SHEILA BIRLING

Sheila Birling is in her early twenties, bright, lively and optimistic. She is engaged to Gerald. She
is the daughter of Arthur Birling and Sybil Birling, and sister of Eric Birling. J. B. Priestley
describes Sheila Birling at the start as ‘very pleased with life and rather excited’ which is
precisely how she comes across in the first act of the play. Being pleased with life suggests that
like her mother, she has been indulged and insulated from anything that threatens her cosy view
of society. She is preparing for her wedding and spends a great deal of time talking about clothes
and buying them. The word ‘excited’ shows that she does not control her emotions like a young
lady of the upper class at that time would have been expected to do. She is young and attractive;
a stereotypical ‘rich daddy’s girl’ who is soon going to be a ‘kept woman’. Sheila belongs to a
patriarchal society that marginalizes all women, regardless of status.

Priestley uses this to indicate how capitalists believe in an arranged marriage in order to secure
two successful businesses and consider it as normal to have an arranged marriage. Shelia doesn't
seem mature enough for a commitment such as marriage because she seems to be more
interested in the ring and not the life after the ring or her prospect of spending life with Gerald.
She seems materialistic and superficial.

The attention surrounding her important engagement gives her great pleasure which explains her
as self-centered. At one point in act one Sheila's language makes her seem childish at first
‘Mummy…Daddy.’ The use of personal pronouns highlights her selfish, childlike attitude at the
start of the play. These are immature terms and not expected from a girl of twenty who would
have referred to as mum or mother; and dad or father. As the play progresses, she refers to
Mrs.Birling as ‘mother’ which reflects the change; and perhaps she does not feel as intimate as
she has been with her mother and has lost respect for her because of her callous behavior. She
also uses slang expressions such as 'squiffy' which shock her parents and reminds us that she is
from the new generation; lively and energetic. This highlights the tensions between the
generations. We also see how she jokes with Gerald; however the stage directions say she is
'half serious, half playful'. Her childishness here could be a way to hide serious concerns about
her relationship with Gerald. It shows her cryptic, dubious nature; and magnifies her boldness
and self-assurance. She is not a frivolous girl she might appear to be.

She is oblivious to the real world and it is almost as if she is been protected from what is really
going on outside her capitalist bubble where life isn't as easier as having a father as wealthy as
Arthur Birling. Before the arrival of the Inspector, Sheila Birling appears to have had a picture
book view of the world. She has been sheltered from the real world by her parents.

She possibly implies signs of intelligence but she reverts to her childish and sly comments such
as 'don't be an ass Eric'. Shelia at this part in the play connotes the stereotypical capitalist's
offspring, however with the signs of intelligence. The use of taboo language shows that she does
not moderate her language choices. Priestley is trying to convey that Shelia has the chance to
change but she hasn't been brought up in the right way and she just needs a "nudge" in the right
direction.

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She has ‘a nasty temper sometimes’ that leads her to demand the dismissal of Eva Smith from
the clothes shop. She uses her social position to satisfy her vanity. She is immune from trouble
because of her social position. Sheila is more moral than the other characters. Her regret seems to
be genuine.When Sheila hears of the death of Eva Smith she is genuinely shocked by the news,
and despite the fact that she does not know her, she is still upset. We can see this from what she
says when she hears the news: "Oh - how horrible!” When the Inspector shows her a
photograph of the girl she reacts much more dramatically than any of the others, which tells us
that perhaps she has already realized that her behaviour towards the girl had been inappropriate
and unnecessary, and that she has been feeling guilty about it. She is horrified by her own part in
Eva's story.She feels full of guilt for her jealous actions and blames herself as "really
responsible."She is an honest character and lacks the cold blooded attitude of her parents. She
feels empathy with the girl.She gains some sympathy from the audience when she acknowledges
her role in Eva Smith’s downfall. Her reaction to the photograph is instinctive; she does not deny
knowing Eva Smith and her instinctive reaction of running from the room portrays her guilt.

Although she has probably never in her life before considered the conditions of the workers, she
shows her compassion immediately she hears of her father's treatment of Eva Smith: "But these
girls aren't cheap labour - they're people."She is critical of her father and possesses the
potential. Already, she is starting to change. This represents the Socialist View. She thinks it has
been wrong of her father to sack Eva for trying to obtain higher wages. She rebels against her
father’s attempt to cut her out of the conversation. She is sympathetic towards Eva and other
girls in her position.

She is curious. She genuinely wants to know about Gerald's part in the story. She is
very perceptive: she realizes that Gerald knows Daisy Renton from his reaction, the moment the
Inspector mentions her name. Her sharp, inquisitive tone forces Gerald to admit the truth about
him. It’s interesting that she is not angry with him when she hears about the affair: she says that
she respects his honesty. She is becoming more mature. Sheila also displays a free-thinking
spiritedness that is characteristic of the women's rights movement of that period. At the
beginning of the play, unaware of what has really happened, she expresses displeasure at Gerald
for having been so distant towards her the previous summer. Then, when she finds out about his
affair, she gives him back her engagement ring. This is a very brave act: Sheila knows that
Gerald's family, the Crofts, are extremely wealthy and important, and that marrying Gerald will
help her father and his business; and boost the social standing of the Birling family. Most women
in that position at that time would have accepted Gerald's behaviour for the sake of the marriage.

Sheila is scrupulously fair. She gives Gerald credit for his honesty and accepts that he has acted
from honourable motives when he first got involved with the girl. She does not say that she is
dropping Gerald for good; merely that they are not the same people who have sat down to dinner
earlier and that they will have to ‘start all over again.’

In the second and third acts, following the realisation that she has played a part in Eva Smith's
death, she matures and comes to realise the importance of The Inspector's message. She is not as

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naive and shallow as she first appears. She is very intelligent and intuitive; she knows Eric drinks
a lot and knows Gerald is lying about his whereabouts last summer.

At the end of Act II, she is the first to realise Eric's part in the story. Significantly, she is the first
to wonder who the Inspector really is, saying to him, 'wonderingly', "I don't understand about
you." She warns the others "he's giving us the rope - so that we'll hang ourselves" (Act II).
She warns her mother that, the more she puts on airs and graces, the worse it will be for her
eventually. She is aware of the Inspector’s power to make people confess. She uses the metaphor
to create a visual image of the way Inspector skillfully manipulates characters into confessing
their guilt. Near the end, she is the first to consider whether the Inspector may not be real.

Sheila is unlike any other character in the play - she is far more conscientious, sensitive, stronger
and sympathetic than any of the others, and she does not express her opinion as frequently or
forcefully as her parents. She makes the minimal effort to excuse her behavior. During the
second act, her guilt and acknowledgement of the family’s collective responsibility is reflected in
her support for the Inspector (‘He’ll get it out of you. He always does’).Sheila speaks on behalf
of the dead girl when she accuses the others of indifference, callousness and so on. She is
staggered and speechless on Birling’s early dismissal of the night events.

Another noticeable aspect of Sheila's character is that she submits to the authority of the
Inspector where no other character does, and she warns the others against trying to hide facts
from him as she believes he already knows everything. She is angry with her parents in Act 3 for
trying to "pretend that nothing much has happened." Sheila says "It frightens me the way
you talk:" she cannot understand how they cannot have learnt from the evening in the same way
that she has. Sheila uses irony ‘I suppose we’re all nice people now.’ Sheila uses irony to show
that she completely disagrees with her parents and that she understands the moral consequences
of their actions. The use of irony highlights the tension that existed between the younger and
older generation. She is seeing her parents in a new, unfavourable light.

Of all the characters, it is Sheila who develops more as the play progresses. Sheila becomes more
like the Inspector herself. She seems at times almost as an accomplice to the Inspector. She
takes the side of the Inspector a lot in the play as we see that they are both after the truth. She
adopts some of his techniques as we see her asking Gerald many questions as the Inspector does,
reveals Eric's drinking problem to her mother, contradicts and undermines her parents, as the
Inspector does (when she gives back the ring to Gerald’s, She tells her father 'Don't interfere')
and she shocks Eric by telling him how their mother refused to help Eva. She echoes the
Inspector’s threat of ‘fire, blood and anguish.’

At the end of the play, Sheila is much wiser. She can now judge her parents and Gerald from a
new perspective, but the greatest change has been in her: her social conscience has been
awakened and she is aware of her responsibilities. The Sheila who has had a girl dismissed from
her job for a trivial reason has vanished forever. It is apparent throughout the play that Sheila
demonstrates far more compassion for human life, and a lot less prejudice over class boundaries
than her parents or Gerald, and she is more conscientious.

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She represents (with Eric) the younger generation – Priestley sees them as ‘more
impressionable’ – after all, they are the future. She gives the audience the hope that their society
can improve if people make changes and take responsibility. She learns her lesson. She takes
responsibility and changes; she also tries to encourage others to do the same. She makes a
decision to change her behaviour in future, which is a very different reaction from any of the
others. Sheila demonstrates that she is ashamed of her actions and she is the only character to tell
the Inspector the truth from the beginning.

Through Sheila, Priestley suggests that when it comes to women's rights, socialism is a better
and fairer system. Priestley uses the character of Sheila Birling and her involvement with Eva
Smith to illustrate the ways in which the rich have power over the poor.

Sheila is capable of learning and changing, for she realises that honesty and truth matter the most
and is able to see the world according to the Inspector’s values and not those of her family. She
is pivotal in exploring the themes of class, age and gender; their effect on people’s attitudes and
beliefs. Throughout the play, she acts as the family’s conscience and voice of conscience of
Priestley.