How and why does Sheila change in An Inspector Calls.

- Write about how Sheila responds to her family and

the Inspector
- How Priestley presents Sheila by the way he writes
(30 marks)
AO4(4 marks)

Throughout the play, Sheila is presented as childlike

because although she is in her early twenties, she is
marked to be entitled and naive. Sheila often referred to
her parents as “mummy” and “daddy” this illustrates how
Sheila still needs to be coddled as if she were a child.
Priestley does this to mimic the way young girls of that
time were typically shielded from the real world just like
parents shield their children from the realities of society
unabling them to grow up. Priestley also does this to
contradict the women's sufferage that was going on at
the time it was written (1945) by creating a character
who is stuck in the ideas of a 1912 woman whos parents
have very high influence on their life.

At the start of Act 1, Sheila's engagement with Gerald

highlights the desire for Sheila to have things done for
her and her incapability to think for herself. The ring
flags that Gerald now owns Sheila would then be
passed over to Geralds's care. This mirrors the other
relationships of the same structure because once the
woman has been proposed to, they’re the man's
property. Sheila asks Gerald “is this the one you wanted
me to have?” The question shows that Sheila is not
putting her best interests at heart and she is
disregarding her thoughts about Gerald because she
has had her doubts about him and what he did that
summer.

The Inspector acts like a catalyst for Sheilas awakening

to being a woman of her own because she listens to
what the Inspector says since her provides an
alternative to what her parents have been telling her,her
whole life. She stops saying “mummy” and shifts to
“mother”. Which reflects her new ideas turning her into a
whole new person entirely. She then gives the ring back
to Gerald as a symbol that Sheila has the power in the
relationship and rids the concept that Gerald has
ownership over her. Sheila (as a member of the younger
population) shows tremendous change and takes a leap
away from her rigid parents whos ideas stay “solid”.