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Learn about the plot, characters, themes, and quotes of J. B. Priestley's play An Inspector Calls, a critique of class system and moral complacency. Explore the full study guide, flashcards, and PLUS features on SparkNotes.
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An Inspector Calls is a play in three acts, set in Brumley, an English manufacturing town, in 1912. Arthur Birling has convened a dinner for the engagement of his daughter, Sheila, to her boyfriend, Gerald Croft. Arthur and his wife Sybil seem happy, although Sybil is reserved at the meal. Eric, Sheilas brother, drinks heavily and appears mildly up...
The Inspector, whom Arthur does not know despite his positions in local government, announces that a girl named Eva Smith has died of an apparent suicide. The Inspector asks Arthur if he knows anyone by that name. Arthur initially denies it, but after seeing a picture, he admits to employing Eva at his factory, and firing her when she incites a fai...
The Inspector turns to Gerald and asks if he knows someone named Daisy Renton. Sheila realizes, from Geralds expression, that Gerald knows this name. When all but Sheila and Gerald leave the room, Sheila accuses Gerald of having had an affair with Daisy Renton the previous summer. Gerald admits to this. He asks Sheila to hide this information from ...
- Arthur Birling. The patriarch of the Birling family. Arthur is a “rather portentous” man “in his fifties” who owns a profitable manufacturing company. His business success allows the Birlings to live in upper-middle-class comfort.
- Sybil Birling. The matriarch of the Birling family. Sybil is described in the play’s performance notes as “cold.” Though she is pleased her daughter Sheila is engaged to be married, she tends to ignore any potential discord in the family.
- Sheila Birling. Daughter of Arthur and Sybil. Sheila, “in her early twenties,” is engaged to Gerald and believes, at the start of the play, that her future lies bright before her.
- Eric Birling. Son of Arthur and Sybil, and older brother of Sheila. Eric works part-time at the family business and has a drinking problem that he hides, with some success, from his parents and sister.
The inspector, Goole, says a girl named Eva Smith has committed suicide by drinking disinfectant. Goole shows Arthur a photo, and he remembers firing Eva after she joined a strike. Sheila recognizes her as a saleswoman she got fired from the store Milward's for a silly reason. When Goole says Eva worked at Milward's as Daisy Renton, Sheila ...
A summary of Themes in J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls. ... SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription.
LitCharts offers a comprehensive guide to J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls, a mystery drama about class tensions and social responsibility. Find plot summary, analysis, themes, quotes, characters, symbols, and more.
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A play by J. B. Priestley that explores the themes of social responsibility and moral consequences. The Birling family celebrates Sheila's engagement, but is shocked by a mysterious Inspector who reveals their involvement in the suicide of a young woman named Eva Smith.
