Gender Inequality In An Inspector Calls

Before the inspector entered the birling household Sheila presented herself as the perfect fiancé to Gerald, despite knowing something happened during the summer she is still very reserved in what she says. With the inspector acting as a defence she begins to take on the role of the

An Inspector Calls is a play written in 1945 by J.B Priestly. It was set in 1912 where there were strong distinctions between the upper and lower classes. Therefore, to convey the socialist message, Priestly portrays characters from the upper class in an exposed manner. He definitely doesn’t hide any of their flaws. Gerald Croft is one of the main characters in the play that Priestly has done a great job at showing the thoughts of the upper class.

“An Inspector Calls” is a play written by J.B. Priestley in 1945. The play, which is set in 1912, illustrates the vast status difference in society at the time. Gerald Croft is a typical upper-class man, who already has his future carved out for him. He is the son of a wealthy businessman, who, in time will eventually hand the business over to him. However, being brought up in the upper class has made Gerald oblivious to the strife of the lower classes. He is content with his life and so does not care for anyone else.

“An Inspector Calls” is a morality play by the socialist playwright J. B. Priestley written in 1945 but set in 1912. The play is based on the wealthy Birling family, who is questioned by a police inspector regarding a young woman’s death. Using characters of different ages to represent the contrast of political stances and attitudes, Priestley attempts to educate the audience. He believed that Capitalism was the sole reason for the start of world war one and therefor also the cause of the great economic depression and the second world war. Priestley uses the age in the play, to tell the audience that capitalists don’t have any social responsibility, as they do not accept any responsibility for Eva Smith’s death. The behavioural contrast between the Birling parents and their children demonstrate that if you are capitalist, you can still alter your beliefs and become socialist.

Priestley in ‘An Inspector Calls’, explores the differences between the older and younger generation through the use of the characters Sheila, Gerald, and Mrs Birling. The differences in opinions between Sheila and the other characters represent the problems with the older generations' mentality. Priestley uses the character of sheila as a construct to criticise the mentality of the older generation. In Act 1 of ‘An Inspector Calls’, Shella is described as being ‘very pleased with life and rather excited’.

In this essay, I am going to discuss how the character Eva Smith in the play An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley is treated in the play and the relation of this to the socialist views of the playwright. I will look at the historical context of when the play was written and when it was set, describe what happens to Eva Smith throughout the play and then link this to a socialist viewpoint.

In the play An Inspector Calls, Priestley uses different characters to portray women. At the start of the play, Sheila is seen as fragile, materialistic and inferior to the men in her life, which is typically the view of higher-class women. This is followed by the perspective of lower class women having excellent morals yet being disposable, which is seen through Eva Smith’s character. This contradicts to Mrs Birling’s control on others and her strong social class views.

The play ‘An Inspector Calls’ is set in the North Midlands, the industrial city of Brumley in 1912. The play revolves around the death of a young girl named Eva Smith and the wealthy, middle class Birling family. The Birling family consists of four main members. In addition, there is Gerald Croft who is engaged to the daughter of the family, Sheila Birling, and the maid Edna who plays a small role in the play.

How does JB Priestly explore and present the theme of gender in the play ‘An Inspector Calls”?

An Inspector Calls is a three-act drama, which takes place on a single night in 1912, and focuses on the Birling family, who live in a wealthy but not particulary homely house in Brumley. The story begins when the mysterious Inspector Goole calls unexpectedly on the prosperous Birling family. The idea of the play, and particularly the role of the inspector, is to try to bring the Birling family to understand that they have a moral responsibility for the death of Eva Smith, if not a legal one. In Act Three, the Inspector tells the Birling family: “The girl killed herself and died a horrible death. But each of you helped to kill her. Remember that. Never forget it.” But who was really the

In the book…. shows sexism in the role of the gender in the topic of occupations. First, the text shows an interview where a woman and a man are asked about where they work; the man is a reporter and the woman is a housewife. Instead of giving the woman a profession, the book gives her a role that is the classic job for a woman. Although, in the rest of the page are more occupations with women included, the assignments that the book present are the stereotype roles, for example doctor, waitress, and

Sheila is portrayed as a beautiful young lady in her early twenties with a rather selfish and arrogant nature. Using her compelling personality she is able to obtain anything in which she desires through her father. She makes inconsequential remarks and speaks in a childish manner. However she is the only one to accept immediate responsibility for her role in Eva Smith’s death, making her most probably the furthermost sympathetic character throughout the play. She is horrified by her own part in Eva's death; she feels full of guilt for her jealous actions and blames herself and she is genuinely remorseful for her actions. She is very perceptive towards the inspector, first to wonder who he really is, realising he already knows much of what

A major inequality that has been highlighted in the play is gender Inequalities. Before the unexpected arrival of Inspector Goole, Sheila is presented to be very outspoken about her ideas to Gerald and the rest of her family. ‘I’d hate you to know all about port – like one of these purple-faced old men’ As Sheila tells this to Gerald it shows how she openly expresses her views to Gerald. The simple language emphasises how confidently she is able to voice her opinion without a second thought. This is something that wouldn’t be expected from women in the early 1900s so it shows how from the very beginning, Sheila is different to most women in the early 1900s. However, she is also quite similar to them in terms of her power because she had no power in the start of the play and despite the fact that she voices her opinion, it has no impact on anyone in the family in comparison to the effect it would have if Gerald or Birling said it. During the Inspectors visit Sheila increasingly breaks down the inequalities between

The inspector shows another side to Sheila’s character, her gentle side. Perhaps Sheila can be separated from the rest of the family because; she is the only one, apart from Eric who is able to accept responsibility for her actions. Also, when Gerald’s affair is revealed, Sheila is expected by her parents to forgive his behaviour and carry on as though nothing had happened. Sheila disagrees and returns her engagement ring. This shows how much Sheila changed from her old self.

The play "An Inspector Calls" was written by J.B Priestley in 1945, when the British people were recovering from over six years of constant warfare and danger. As a result of two world wars, class distinctions were greatly reduced and women had achieved a much higher place in society. It was due to this and a great desire for social change that Labour's Clement Attlee won a landslide victory over the conservative Winston Churchill. He nationalized the gas steel and electrical industries, established the NHS and introduced the Welfare State. The play was set in Brumley, a fictional industrial city, in 1912.The playwright believed passionately in the left wing perspective and his message is overtly political. He uses techniques such as