J.B.Priestley’s play, An Inspector Calls - Eva Smith :: English Literature

Eva Smith - character study. There are many reasons for the death of Eva Smith. Each one of the Birling family and Gerald pushed Eva Smith a little closer to suicide but no one person was solely responsible for her death. It was not only the Birling's that contributed to Eva Smith's death but her position in the world she was in, she was very poor and low in society Mr Birling was the first person who we were led to believe started off the train of events that led to the death of Eva Smith. I don't believe that Mr Birling did anything that ultimately push Eva to commit suicide the only thing he did was sack her from his factory after she started to cause trouble demanding higher wages and getting the other girls in the factory to go on strike. Most men in his position would have done the same. Mr Birling said to the inspector, 'She had a lot to say far too much so she had to go ´. Although I don't think that Mr Birling did anything really wrong regarding Eva he does not come off well throughout the play as he shows himself up a number of times because of his personality. The major fault in his personality is that he seems to show no remorse for Eva and his son Eric is annoyed by this. He seems to be a very hard man, and shows no regret for dismissing Eva which led to her death. Sheila was the second person that the Inspector turned on and her part in the run up to Eva's death shows her in an unfavourable light as she turned on Eva because she was jealous of her. Sheila wrongfully used her position as an important customer to turn Eva out of a job. She even admits, 'it was my own fault ´, and that she 'was in a furious temper ´. She was jealous of Eva describing her as a 'very pretty girl too - with big dark eyes ´. Although her actions show her to be a bad tempered, jealous and malicious person you get the impression as she begins to talk that that is quite a harsh view of her and that although she does have bad characteristics she isn ´t really as bad as you first think her to be. She shows herself to be honest admitting straight away all that she had done, that she caught sight of her smiling at the assistant and 'I was furious with her ´. Gerald was the third person to come under the spotlight.