Sheila Birling

“She only escaped with a torn blouse”

• “Only” suggests she was lucky to escape with a torn blouse and the abuse could’ve been greater

• Everyone knows this is the way Alderman Maggarty behaves and yet society has done nothing, in fact Sybil Birling wants to shut it up. She’d rather hide the truth than change it. So Sheila becomes a symbol for the younger generation in the audience of 1945. 

• When we see the struggle between Sheila and Eric with their parents, it symbolises the struggles of the younger generations in the audience with their own parents who have controlled the leaders of power, lead the country to war and ensured society isn’t equal.

“It doesn’t make any real difference, you know”

• This is when Gerald exposes the inspector as a fake and he comes up with theory that it might not be one separate girl.

• Her point is, it’s the actions that matter, whereas the Birling’s aren’t interested in their actions but only their reputation.  Sheila is arguing against this.

“No, not yet”

• Priestly saying she has learnt the lesson of the inspector, but then she is looking at the patriarchal society and thinking where does the leave me he is the most valuable male member of her society. Is she going to turn that down? 

• Even sheila is not going to learn the lesson

• If she does learn the lesson she is powerless, as she is a woman and doesn’t even have a vote in 1912. Priestly’s way of saying the female members f the audience in 1945 are not in the same position sheila is in. They can make a difference.

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