Shelia Birling

“But these girls aren’t cheap labour – they’re people.” (Act 1)
👉 Sheila immediately challenges her father’s capitalist mindset—she starts to understand that workers deserve dignity.

“Between us we drove that girl to commit suicide.” (Act 3)
👉 Sheila takes collective responsibility, unlike her parents.

“You mustn’t try to build up a kind of wall between us and that girl.” (Act 2)
👉 Sheila rejects class divisions and wants to face the truth about how the upper class mistreats the poor.

(Implied): Sheila is one of the few characters who sees Eva as a real person, not just a lower-class statistic.

“You’re beginning to pretend now that nothing’s really happened at all.” (Act 3)
👉 Sheila is frustrated by her parents' refusal to learn. She shows that the younger generation is more morally aware.

“It frightens me the way you talk.” (Act 3)
👉 She’s disturbed by how cold and dismissive her parents are.

(Implied): While not overtly political, Sheila moves away from her family's capitalist attitudes and embraces Priestley’s socialist message—that we all share responsibility for others.

(She becomes a voice of the Inspector’s message in Act 3)

“It was my own fault.” (Act 1)
👉 Sheila takes full responsibility for having Eva fired, showing genuine remorse and growth.

“I’ll never, never do it again.” (Act 1)
👉 She begins to rethink her values, setting her apart from her parents.

“You’re forgetting I’m supposed to be engaged to the hero of it.” (Act 2)
👉 Sheila uses sarcasm to call out Gerald’s hypocrisy—she becomes more assertive and rejects the traditional passive female role.

“I’m not a child, don’t forget.” (Act 2)
👉 Pushes back against her parents’ attempts to control or patronise her.

“I know I’m to blame—and I’m desperately sorry.” (Act 2)
👉 Sheila openly admits guilt and grows more mature throughout the play.

(Implied): Priestley uses Sheila to show that owning your mistakes is essential for moral growth.

(Implied): Sheila is more concerned with moral justice than legal consequences—she doesn’t care whether the Inspector is real or not.

“It doesn’t make any real difference.” (Act 3)
👉 She understands that truth and responsibility matter more than technicalities.

“He’s giving us the rope – so that we’ll hang ourselves.” (Act 2)
👉 Sheila sees through the Inspector’s method—she becomes perceptive and insightful.