alcohol
- ‘The fact remains that I did what I did’
● Perhaps not fully at fault
- ‘You’re not the kind of father a chap
could go to when he’s in trouble’
- This highlights a poor relationship with
his father and how he’s to blame for
poor parenting
Roles of eric
● Flaws in ruling classes
- abuses his privilege of drinking as a
member of upper class and being able
to afford drinks
- Takes advantage of Eva
- represents how working - class
women suffer at hands of upper -
class men
- Indulges too much in alcohol which
deteriorates him
- Stole money
● Hope for change in younger
generation
- despite all, he accepts blame unlike
his parents
- Shows that new generation is able to
break away from capitalist ideals like
his parents - Challenges Mr Birling’s
ideas even from the start
Characterisation of eva smith as venerable and exploited
● As a young working-class woman, she
relies on employers like Mr Birling for
survival
● She has no family for help or help
from benefit systems like the modern
day.
● “With no work, no money coming in,
and living in lodgings, with no relatives
to help her, few friends, lonely, half-
starved”
● “Renton” is linked to the word ‘to rent’
- which could indicate how she is
objectified and ‘used’ by society as
you ‘rent’ objects, not people.
‘Renting’ also implies a sense of
impermanence as if you rent a flat
rather than own it, you are often less
‘stable’.
● Gerald described how Joe Meggarty
“had wedged her into a corner”, she is
vulnerable in the position that she is
seen in.
● Gerald also saw her as vulnerable
because he saw her as ‘young and
fresh’
Characterisation of eva smith as powerless
● Every member of the Birling family
and Gerald have power over her: She
was fired by Mr Birling, Sheila forced
her employers to fire her, Gerald took
advantage of her for his own lustful
desires, shown by his predatory
vocabulary of “fresh and young”,
adjective fresh gives connotations of
desire and fertility, Eric harmed and
raped her, and, finally,Mrs Birling
rejected her request to receive aid.
This shows their ultimate power over
her as a family.
● Characters such as Inspector Goole
and Mr Birling. Mr Birling speaks for
her because he views himself as
superior to her in the social hierarchy.
Inspector Goole speaks for her
because women in society did not
have a powerful voice that would be
taken into consideration by most men
at the time. However, this can also be
seen as the patriarchal society acting
up again since a dominant male figure
is seen speaking for her.
Characterisation of eva smith as kind and gentle,humble,mature and string moral compass
● Gerald described her as “soft” and
“pretty”, and she shows gratitude for
his kindness.
● Despite being taken advantage of, she
is constantly shown as grateful and
forgiving. She never seeks revenge.
● She refuses to take more money from
Gerald after they parted ways and she
refused to take any money
whatsoever from Eric for her
pregnancy because she finds out he’s
stealing it. This shows that she is
humble and does not want money
from people, she only seeks a sense
of belonging and community which
she fails to receive throughout the
play.
● She is shown as a leader in the strike
- standing up not just for herself but for
others too
● She also does not desire material
things from people; she is shown as
the polar opposite to Sheila
throughout the play. Sheila is shown in
the play commenting on material items
like her engagement ring and stating
that she “really feel[s] engaged”, this is
completely opposite to Eva Smith
because is repeatedly shown not
caring about material items from
Gerald or Eric.
Following on from the previous point,
Eva is frequently shown being a better
person than Sheila. This emphasises
how unfair society is - that someone
like Sheila should be more privileged
and come from a family with power
and influence, even though Eva has
better qualities as a person
Roles of eva smith/daisy renton
Represents the working class,females and their
struggles in a patriarchal society:
● Represents the need of the welfare
system and in that there wasn’t any and
so therefore it shows how people of that
time needed it.
● We also never find out her true identity,
therefore a universal symbol of
oppression. This can happen to any
person that is in a vulnerable state,
further emphasized by the fact that the
Birling family and Gerald believed that it
wasn’t the same person and therefore
many different people, this made them
more comfortable as they thought it was
not the same girl,however this doesn’t
make the situation better because it
shows how it can happen to many
different people and not just a single
person
She is a fuel for the change/development for the
younger generation.
She is also shown as a victim of the modern
capitalist society:
● “It is better to ask for the Earth than to
take it”. She was kicked from her job for
‘asking’ for slightly higher wages.
Mr birling characterisation as selfish full of himself and lacks empathy
● Selfish/ full of himself / lacks empathy
- Only cares about himself and business as he
keeps seeing his daughter engagement as a
business opportunity for himself
- His dismissal of Eva Smith’s death and his
focus on his own show his lack of empathy
and concern for others, particularly those of
a lower social class. “I can’t think they can
be of any great consequences.”
● Very arrogant(pompous)/naive - shown in
use of dramatic irony: he doesn’t
acknowledge the lower working class and
there are times where he says the Titanic is
unsinkable and that war will not happen -
“unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”, “silly
little war scares”
● Blind to Systemic Issues: Birling’s lack of
awareness of broader social issues is
shown through his consistently individual
responses to Eva Smith’s story. He focuses
only on his own limited interaction with her,
not the systemic factors that contributed to
her suffering.
● Seen as valuing business over his family.
Shows he only cares about money. For
example when sheila and gerald are getting
engaged he starts speaking at length about
business. ‘Lower wages and higher prices’.
Mr birling characterisation
Patronising views about women “she was a
lively good looking girl-country bred.”
Mr Birling made some old fashioned and
patronising points about women and how
they view clothes and appearance: “clothes
mean something quite different to a woman.
Not just something to wear - and not only
something to make ‘em look prettier”
- He shows that he is quite sexist by
suggesting that clothes are somehow
more important to women than to
men. The fact that he thinks clothes
‘make ‘em look prettier’ shows he objectifies women too.
- Mr Birling is not from a traditionally wealthy
background and instead made his own
money. Therefore, it is important to consider
how this affects Mr Birling, as he lacks the
reputation of a well-known family name. He
shows his insecurity in making a big deal of
being on the same ‘level’ as Gerald (eg
getting his port from Gerald’s father’s
supplier)
-> Priestley’s opening description of the Birling
household through stage directions as “substantial
and heavily comfortable but not cosy or homelike”
immediately indicates the great wealth of the
Birlings, yet the lack of feeling like home reinforces
the cosmetic nature of their comfort in their own
wealth; Mr Birling’s lower-class roots means his
higher-class lifestyle can never seem “homelike”.
-> Birling compensates for his “provincial’ speech
and unrefined etiquette, through his “substantial”
house as a clear indicator of his high social status.
This desire to ensure his status as belonging to the
upper echelons of society (higher status) is derived
from his initial social inferiority, before he started his
business.
Priestley uses Birling to criticize the social injustices
and inequalities of his time. Through Birling’s
actions and attitudes, the play exposes the
consequences of unchecked capitalism and the
disregard for human life and suffering.
Hypocritical - he criticises Eva Smith for having ‘far
too much’ to say but he speaks a lot
Mr birling roles
● Represents Capitalism - he is ‘heavy looking’
(symbolises greed); he is a ‘hard-headed man
of business’; he owns a factory; his money is
self-made
● Shows the importance of reputation to those
‘at the top’ of society - his furniture is there
more to impress than for ‘comfort’; his family
where overly-formal clothes even for a private
family celebration; he frequently ‘name-drops’
those he knows and the positions in society
he has held (eg ‘Lord Mayor’)
Birling’s clearly self absorbed perspective - and focus
on money/ business - is shown through his immediate
reclamation of the spotlight after Sheila and Gerald’s
is announced. It is “one of the happiest nights of my
life” and he toasts to “lower costs and higher prices”
rather than to his daughter’s health. His selfishness is
also clear in his advice to Gerald and Eric (interrupted
by the Inspector) that ‘a man has to mind his own
business and look after himself and his own -
’
Birling values Sheila on her capacity to further the
family company and thereby objectifies her as a
bargaining chip: “she’ll make you (Gerald) happy”, yet
more significantly, Birling will have direct connections
with an “older and bigger” business - showing that he
values the prospect of increased profit over his
daughter’s joy in engagement.
Mr Birling’s business is of greater importance than his
own family - this foreshadows his absence of interest
to Eva Smith’s suicide, which is initiated through his
refusal to grant her a pay rise.
In addition, in response to the Inspector saying that
Mr Birling made Eva Smith ‘pay a heavy price’ for her
request for a pay rise, but that she will ‘make [him]
pay a heavier price still’ he responds, ‘Look, Inspector
- I’d give thousands - yes, thousands -’, implying that
what motivates himself to respond is the idea of him
‘suffering’ (paying a ‘heavy price’) not others.
All this presents him as selfish, which allows Priestley
to suggest that capitalism is a ‘selfish’ political/
economic system.
Represents poor parenting - he treats his children as
children even when they are adults - leading to them
behaving like children - without any sense of
responsibility.
Mrs Birling characterisatioj
● Arrogance and class prejudice. Mrs
Birling demonstrates a sense of
superiority and entitlement. Revealing
her disdain for those she perceives as
beneath her social standing.
- “I don’t think we want any further
details of this disgusting affair’. The
word ‘disgusting’ reveals her contempt
for the lower class individuals.
Of a higher class to Mr Birling (eg
criticising him for mentioning the
Cook)
Cold and unsympathetic
- refuses to take responsibility for her
actions and shows no remorse.
- Describes Eva as “girl of that class”-
dismissive and prejudiced
- Believes she has done nothing wrong,
even when confronted of her truth
● Proud and status-obsessed
- values social status above all those
and expects to be treated with Respect
- Shocked when the Inspector does not
show her the differences she believes
she deserves
- Attempts to intimidate the Inspector by
mentioning her husband’s social
standing
● Denial and defensiveness
- Mrs. Birling,throughout, refuses to
accept the blame for Eva’s death.
- When the inspector questions she
says “I did nothing I’m ashamed of’
- This assertion highlights her denial
and self righteousness
Mrs Birling roles
reflects upper-class arrogance and her
desire to distance herself from the lower
social status. Also illustrates that her
social status is more important than
others. How wealthy ignore the struggles
of those lower classes
● Represents the hypocrisy of the higher
class. Shows how the upper class pretend
to be charitable whilst actually being
selfish and uncaring. Highlights the rigid
and uncaring attitudes of her class
through her reactions to Inspector.
● Opposes the inspector and social change.
One of the most resistant
characters,refusing to acknowledge her
wrong doing. Tries to use her influence to
challenge the Inspector but ultimately
fails.The last to ‘break’ under questioning,
but even then, she does not truly accept
responsibility.
● This shows Mrs Birling’s moral blindness
as it shows her inability to recognize her
own flaws and the harm of her actions
have caused indicating her stubbornness
due to her social class
Sheila characterisation
● Materialistic: Only feels engaged
when she has an expensive ring “now
I really feel engaged”
● Selfish: Is upset her night is ruined
not how a person died “ I’ve been so
happy tonight”
● Accepting of responsibility
(responsible): Admits she did wrong
by Eva Smith “ so I’m really
responsible”
● Childlike: calls parents “mummy” and
“daddy” (link to her jealousy,
materialism, and selfishness)
● Jealous: Gets Eva into trouble for
being jealous of her looks
● Increases in maturity: At the start
she calls Mrs Birling “mummy” but
towards the end she calls her
“mother”
● Remorseful: genuinely remorseful for
her actions to Eva Smith and criticises her parents for way they treated her
● Compassionate and empathetic:
reacts with genuine shock and guilt
when she learns about her role in eva
smith’s downfall. Feels deep remorse
for getting eva fired
● Socially aware: recognises her
privilege and the injustice of class
inequality
Sheila roles
● represents the younger generation:
not wanting to give into patriarchal
society: she says “I don’t believe I
will” in response to her mother
saying that Sheila will have to ‘get
used to’ her future husband spending
‘nearly all their time and energy on
their business’.
● Remorseful: genuinely remorseful for
her actions to Eva Smith and
● Second inspector: seeking truth;
takes over interrogation “were you
seeing her last spring and summer?”
● Voice for the women in society:
speaks up to her father to tell him
“But these girls aren’t cheap labour -
they are people.”
● Contrasting Mr Birling: accepts
responsibility and being mature
where as Mr Birling denies any blame
● Challenges ideas of older generation:
she protests against what her mother
says “but mother”
● Symbol of change: first character to accept blame and change
Becomes Priestley’s voice: she
speaks up for looking after others
● She represents the idea that people
can improve and mature.
● Challenges gender expectations: at
the start she is expected to be a
passive female fiancee but by the end
she rejects traditional roles by
questioning Gerald and her family’s
morals, and by giving back the ring.
She interrupts male voices and by the
end of the play, speaks more
● Shows how learning the truth (about
others in society) has the power to
change a person
The insepctor characterisation
Hints at a supernatural element to his character:
• Name: Inspector Goole – (sounds like ‘ghoul’)
• His influence remains even when he is not physically
present
• He questions the Birlings about the death of a girl
who only seems to die after he has left; he knows
things ahead of time; he left the infirmary ‘two
hours’ before getting to the Birlings so the time
scale makes the extent of his knowledge surprising –
despite him referencing having seen a kind of diary
• His final speech sounds like a prophecy (of the ‘fire
and blood and anguish’ of the world wars/ hell)
Ordinary:
• man ‘in his fifties, dressed in a plain, darkish suit’ –
‘ordinary’ appearance
• he doesn’t play golf, but he appears to have a
respected job – so not poor, lower class, but not
wealthy middle/ upper class
Powerful/ influential:
• creates an ‘impression of massiveness, solidity and
purposefulness’
• frequently interrupts the Birlings (from the first ring
of the bell that interrupts Mr Birling’s speech) –
despite their supposed influence in society
• he can control the sequencing of the conversation –
progressing one step at a time
• stares hard at people before speaking (controls the
pace of the conversation)
• seems to control who enters/ exits the stage (holds
up his hand at the end of Act 2 and Eric enters; he
shows the photo to Sheila and she goes off crying)
• only one person but manages to ‘break down’ 5
people (metaphor for the way in which socialism
might be able to ‘break down’ the power of a
patriarchal and capitalist system)
Mysterious
• Some odd questioning for an inspector – asking
Gerald whether he loved Daisy
• Seems to know more than he could be expected to
• ‘I don’t understand about you’ (Sheila); Inspector
replies ‘There’s no reason why you should.’
Fair
• Treats all members of the Birling family equally in
his questioning
Compassionate
• Shown, for example, in his use of emotive language
in talking about Eva Smith
• He accuses Eric of treating Eva/ Daisy as if she were
‘an animal, a thing, not a person’
The inspector roles
Represents the ordinary person:
• speaking out for the ‘millions’ of Eva Smiths and John
Smiths in the world
• anonymous
• just disappears at the end and we don’t know where
to
The voice of conscience and responsibility: as a ‘ghoul’, does
he represent the ‘ghost’ of Eva Smith come to ‘haunt’ the
Birlings?
Reveals/ attempts to reveal the truth
• symbolized by the lighting change from the ‘ros[y]’
view of the world that the Birling family have at the
start of the play to becoming ‘brighter and harder’ as
he enters
• the truth that there might not be much of a
difference between ‘respectable citizens’ and
criminals’; the truth of the hypocrisy of the
middle/upper classes
• the truth revealed to Mr and Mrs Birling about their
children: that they are actually adults; that they
know more about the world than their parents think
(eg about prostitution; about men like Alderman
Meggarty); Eric’s drinking
• plays the part of an interrogator
Spokesperson for Priestley’s socialist views (same age as
Priestley when writing the play - he was in his fifties in
1945/1946 – born 1894)
• His last speech
• His first appearance interrupts Mr Birling’s speech in
which he expounds his capitalist views and the
selfish/ self-focused view that ‘a man has to mind his
own business and look after himself and his own –‘
suggesting that Priestley wants to ‘interrupt’ the
dominant capitalist narrative that he sees as selfish
• ‘Public men have responsibilities as well as
privileges.’
A catalyst for the maturity and understanding of social
responsibility of the younger generation: his interactions
with the family are seen to change both Eric and Sheila
Plays a ‘priest-like’ role
• Extracts ‘confessions’ from each character in the
family
• Speaks using biblical language in his final speech –
referring to everyone as being ‘members of one
body’ (ref. to Corinthians: 12), and threatening ‘fire
and blood and anguish’ if people do not repent and
take responsibility for others
Stage managing the play – represents Priestley the
playwright as well as Priestley the socialist (controlling the
sequencing of the questioning, managing who sees what and
when, ‘summoning’ characters to enter – eg Eric)
Spokesperson for those without a voice in society –
significant that he is let into the house by the nearly silent Edna (working-class, female) – who also changes the lighting -
and that he speaks on behalf of the silent and invisible
(literally and metaphorically) Eva Smith
He is male and therefore has a voice – so still representative
of the patriarchy: Would the Birlings have agreed to have
been questioned by a woman? As a man, he speaks on behalf
of women (‘millions of Eva Smiths’)
As an Inspector – part of the judicial system – he is a
representation of justice – or at least is attempting to bring
about justice for Eva Smith
