The Inspector - Treatment of Eric Flashcards
“Just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she was an animal, a thing, not a person. No, you won’t forget.”
Talks down harshly to Eric, treats him nastily. Tries to make him feel guilty about what he had done (and succeeded)
Birling: (explosively) No.
Inspector: (firmly) Yes. ( As Birling looks like interrupting explosively.) I know – he’s your son and this is your house – but look at him. He needs a drink now just to see him through.
Birling: (To Eric) All right. Go on.
At the beginning of Act 3 whenever the Inspector speaks it is either to question or inform the characters what to do, this makes us believe that he is now in complete charge. One of the most important examples of his control is when he converts Mr Birling’s “no” with a yes when Eric asks him for a drink. Mr Birling controls his temper and after this moment, he does not challenge the Inspector again.
