Sheila in Priestley's An Inspector Calls

1148 Words3 Pages

Sheila in Priestley's An Inspector Calls Sheila Birling was created by Priestly to convey his socialist political views about the way Britain and society ran. Two years before the First World War 1912 was a time when the country was split by class divisions. People with wealth had power over the lower classes in the social hierarchy. Women were not seen as equal to men in society. A group called the suffragettes protested for equal rights and the vote for women throughout this time they were becoming more active and extreme and were making everybody think about Equality in Britain. Sheila is the daughter of Arthur Birling a successful business man. She lives a lavish life and is high up the social hierarchy. She is a young Woman and is ready to marry into future wealth, something her father wants more than anything. Arthur Birling sees his daughter’s marriage as a good business opportunity because Sheila’s fiancé is the son of one of his closest business rivals “Crofts Limited.” The drama explores the effects of class, age and sex on people’s attitudes and beliefs. It shows how easily different generations can adapt to change. Priestly hopes people will come away from a performance of his play asking questions about their responsibility to society and prejudice. Sheila is pivotal in helping explore these themes. In relation to her parents Sheila is seen as a good business tool. She is ready to marry and her father is happy about the marriage because it gives ... ... middle of paper ... ...is when she I questions her fathers judgement when she found out the circumstances in which Eva Smith was sacked she protested: “I think it was a mean thing to do. Perhaps spoilt everything for her.” Her questioning her fathers judgement creates conflict and shows she is learning and thinking about what is happening before her. She is also correcting her fathers judgement and telling him the correct way to have dealt with the problem. At the end of the play Sheila is Priestly’s hope for the future. Sheila represents youth. Youth represents the ability to adapt to change and new order. At the end of the play Sheila shows we can be optimistic that the young – who shape the future – will take on board the inspector’s message unlike her parents – the older generation – who have remained with their old values.

Open Document