The Character of Sheila Birling

The Character of Sheila Birling

An Inspector Calls is a play written by J.B. Priestley in 1945, but set in 1912 in Edwardian England; it examines the theme of responsibility, as Priestley expresses his views on the upper class through the presentation of his characters. Sheila Birling is the character who changes the most in the play. She begins as a naive, self-centred and privileged young woman but soon develops into a sensitive and increasingly mature and wise character, who shows the attitudes of responsibility, which forms J. B. Priestley’s message in the play. Set in 1912, the author attempts to show how Capitalism led to the world wars, revolutions and economic disasters. In this essay I am going to be analysing the character of Sheila Birling and how she has been presented in the text; from the start of the play to the end.

The first impressions of Sheila Birling are presented in the stage directions at the beginning of the play: “A very pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited.” This suggests she is the daughter of a wealthy manufacturer and her life has been of comfort and pleasure with very small concern for the world outside her social circle. It seemed like Sheila had lived an untroubled life up to this point in time. In the beginning of the play she appears as a jealous and unpleasant young lady because she made Eva Smith get fired. “I went to the manager at Milwards and I told him that if they didn’t get rid of that girl, I’d never go near that place again and I’d persuade mother to close our account with them.” This tells the audience of Sheila’s resentment towards Eva Smith since she sees Eva Smith as a more beautiful lady than herself; this is shown in the line “She was a very pretty girl…” which Sheila Birling tries to use as an excuse for her evil behaviour. This presents her as an envious character and shows signs of resemblance like her father.

Nevertheless, we learn fairly quickly as the play begins...