Sheila Birling is questioned next by the Inspector. Sheila is the daughter of the family and is described as ," a pretty girl in her early twenties...pleased about life...excited" The audience could see her as a sweet lively young girl who appreciates life in her little bubble that is the house and lifestyle which surrounds her. This makes her quite naive and immature.
Sheila first became acquainted with Ms Smith when Eva received a job at Milwards, a well known department store. Sheila and her mother made purchases at this store frequently. Eva worked as a sales assistant at this store and Sheila got Eva fired when she lost her temper at her for smiling at her in a way which she found offensive. Sheila could be compared to her father as she too helped to cause Eva's death by getting her sacked from her job but here the similarities end. Upon hearing of Ms Smith's death, Sheila feels immediately responsible and wishes to take on all of the blame. As she feels so guilty when in fact she did relatively little, I believe that Sheila is not solely to blame. She also continues to feel guilty after learning that there was not an Eva Smith. She still feels that her acts were immoral and that they should not have done everything which t
Mrs Birling carried out her actions with no thought to what effects it could have and (what is even morally worse) then continued to dismiss her mistake after the 'death'. For these reasons I feel that if anyone, she is the most to blame. The majority of the audience will agree with my views as many performances of the play will portray Mrs Birling as, if you like,'the baddie', obviously dislikable from the start, making them jump to conclusions about her personality before the play has even started.
Mrs Birling does not feel at all remorseful for the girl's death and her view fails to change at all during the duration of the play. She remains cold and stone-faced even when every other member of the family has been accused and has accepted the blame.
Mrs Birling met Eva/Daisy two weeks before her supposed death. Eva/Daisy came to the Brumley Women's Charity Oraginzation appealing for money and help to support her child. Abortion was out of the question as it was not in legal practice at this time and although certain doctors claimed that they could perform the act, you took a great risk by placing yourself in their hands. As Eva/Daisy's child was conceived with Eric, she chose to take his surname. Mrs Birling took this offensively, thinking that the girl meant to be impertinent and lost her temper (which could be compared to Sheila'
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