'An Inspector Calls': Sheila Character Analysis (animated)

Summary

The script explores Priestley's use of Sheila to challenge societal biases and gender roles in a male-dominated society. Initially portrayed as immature and materialistic, Sheila's character evolves through Priestley's narrative, as she learns the importance of social responsibility and accountability. Her transformation, marked by a shift from childlike to mature behavior, serves as an example for the audience to question conventional thinking and hold those in power accountable, even if it means challenging their own beliefs and relationships.

Takeaways

• 👧 Sheila is initially portrayed as an immature and materialistic character, reflecting societal biases and gender stereotypes.
• 👨‍👧‍👦 Sheila's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Birling, treat her as a child, reinforcing the idea of women's inferior status in a male-dominated society.
• 💍 Sheila's materialistic nature is highlighted through her comments about her engagement ring and her discussions about clothes with Mrs. Birling.
• 🚶‍♂️ Sheila's treatment by other characters, such as Gerald, demonstrates her perceived inferiority compared to men in the play.
• 🤔 The play suggests that societal attitudes towards women, similar to those towards Sheila, may have contributed to Eva Smith's tragic fate.
• 🔄 After Inspector Goole's interrogation, Sheila undergoes a significant transformation, becoming more assertive and independent.
• 🔥 Sheila's new assertiveness is evident in her confrontations with Gerald and her family, showing her shift from passivity to active engagement.
• 💍 The return of the engagement ring signifies Sheila's rejection of her previous materialistic and dependent self.
• 🧐 Sheila's use of logic and reason, rather than emotion, in her interactions post-interrogation, indicates her maturity and growth.
• 👨‍👧‍👦 The contrast between Sheila and her parents' reactions to the inspector's message underscores Priestley's critique of the older generation's rigid attitudes.
• 📢 Sheila's adoption of the inspector's role and language in the final act symbolizes her internalization of his lessons on social responsibility and justice.
• 🌟 Priestley encourages the audience to challenge conventional thinking and hold those in power accountable, as exemplified by Sheila's transformation.

Q & A

How does Priestley initially portray Sheila in the play?

Priestley initially portrays Sheila as immature and materialistic, evident in her childlike way of addressing her parents as 'Mummy' and 'Daddy' and her obsession with the engagement ring.

What is the significance of Sheila’s treatment by other characters in Act One?

Sheila's treatment as inferior by other characters, especially the men, reflects the societal view of women as inferior in the male-dominated society of the time.

How does Sheila’s character change after the inspector’s interrogation?

After the inspector's interrogation, Sheila undergoes a significant transformation, becoming more assertive, logical, and mature, in contrast to her initial portrayal.

What does Sheila’s comment ‘you fool – he knows’ signify about her development?

This comment signifies Sheila's shift from being passive and naive to becoming aware and perceptive, recognizing the inspector's deep understanding of the situation.

How does Priestley use Sheila to criticize the older generation?

Priestley contrasts Sheila's quick acceptance of social responsibility with her parents' refusal to change, using her to criticize the older generation's stubbornness and outdated beliefs.

What does the change in Sheila’s terms of address for her parents indicate?

The shift from 'Mummy' and 'Daddy' to 'Mother' and 'Father' symbolizes Sheila's maturity and her evolution from a childlike character to a more independent and thoughtful adult.

How does Sheila's interruption of her mother in Act Two demonstrate her character growth?

Sheila's interruption of her mother and her willingness to answer for her show a reversal of roles and highlight her newfound confidence and assertiveness.

In what way does Sheila take on the inspector’s role after his departure?

After the inspector leaves, Sheila adopts his interrogative approach, questioning her family and Gerald, showing how she has internalized the inspector’s message and methods.

What is the significance of Sheila mirroring the inspector’s language?

Sheila's repetition of the inspector's words 'Fire and blood and anguish' demonstrates how deeply she has absorbed his teachings, indicating her transformation into a morally aware character.

What message does Priestley convey through Sheila’s character development?

Priestley suggests that anyone can undergo significant positive change, as Sheila does, by accepting social responsibility and challenging conventional, biased thinking.

Outlines

00:00

🚺 Sheila's Transformation and Social Critique

The script explores Priestley's use of Sheila as a vehicle to challenge societal biases and gender stereotypes. Initially portrayed as immature and materialistic, Sheila's character is contrasted with the more mature yet similarly immature Eric, highlighting the double standards of a male-dominated society. Sheila's treatment underscores the broader issue of women's inferior status, which is suggested as a contributing factor to Eva Smith's tragic fate. However, Sheila's evolution throughout the play signifies a shift from passivity to assertiveness, as she adopts a more logical and reasoned approach to the family's crisis. Priestley encourages the audience to learn from Sheila's transformation, emphasizing the importance of personal growth and social responsibility.

Keywords

💡Individual Power

Individual power refers to the capacity of a person to influence or make decisions within a society. In the script, Priestley uses Sheila's character to explore the limitations and potential of an individual's power in a society that is biased and dominated by traditional gender roles. Sheila's transformation throughout the play signifies the awakening of her individual power as she challenges societal norms and her family's dismissive attitudes towards her.

💡Gender Bias

Gender bias is the prejudice or unfair treatment of individuals based on their gender. The script highlights gender bias through the way Sheila and other female characters are treated as inferior to men. For instance, Gerald tries to have Sheila removed from the room during his interrogation, indicating that her voice and presence are not valued equally.

💡Materialism

Materialism is the belief that material possessions are the most important aspect of life. Sheila is initially portrayed as materialistic, as shown by her attachment to her engagement ring and discussions about clothes, which reflects the superficial values of her social class.

💡Inferior Treatment

Inferior treatment denotes the act of treating someone as less important or worthy. In the script, Sheila's interactions with other characters, such as Gerald and her parents, demonstrate how she is treated as inferior due to her gender, which mirrors the societal treatment of Eva Smith.

💡Social Responsibility

Social responsibility is the idea that individuals and organizations have a duty to act in ways that benefit society at large. Priestley conveys the concept through the inspector's message and Sheila's eventual adoption of this principle, challenging her family's lack of concern for the welfare of others.

💡Character Transformation

Character transformation refers to the process by which a character in a narrative changes significantly. Sheila's development from a naive and materialistic young woman to a more mature and socially aware individual is a central theme of the script, illustrating the potential for personal growth and societal change.

💡Maturity

Maturity in this context refers to the state of being developed and fully grown, both physically and mentally. Sheila's maturation is symbolized by her shift from childlike terms of address for her parents to more formal ones, and her taking on a more logical and reasoned approach to the family's situation.

💡Interrogation

Interrogation is the act of questioning someone closely and formally, often in a legal context. The inspector's interrogation serves as a catalyst for Sheila's transformation, as it forces the characters to confront their actions and the consequences thereof.

💡Accountability

Accountability is the obligation to report on or take responsibility for one's actions. Priestley suggests that the audience should aspire to be like Sheila, who not only acknowledges her own mistakes but also holds others accountable for theirs.

💡Middle Class

The middle class refers to a social group that falls between the working class and the upper class in terms of income, education, and social status. Sheila's middle-class background is contrasted with Eva Smith's more vulnerable position, highlighting the different levels of protection and privilege afforded by social class.

💡Inspector Goole

Inspector Goole is a character who serves as a moral compass in the play, challenging the characters' complacency and lack of social responsibility. Sheila's adoption of his role and language after his departure signifies her internalization of his message and her new role as a challenger of societal norms.

Highlights

Sheila is presented as an immature, materialistic character in the beginning.

Sheila's infantile mode of address and her parents' treatment of her as a child highlight her inferior status.

Sheila's materialism is evident in her comments about the engagement ring and clothes.

Other characters, like Gerald, treat Sheila as inferior, reflecting societal gender bias.

Eric's immature behavior is contrasted with Sheila's treatment, showing a double standard.

Sheila's transformation begins after Inspector Goole's interrogation, as she starts to challenge others.

Sheila's sarcastic comments and mature actions show her shift from passivity to indignation.

Priestley suggests the audience should aspire to be like Sheila, owning up to their mistakes and holding others accountable.

Sheila's quick learning of social responsibility contrasts with her parents' dismissive attitude.

The change in Sheila's terms of address to her parents signifies her maturation.

Sheila interrupts and answers for herself, a dramatic turnaround from the beginning of the play.

Sheila takes on the interrogating role of Inspector Goole after his departure.

Repetition and mirroring of language show Sheila has learned and adopted the inspector's role.

Sheila's transformation encourages the audience to challenge conventional thinking and question the powerful.

Sheila's dramatic change from a selfish character to one who cares about social responsibility serves as an example for the audience.

Priestley uses Sheila's character to explore the power of the individual in a biased society and to challenge gender norms.

Transcripts

Priestley uses the character of Sheila to explore the power of the individual in a biased

society, and to challenge ideas about gender.

In the opening moments of the play, Priestley presents Sheila as an immature, materialistic

character. Despite the stage directions telling us that she is ‘in her early twenties’,

Sheila refers to her parents as ‘Mummy’ and ‘Daddy’, an infantile, immature mode

of address which is reciprocated by

Mr and Mrs Birling, who refer to Sheila as both a ‘child’ and ‘childish’. Sheila’s

comment about the engagement ring and how she will ‘never let it go out of my sight’

presents her as materialistic, as does the comment from Eric that Sheila and Mrs Birling

are ‘talking about clothes’ when they retire to the drawing room in Act One.

We see numerous examples where Priestley presents other characters treating Sheila as inferior.

Early in Act One, Gerald enquires of Sheila, ‘I’ve been trying long enough, haven’t

I?’, but it is Mrs Birling who interrupts and replies in Sheila’s place, telling Gerald

‘Of course she does’. Later, Gerald tries to have Sheila removed from the room during

his interrogation, telling the inspector in the opening of Act Two, ‘I think Miss Birling

ought to be excused’. Yes, it is clear early on that Sheila is not treated as an equal

as inferior to men. I mean, just take a quick look at Eric—he is undoubtedly more immature

than Sheila, but he isn’t treated like a child in the way she is. Sheila’s treatment

by others reflects how women were considered as having an inferior role within a male-dominated

society. This attitude to women as inferior is, it can be argued, one of the causes of

Eva Smith’s death. Like Eva, Sheila is treated as inferior because of her gender. However,

because she is middle class, she is more protected and less vulnerable than Eva Smith.

After the inspector’s interrogation, Sheila begins to change as a character. Her words

to Gerald of ‘you fool – he knows’ demonstrate a dramatic shift in her personality: the little

girl who was cooing over a ring has gone, and her passivity has been replaced with a

fiery indignation. The sarcastic ‘you're forgetting I'm supposed to be engaged to the

hero’ cuts through Gerald’s attempt to romanticise the story of his interactions

with Eva. Furthermore, the maturity behind her cool returning of the ring, as opposed

to her tantrum at the end of Gerald’s confession, implies to the audience that this is a woman

who is now not governed by her emotions – but by logic and reason.

Priestley seems to be suggesting that the audience should aspire to be like Sheila:

they should own the mistakes they’ve made and make others accountable for their own

mistakes too.

Priestley presents Sheila as a character who quickly learns the inspector’s message of

social responsibility, unlike her parents who, when they think they’ve got away with

it, laugh and encourage their children to do the same, complaining, ‘they can't even

take a joke’. The contrast between Sheila and her parents can been interpreted as Priestley

criticising the behaviour of the older generation, who are fixed in their ways.

To signify this change in Sheila’s character, we see a shift in the terms of address she

uses with her parents. In Act Two, Sheila addresses Mrs Birling as ‘Mother’ and

Mr Birling as ‘Father’– a symbol of how she has matured from the childlike Act

1 address of ‘Mummy’ and ‘Daddy’.

Also in Act Two, Sheila interrupts and answers a question directed at Mrs Birling, telling

the inspector ‘Yes, she is. Why?’ when the inspector asks Mrs Birling if she is a

member of the Brumley  Women’s Charity Organization. 

This is a dramatic turnaround from the start

of the play where it was Mrs Birling interrupting and answering for Sheila. The change in Sheila

is dramatic and serves as an example to the audience of how they too can dramatically

change for the better.

With the inspector’s final exit in Act Three, Sheila can in some ways be seen to take on

his role. We saw a hint of this at the end of Act One, when it was Sheila who forced

a confession out of Gerald whilst the inspector 

went off stage with Eric.  Following the inspector’s

departure in the third act, Sheila interrogates her family and Gerald, asking a series of

questions. Through this use of questioning, Priestley is showing how Sheila has taken

on the interrogating role of the inspector.

Priestley also uses repetition as a technique, with Sheila mirroring the language used previously

by the inspector when she talks about ‘Fire and blood and anguish’ – the exact words

previously spoken by the Inspector Goole. This mirroring of language is Priestley’s

way of showing us how Sheila has not only learned the Inspector’s valuable lesson,

but she has in some way taken on the role of the Inspector himself. Yes, she realises

her own fault in the matter, but she also wants to ensure that others do too.

Through his presentation of Sheila, Priestley encourages the audience to challenge conventional

thinking and to question the behaviour of others – holding those to account who have

power over us, even if that means rejecting those who are close to us and rethinking our

own world views. If Sheila can so dramatically transform from a selfish, shallow character

to one who now challenges others and cares about social responsibility, then everyone

in the audience can also transform in the same way.