You are viewing a free preview of this lesson.
Subscribe to unlock all 10 lessons in this course and every other course on LearningBro.
Knowing the plot of An Inspector Calls inside out is non-negotiable at GCSE. Unlike Shakespeare's plays, Priestley's drama takes place in a single room on a single evening — but the revelations are devastating. This lesson provides a detailed breakdown of all three acts, identifies key turning points, and maps the dramatic structure.
Climax
(Eva's death revealed;
Gerald's confession)
/\
/ \
/ \ Falling Action
/ \ (Act 3: Family debates
/ \ whether Inspector was real)
/ Rising \
/ Action \
/ (Acts 1-2: \ Resolution?
/ Inspector \ (Phone call — a real
/ interrogates \ inspector is on his way)
/ each character \
/ \
--Exposition--------------\----->
(Act 1 opening:
Engagement dinner,
Birling's speeches)
The play opens with the Birling family celebrating the engagement of Sheila Birling to Gerald Croft. The mood is warm, self-congratulatory, and comfortable.
| Character | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Arthur Birling | Father / industrialist | Wealthy, self-made businessman |
| Sybil Birling | Mother | Cold, socially superior |
| Sheila Birling | Daughter | Young, initially sheltered |
| Eric Birling | Son | Drinks too much, nervous |
| Gerald Croft | Sheila's fiance | Upper class, son of Sir George |
| Edna | The maid | Working class, barely noticed |
Mr Birling makes several confident pronouncements:
"The Titanic — she sails next week ... unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable" (Act 1)
"I say there isn't a chance of war" (Act 1)
"a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own" (Act 1)
Every single prediction is catastrophically wrong. The 1945 audience would have known about the Titanic disaster, two world wars, and the need for collective responsibility. Priestley uses dramatic irony to completely undermine Birling's authority from the very start.
Examiner's tip: Birling's speeches are not just wrong — they represent an entire worldview that Priestley wants to demolish. When you write about Birling, connect his individual foolishness to the broader failure of the capitalist class.
The doorbell rings immediately after Birling's speech about every man looking after himself. This is a deliberate structural choice — the Inspector's arrival interrupts and contradicts Birling's philosophy.
Examiner's tip: The timing of the doorbell is one of the most important structural moments in the play. Priestley uses it to dramatically undercut Birling's capitalist worldview — it is as if the Inspector has been summoned by Birling's selfishness.
The Inspector announces that a young woman named Eva Smith has died — she killed herself by swallowing disinfectant. He shows a photograph to Birling (but notably, only to one person at a time).
Birling recognises her: she was one of his factory workers. In September 1910, she and other workers went on strike asking for a pay rise from twenty-two shillings and sixpence to twenty-five shillings a week. Birling refused and sacked her.
"If you don't come down sharply on some of these people, they'd soon be asking for the earth" (Act 1)
Birling feels no remorse. He sees the sacking as sound business.
The Inspector reveals that after being sacked, Eva found work at Milwards department store. Sheila, in a moment of jealous spite, complained to the manager and had Eva dismissed. Sheila is immediately struck with guilt:
"I felt rotten about it at the time and now I feel a lot worse" (Act 1)
Sheila is the first character to accept responsibility. She recognises the Inspector's power and warns the others:
"He's giving us the rope — so that we'll hang ourselves" (Act 1)
The Inspector mentions the name Daisy Renton. Gerald's startled reaction reveals he knows who she is. Act 1 ends with the tension rising.
Gerald admits he met Daisy Renton (Eva Smith's assumed name) at the Palace Bar in March 1911. She was being harassed by Alderman Meggarty. Gerald rescued her and began an affair. He installed her in a friend's rooms, gave her money, and she fell in love with him. He then ended the relationship in September 1911.
Gerald insists he cared for her: "She was young and pretty and warm-hearted — and intensely grateful" (Act 2). But Sheila points out the power imbalance:
"He at least had some affection for her and made her happy for a time" (Act 2) — but the relationship was always unequal.
The Inspector turns to Sybil Birling (Mrs Birling). She is the chairwoman of the Brumley Women's Charity Organisation. Eva — now pregnant — came to the charity for help about two weeks before her death.
Mrs Birling refused to help, claiming the girl was impertinent and used a false name. Eva had called herself "Mrs Birling," which Sybil considered an insult.
"I used my influence to have it refused" (Act 2)
Mrs Birling shows no remorse. She insists the girl only has herself to blame and that the real culprit is the father of the child:
"He should be made an example of. If the girl's death is due to anybody, then it's due to him" (Act 2)
The audience realises — before Mrs Birling does — that she is condemning her own son.
The act ends with Eric entering, looking distressed. Everyone turns to look at him. The audience understands what Mrs Birling does not: Eric is the father of Eva's child.
Eric admits he met Eva at the Palace Bar. He was drunk. He forced his way into her lodgings — "I was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty" (Act 3). This is a veiled admission of sexual assault.
He got her pregnant. He stole approximately fifty pounds from his father's office to support her. Eva refused to accept the stolen money when she found out where it came from.
When Eric discovers that his mother turned Eva away from the charity, he is furious:
"You killed her — and the child she'd have had too — my child — your own grandchild" (Act 3)
Before leaving, the Inspector delivers his famous final speech:
"But just remember this. One Eva Smith has gone — but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering, and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, with what we think and say and do. We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish." (Act 3)
Examiner's tip: This speech is the moral centre of the play. The phrase "fire and blood and anguish" refers to both World Wars — which the 1945 audience had just lived through. Priestley is saying: we failed to learn the lesson, and the wars were the consequence.
The family splits into two camps:
Subscribe to continue reading
Get full access to this lesson and all 10 lessons in this course.