An Inspector Calls and Other Plays (Penguin Modern Classics)

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Mrs Birling : ( smiling ) Very well, then. Just a little, thank you. (to Edna, who is about to go, with tray.) all right, Edna. I'll ring from the drawing room when we want coffee. Probably in about half an hour. Gerald: No, it wasn't. ( he waits a moment, then in a low, troubled tone .) She told me she'd been happier than she'd ever been before – but that she knew it couldn't last – hadn't expected it to last. She didn't blame me at all. I wish to God she had now. Perhaps I'd feel better about it.

Gerald: (cutting, rather impatiently) Mrs Birling, the inspector knows all that. And I don't think it's a very good idea to remind him-- Mrs Birling: Well, really, I don't know. I think we've just about come to an end of this wretched business-- Accessing a CGP Online Edition by using a code from a printed CGP book grants you access to the title and Online Extras for three years from the date of activation of the code. An Inspector Calls study guide contains a biography of J.B. Priestley, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.Stringer, Jenny (1996). The Oxford companion to twentieth-century literature in English. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 330. ISBN 978-0-19-212271-1. The young girl who allegorically represents the working class in a capitalist society; she doesn't have any lines in the play. All Birling characters behaved in ways that completely altered her life for the worst, culminating in her suicide by drinking some strong disinfectant. The inspector reads her diary before interrogating the Birlings. She is described as being young and pretty, with dark eyes. She also changes her name from Eva Smith to Daisy Renton. Mrs Birling. (rising. The others rise) Yes, of course, dear. Well, don't keep Gerald in here too long. Eric – I want you a minute. Inspector: she kept a rough sort of diary. And she said there that she had to go away and be quiet and remember ' just to make it last longer'. She felt there'd never been anything as good again for her – so she had to make it last longer. Inspector: This young woman, Eva Smith, was out of the ordinary. I found a photograph of her in her lodgings. Perhaps you'd remember her from that.

Gerald: And I don't really see that this inquiry gets you anywhere, Inspector. It's what happened to her since she left Mr Birling's works that is important. One evening in the spring of 1912, the Birlings are celebrating their daughter Sheila’s engagement to Gerald Croft, who is also present. Husband and wife Arthur and Sybil Birling, along with their son Eric, are pleased with themselves. Birling toasts the happy couple, and Gerald presents Sheila with a ring which absolutely delights her. Birling: I don't see we need to tell the Inspector anything more. In fact, there's nothing I can tell him. I told the girl to clear out, and she went. That's the last I heard of her. Have you any idea what happened to her after that? Get into trouble? Go on the streets? Gerald: yes. I asked her questions about herself. She told me her name was Daisy Renton, that she'd lost both parents, that she came originally from somewhere outside Brumley. She also told me she'd had a job in one of the works here and had had to leave after a strike. She said something about the shop too, but wouldn't say which it was, and she was deliberately vague about what happened. I couldn't get any exact details from her about herself – just because she felt I was interested and friendly – but at the same time, she wanted to be Daisy Renton – and not Eva Smith . In fact, I heard that name for the first time tonight. What she did let slip – though she didn't mean to – was that she was desperately hard up and at that moment was actually hungry. I made the people at the county find some food for her. Birling: (moving) No, leave this to me. I must also have a word with my wife – tell her what's happening . (turns at the door, staring at the Inspector angrily.) We were having a nice family celebration tonight. And a nasty mess you've made of it now , haven't you?Remember Eva Smith: The Inspector's Russian Journey". 100 Objects from Special Collections at the University of Bradford. Yorkshire, England: University of Bradford. 15 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015 . Retrieved 4 October 2015. Inspector: but if her story was true, if this boy had been giving her stolen money, then she came to you for help because she wanted to keep this youngster out of any more trouble – isn't that so? he regards her calmly while she stares at him wonderingly and dubiously. Now Mrs Birling. Enters, briskly and self-confidently, quite out of key with the little scene that has just passed. Sheila feels this at once.// ii. In no event will we be liable to you for any indirect or consequential damages, or loss of income. In particular, we accept no liability for any programs or data made or stored with the service nor for the costs of recovering or replacing such programs or data. Nothing in this Agreement limits liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or our liability to you in the event of death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or that of our employees agents or sub-contractors. 10. Third Parties

Sheila: I'd gone in to try something on. It was an idea of my own – mother had been against it, and so had the assistant – but I insisted. As soon as I tried it on, I knew they'd been right. It just didn't suit me at all. I looked silly in the thing. Well, this girl had brought the dress up from the workroom, and when the assistant – miss Francis – had asked her something about it, this girl, to show us what she meant, had held the dress up, as if she was wearing it. And it just suited her . She was the right type for it, just as I was the wrong type. She was very pretty too – with big dark eyes – and that didn't make it any better. Well, when I tried the thing on and looked at myself and knew that it was all wrong, I caught sight of this girl smiling at miss Francis – as if to say: 'doesn't she look awful' – and I was absolutely furious. I was very rude to both of them, and then I went to the manager and told him that this girl had been very impertinent – and – and – ( she almost breaks down, but just controls herself .) How could I know what would happen afterward? If she'd been some miserable plain little creature, I don't suppose I’d have done it. But she was very pretty and looked as if she could take care of herself. I couldn't be sorry for her. Burnt her inside out..." Arthur Birling, a prosperous manufacturer, is holding a family dinner party to celebrate his daughter's engagement. Birling: (raising his glass) So here's wishing the pair of you – the very best that life can bring. Gerald and Sheila. Inspector: No, not entirely. A good deal happened to her after that. But you're partly to blame . Just as your father is. The Inspector now shows Mrs. Birling the girl’s photograph. The front door slams, and Mr. Birling discovers that his son, Eric, has stormed out of the house. Though she resists, Mrs. Birling finally admits that she had used her influence some weeks previous to deny the pictured girl aid from the Women’s Charity Organization, as she was prejudiced against the girl’s case. The Inspector contributes the additional fact that the girl was pregnant when she committed suicide, and that it was due to her pregnancy that she was asking the Charity Organization for help. Mrs. Birling confirms that the child’s father had given the girl money but that the girl refused it because she found out it was stolen. Mrs. Birling claims that the only people responsible for the girl’s downfall and suicide are the girl herself and the man that got her pregnant.

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Gerald: yes. I suppose it was inevitable. She was young and pretty and warm-hearted – and intensely grateful. I became at once the most important person in her life – you understand? Inspector: and you think young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things? Birling: I see. Sensible really. (moves restlessly, then turns.) you've had enough of that port, Eric. You have read and understand this Agreement and agree that it constitutes the complete and exclusive statement of the Agreement between us with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement. 12. Law and Disputes Gerald: we went along to the county hotel, which I knew would be quiet at that time of night , and we had a drink or two and talked.