Sheila Birling

Character Summary: Overview

• Initially an obedient daughter

• Geralds fiancée

• Had Eva fired from her job at a clothing store

Character Summary: Key Characteristics

• Immature

• Materialistic

• Strong willed

• Capable of change

Character Summary: Themes

• Responsibility

• Class

• Generational Conflict

Character Summary: Role

• Sheila grows in maturity

• Ultimately rejects the selfish capitalist beliefs help by her parents and Gerald

• Representing the more progressive values of the younger generation

Why is Sheila Important? - Immature

• Originally immature

  • Blissfully unaware of the hardships of working class women

  • Horrified to hear Evas fate, which was partly caused by her petty jealousy

Why is Sheila Important? - Materialistic

• Judges Eva based solely on appearance

• Jealousy arises from Eva looking better in a dress than her

• Immediately disregarded her suspicion of Gerald leaving her all summer once he gave her an expensive ring

Why is Sheila Important? - Strong Willed, Capable of Change

• Accepts blame

• Sides with the Inspector for social reform

• Condemns her parents selfishness and irresponsibility

Language Analysis: Childish Language

• Highlights her naivety and immaturity

• ‘Mummy’ and ‘Daddy’

• Emotional outbursts

• Responds to Evas suicide with ‘Oh — horrible!’

Language Analysis: Descriptions of her Physical Behaviour

• Stage directions describe her physical behaviour

  • Illustrate the way her character develops

• Entirely obedient in Act 1 and ‘looks attentive’ as her father describes importance of putting oneself first

• Moves physically closer to the Inspector in Act 2 demonstrating how she falls under his influence

  • ‘She goes closer to him, wonderingly’

Language Analysis: Shift in Tone

• Dialogue with her parents and Gerald is important in establishing her rejection of their selfish beliefs

• Begins the play hanging on her parents every word

• By Act 3 she is confident to challenge them

  • Even calling Sybil’s use of ‘impertinent’ a ‘silly word’

“Oh —

why had this to happen?”

“Oh — why had this to happen?”

• Act Two

• Realisation

• Instantly feels overwhelming guilt, unlike her parents

• Used as a moral judge

“Look mummy…

isn’t it a beauty?”

“Look mummy, isn’t it a beauty?”

• Act One

• Mummy: childish, still sheltered by her parents, dependent

• Materialistic attitude: excitement and happiness depends on physical items instead of the emotional commitment they are making

• Baseline to measure her growth

  • Eventually stops her childish language and becomes one of the most morally aware characters

“These girls aren’t…

cheap labour — they’re people”

“These girls aren’t cheap labour — they’re people”

• Act One

• Exposes the cruelty of the capitalist system, which is dehumanising the working class

• Dramatic Irony: doesn’t yet realise she also impacted Eva in a negative, capitalist way

• Short sentence shows her conviction and direct challenge to her fathers authority

“It frightens me…

the way you talk”

“It frightens me the way you talk”

• Act Three

• Highlights her maturity and development throughout the play

  • No longer hidden behind her parents attitude and behaviours

• Expresses her concern for the older generations and their lack of care

• Highlights how the younger generation are more hopeful and accepting of social responsibility and change

Character Development: Act One

• Entitled and Immature

  • Childish and exciteable

  • View of the world is blinkered

  • No understanding of the lives of those who are less privileged

  • Distraught when the Inspector reveals that Sheilas spite and jealousy contributed to Evas suicide

Character Development: Act Two

• Becomes more mature

  • Convinces Gerald to confess to his affair

  • Shows maturity in how she handles the situation

    • Breaks off the engagement

    • Respect Geralds honesty

• First to realise Erics involvement

Character Development: Act Three

• Transformation is Complete

  • Sides fully with the Inspector

    • Takes on board his message about the importance of social responsibility

  • Rejects Geralds suggestion that it was a hoax

  • Condemns her parents for not changing

Character Interpretation: Progressive Politics

• By the end, she aligns with the ideologies of a postwar audience who are more socially aware

  • They would’ve witnessed development of Britains Welfare State, increased focus on workers rights and labour unions, and a renewed focus on community values

• Modern audiences may sympathise with Sheila at the end of the play

Character Interpretation: Rights of Women

• Represents the social position of women in 1912 Britain

  • Might be seen as a victim of her environment

• Naivety and immaturity are indicative of poor standard of education afforded to women at the time

• Her excitement at the expensive ring alludes to the fact that women depended on men for financial stability

• Her father sees the engagement as a business opportunity

• Her new, socially progressive ideas are dismissed by the selfish older generations

  • Reflects the powerlessness of women in 1912 to affect political change

  • Middle class women were only granted rights to vote in 1918

  • Universal suffrage was not granted until 1928