Essay On Sheila's Change In An Inspector Calls

An Inspector Calls’ is an historical drama written for the stage by J.B Priestley in 1945. Set in 1912, its close proximity to World War One means political views are a predominant topic throughout the play. The theme of politics ties into responsibility; capitalist characters, such as Arthur Birling, believe that what is best for business is also what is best for society. On the other hand, Sheila Birling, who becomes more humane and socialist, believes that society's central focus should be on the predicaments of the working class. The play follows the interrogation of an upper-class family about the suicide of a young woman. John Priestley uses the Inspector as a method to develop the character of Sheila, altering her relationships, views and intuition. Sheila starts out as an oblivious, self-centered juvenile who matures into a cognizant adult who is more aware of her actions and their consequences. Her changes are expressed through stage directions, illustrating her emotions, her empathy towards Eva and her varying opinions about her family's guilt.

Sheila experiences change throughout the play, at the end there is a noticeable change in maturity. The first instance of these changes is after the author introduces the Inspector. Sheila’s tone of voice changes from excitable and playful to fretful and flustered. Sheila is first described in stage directions, ‘ Early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited’. This quotation reveals that, at first, Sheila is happily unaware of the tragedy that she has collectively caused. The fact it says ‘very pleased with life’, further reinforces that she is negligently content. Two more stage directions from before the entrance of the Inspector are ‘light and easy’ and ‘admiringly’. The first quotation shows that Sheila is only thinking of how to enjoy the moment; she is a simple character who lacks self-reflection. The next quotation reveals that Sheila has a false understanding of Gerald, as we later learn that he has had an affair. This repeats the fact that Sheila doesn’t yet have the capacity to see beyond her superficial understandings of social interactions. After the arrival of the Inspector, Sheila soon learns of Eva’s suicide. Sheila’s persona changes immediately: ‘distressed’, this suggests that Sheila is a fragile character, who lacks the capacity to deal with stressful situations, causing her mood to drastically change. One of the first things Sheila says to the Inspector is ‘I’ve been so happy tonight, I wish you hadn’t told me’. This implies that Sheila is gleefully ignorant; she is only able to perceive Eva’s death through her own selfish, shallow lens, where she is the victim. In addition to this, Sheila obnoxiously states ‘you talk as if we are responsible’. This supports the idea that Sheila is so self-involved that she is unable to consider that other people can be affected by her actions.

However, soon enough, she is exposed to her involvement, which alters her attitude, not only to this event, but to life in general. ‘Staring at him agitated’, shows that Sheila realizes she has been misinterpreting her connection to this event. Everything she thought was true has been proven wrong, causing embarrassment and shock.

After looking at the picture of Eva, Sheila reveals her fragility; ‘Looks closely…gives a half-stifled sob and then runs out’. She is still unable to consider that she could have caused harm to someone. In an attempt to make herself feel better, Sheila asks ‘Did it make much of a difference to her’; this suggests that Sheila is not empathetic enough to comprehend what damage this could have done and instead has to question the Inspector. Soon enough, changes are visible in Sheila’s tone as well as her opinion on her responsibility. ‘Miserably: so I'm really responsible?’; this reveals that Sheila is still hesitant to believe that she plays a part in Eva’s death. However, we learn through the stage direction, ‘miserably’, that she feels guilty. After being asked ‘if it was the girl’s fault’, we see the most predominant change in Sheila, ‘No, not really. It was my own fault’. This is in stark contrast to her first reaction to Eva’s death, ‘you talk as if we are responsible’. We see that Sheila is becoming more empathetic and responsible, as this is the first time she is admitting to her liability.

Before the Inspector reveals the photo of Eva Smith, Sheila suffers from ignorance towards her role in Eva Smith's death; afterwards, Sheila experiences an epiphany and realizes the fallout of her mistakes, causing her to be a more contemplative and cautious character. ‘Lucky to get taken on at Milwards’, this quotation reveals that Sheila was quite spoiled and credulous; she is still unaware of her involvement in Eva’s death and has already crafted an opinion of Eva from her father’s encounters with her. After learning the Inspector is aware of what she did to Eva, she excuses herself with, ‘I couldn’t be sorry for her’ and ‘it didn’t seem terrible at the time’, this shows that Sheila was emotionally detached from other people as she was unable to sympathize, let alone empathize with Eva. After accepting her mistakes, Sheila makes a bold statement, emphatically announcing ‘I shall never do it again to anyone’, suggesting she has had a revelation. Now that Sheila understands how easy it is to make mistakes, she is immediately a more careful character, ‘no mother - please!... I'm afraid you will do something you will regret afterwards’. This reveals that Sheila can anticipate potential mistakes now, preventing these mistakes is the only way she can forgive herself. Sheila later says, ‘he's giving us rope so that we will hang ourselves’,  which shows her increasing paranoia that her family’s faults will be exposed. Sheila is also implementing her new enlightened perspective to uncover motives, ‘Of course mother, it was obvious from the start’, this suggests that she is now cognizant of human behavior, in this case she was already aware of Gerald’s affair. Sheila's new found skill set allows her to see her family's guilt before it is uncovered by the Inspector.

At first, Sheila is uninterested and horrified by the death of Eva Smith; however, after realizing she is partly to blame, she becomes more invested and devoted to the case. Eventually, she becomes as enthusiastic as the Inspector to bring justice. Sheila's first reaction to Eva Smith’s death is, ‘Oh – how horrible! Was it an accident?’, this shows that because of her wealthy background she is rarely exposed to unpleasant events like this, and therefore unable to process it, leading to a shocked response. After recovering, her second response is more detached and

inhumane, as if she was reading a foreign news headline. ‘it's a rotten shame’, this reveals that although she displays some discomfort, she is largely unaffected by Eva’s death. The repetition of the stage direction ‘distressed’ after she learns of her involvement, implies that Eva’s death is now having a profound effect on Sheila’s character. Her entire persona is now emanating stress and uneasiness because she is implicated in something she never thought she would encounter. However, when Gerald’s innocence has been proved wrong, Sheila gains a new found thirst for clarity, ‘And you think young women should be protected from unpleasant things?’, this is a remarkable contrast to her first reaction ‘I wish you hadn’t told me’, this reveals the extent of Sheila’s development. Later, Sheila says ‘I'm staying here until I know why the girl killed herself’, this demonstrates her increased mental strength; she is now able to handle the horridness of the case if it means she can forgive herself for Eva’s death. In an attempt to convince her mother to tell the truth, Sheila says, ‘You mustn't try and build up a wall between us and this girl… the inspector will break it down’. This is ironic because at the beginning of the play, Sheila had a wall of her own; as a privileged and sheltered child she was unable to relate to or even comprehend the ugliness of the situation but now, after realizing that her decisions intertwine with others’ lives, she is as determined as the inspector to bring justice and alter the behavior of her self-centered parents.

The poignant entrance of the inspector, shown through lighting; ‘pink and intimate…brighter and harder’, correlates to the overall change in Sheila Birling’s disposition. Before the news of Eva’s death, Sheila was narrow minded and in a state of ignorant bliss, as she was unaware of the atrocities her selfishness caused. However, after she learns that she and her family are culpable, yet not remorseful, she feels compelled to see the whole story through a non-bias lens. On a personal level, this is the only way Sheila can honor and apologize to Eva, rectify the situation, and reform her self-image. Following her revelation, Sheila develops a social conscience after realizing that it is her family's callous faults, which caused Eva’s demise. In the end, Sheila Birling is a symbol of the moral compass, from which none of us can hide.