'An Inspector Calls' is a touching and moralistic play written by J.B. Preistley. The play is set in pre-First World War England and describes the part each member of the Birling family plays in the eventual suicide of the character we do not see, Eva Smith.
I believe that each character played an important part in the death and downfall of Eva Smith and although some of the 'crimes' committed against her may be perceived as being worse than the others, they are all equally important in the chain of events leading to her suicide.
Not all of the crimes committed in the play are actual punishable crimes, e.g. when Mr Birling sacks Eva he is not actually guilty of any criminal offence. This is known as a moral crime and is only reprimanded through conscience and guilt. The name of the character that does not appear becomes significant when referring to these crimes.
An Inspector Calls
Edna faces the crowd as her employers receive judg...
An Inspector Calls (film)Eva comes from the root word Eve, who is commonly known as the first woman and Smith is a particularly common name in Britain, especially England. Together this suggests that the author, J.B. Priestley, is not referring to just one woman but to every and all women. This is possibly to suggest the likelihood of these moral crimes being committed again against other women in other circumstances and the ease with which this series of events could be repeated.
The first of the characters to face an intimidating questioning from the Inspector was Mr Arthur Birling, a particularly pompous middle-class man. Mr Birling had sacked Eva when she had asked for more money for working in his factory, two years ago. Eva and a group of other workers had gone on strike for several weeks and when they had eventually been driven to literal...