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The Inspector is in his fifties, dressed in a plain dark suit. He initially seems to be an ordinary Brumley police inspector, but (as his name suggests) comes to seem something more ominous, perhaps even supernatural. J. B. Priestly writes The Inspector "need not be a big man, but he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness." The precise nature of his character is left ambiguous by Priestly, and it can be interpreted in various ways. 
The Inspector knows is aware that Sheila feels guilty, and had underlined that before she realised, and lets her feel guilty and admit she cannot bare to be responsible for the girl's death. She is struck by the truth of what the Inspector says, showing that he is a powerful, manipulative and interesting character.

Priestley describes him as speaking "carefully, weightily ... and [he] has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before he speaks."

Inspector Goole's character doesn't change. He always remains assertive throughout the play. However, he seems to gain more control over the characters as the play progresses.

 | ​​Scroll down for a list of his quotes. Or read ahead for (very!) important quote analysis.He arrives at a critical time – to interrupt Mr Birling and his selfish views: ‘a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own – and – We hear the sharp ring of a front doorbell.’ The Inspector’s role is to show that this is not the case.The Inspector uses the pronoun 'we' wheras Mr Birling and Mrs Birling use 'I'. Priestley creates a division between the Birlings selfish desires and Priestley's own message of collective responsibility.He is described in the stage directions as giving ‘an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness’. He takes charge immediately from Mr Birling and remains in control throughout. Mr Birling attempts to regain control, but fails as the Inspector quickly regains his control (The Inspector interrupts Birling ‘cutting through, massively’). Goole remains solid as each of them breaks down and nothing distracts him from his purpose.He is clearly there to challenge and investigate. He has a habit of ‘looking hard’ at the person he is interrogating before starting to speak. This unnerves the characters.He directs the investigation carefully, dealing with ‘one line of enquiry at a time’. Therefore, he is controlling the structure of the play.He is a teacher – to teach each character (and the audience) of the importance of social responsibility.Goole might have made a reference to the Bible in his statement "We are members of one body". His assertion suggests a moral character, with Biblical characteristics of compassion and love. He uses aggressive, shocking language to make the characters feel guilty for the part they played in Eva Smith’s death: ‘she died in misery and agony’4/4: Inspector Goole: Key Quotes Bank

 

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This article is about the play. For other uses, see An Inspector Calls (disambiguation).

An Inspector Calls is a play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first performed - in Russian - on 6 July 1945 at Moscow's Kamerny Theatre in the Soviet Union^[2]. Interviewed about this^[3] Priestley said that the play would have had its premiere in London but a theatre could not be found. Shortly after the play had been completed, Priestley and his wife were guests at a dinner at the Soviet Embassy in London and a discussion led to Priestley's providing an official with a copy of the script. 

Written by

 | J. B. Priestley

Date premiered

 | 6 July 1945

Place premiered

 | Moscow, Soviet Union

Original language

 | English

Subject

 | A mysterious inspector interrogates a wealthy English family about their responsibility for the death of a young working class factory girl.^[1]

Genre

 | Drama

Setting

 | The Birlings’ home in Brumley, England; April 1912

The play was first performed in english at the Old Vic on 1 October 1946. It is one of Priestley's best known works for the stage and is considered to be one of the classics of mid-20th century English theatre. The play's success and reputation have been boosted by a successful revival by English director Stephen Daldry for the National Theatre in 1992^[4] and a tour of the UK in 2011–2012.

The play is a three-act drama which takes place on a single night in April 1912,^[5] focusing on the prosperous upper middle-class Birling family,^[6] who live in a comfortable home in the fictional town of Brumley, "an industrial city in the north Midlands".^[5] The family is visited by a man calling himself Inspector Goole, who questions the family about the suicide of a young working-class woman, Eva Smith (also known as Daisy Renton). Long considered part of the repertory of classic drawing room theatre, the play has also been hailed as a scathing criticism of the hypocrisies of Victorian and Edwardian English society and as an expression of Priestley's socialist political principles. The play is studied in many schools in the UK as one of the prescribed texts for the English Literature GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education).

Synopsis

At the Birlings' home in April 1912, Arthur Birling – a wealthy factory owner and local politician – and his family are celebrating the engagement of daughter Sheila to Gerald Croft, the son of the owner of one of Birling's competitors, Crofts Limited. Also in attendance is Arthur's wife Sybil and their children Sheila and Eric, both in their early twenties. Eric, the younger, has a drinking problem that is not discreetly ignored and is a major part of the play. After dinner, Arthur speaks about the importance of self-reliance. He talks about his impending knighthood and about how "a man has to look after himself and his family."

A man calling himself Inspector Goole arrives, interrupting the evening and explaining that a woman called Eva Smith has killed herself by drinking strong disinfectant. He implies that she has left a diary, naming members of the Birling family. Inspector Goole produces a photograph of Eva and shows it to Arthur, who acknowledges that she worked in one of his mills. He admits that he dismissed her from Birling & Co. 18 months ago for her involvement in an abortive workers' strike. He denies responsibility for her death.

Sheila then enters the room and is drawn into the discussion. After prompting from Goole, she admits to recognising Eva as well. She confesses that Eva served her in a department store, Milwards, and Sheila contrived to have her fired for an imagined slight. She admits that Eva's behaviour had been blameless and that the firing was motivated solely by Sheila's jealousy and spite towards a pretty working-class woman.

Sybil enters the room and Goole continues his interrogation, revealing that Eva was also known as Daisy Renton. Gerald starts at the mention of the name and Sheila becomes suspicious. Gerald admits that he met a woman by that name in the Palace Bar. He gave her money and arranged to see her again. Goole reveals that Gerald had installed Eva as his mistress, and gave her money and promises of continued support before ending the relationship. Arthur and Sybil are horrified. An ashamed Gerald exits the room. Sheila acknowledges his nature and credits him for speaking truthfully but also signals that their engagement is over. After Gerald returns, Sheila hands the ring, which Gerald had given her earlier in the evening, back to him.

Goole identifies Sybil as the head of a women's charity to which Eva had turned for help. Despite Sybil's haughty responses, she eventually admits that Eva, pregnant and destitute, had asked the committee for financial aid. Sybil had convinced the committee that the girl was a liar and that her application should be denied. Despite vigorous cross-examination from Goole, Sybil denies any wrongdoing. Sheila begs her mother not to continue, but Goole plays his final card, making Sybil declare that the "drunken young man" who had made Eva pregnant should give a "public confession, accepting all the blame". Eric enters the room, and after brief questioning from Goole, he breaks down, admitting that he drunkenly raped Eva before meeting with her several times later and then stole £50 (purchasing power of £5610 in 2018 pounds)^[7] from his father's business to help her when she became pregnant. When Eva realised that the money had been stolen, she refused it. Arthur and Sybil are outraged by Eric's actions, and the evening dissolves into angry recriminations