Student Question
What is the role of reputation for each character in An Inspector Calls?
Quick answer:
In An Inspector Calls, reputation is crucial to each character. Arthur Birling prioritizes profits and social standing, firing Eva to protect his business reputation. Sybil Birling refuses Eva help to maintain her higher social class. Sheila Birling uses her family's reputation to have Eva fired out of jealousy. Gerald Croft discards Eva to avoid risking his social standing. Eric Birling's actions are ignored to protect the family's reputation.
Reputation and its maintenance are extremely important to the characters in J. B. Priestley's play An Inspector Calls. Let's examine how this works.
Inspector Goole shows up at the Birling family home and threatens the reputation of each family member with the announcement that they are all responsible for the death by suicide of a young woman, whom they all treated callously. The Birlings are intent upon maintaining their reputation in society, so this news is shocking and disturbing to them. They seem to care more about their social standing, though, than about the young woman, whose name is Eva.
Arthur Birling is an industrialist who is focused on making profits and keeping his name in the successful businessman spotlight. He fired Eva for striking for better wages because the actions of the strikers threatened his profits and his reputation in the business world.
Sybil Birling, Arthur's wife,...
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has refused to help Eva through her charitable organization, blaming the young woman for her own problems and refusing to accept the fact that her family largely caused them. Sybil is quite conscious that she herself is of a higher social class than her husband, and she wants to maintain that.
Sheila Birling, the daughter of Arthur and Sybil, actually had Eva fired from another job by threatening to close the family account at the store unless Eva was promptly dismissed. Sheila is jealous of Eva because of Eva's beauty and because of the young woman's involvement with Gerald Croft. Sheila used her family's reputation to influence the store and act out her pettiness.
Gerald Croft used and abused Eva and then threw her away when he no longer wanted her. He certainly had no intention of marrying Eva, which would risk his reputation and social standing. He is now forming an alliance with the Birling family through his engagement to Sheila.
Eric Birling, the son of Arthur and Sybil, got Eva pregnant and then left her. Again, his family's social status and reputation could never be risked through a marriage between Eric and Eva, so Eric's mother simply refused to acknowledge her son's actions.