Mrs Birling: secondly, I blame the young man who was the father of the child she was going to have. If, as she said, he didn't belong to her class, and was some drunken young idler, then that's all the more reason why he shouldn't escape. He should be made an example of. If the girl's death is due to anybody, then it's due to him. Birling: Oh well – put like that, there's something in what you say. Still, I can't accept any responsibility. I f we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody we'd had anything to do with, it would be very awkward, wouldn't it? 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.

Mrs Birling: (with dignity) Yes. We've done a great deal of useful work in helping deserving cases . An Inspector Calls Context Notes - Learn GCSE English Literature". OxNotes GCSE Revision. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019 . Retrieved 8 December 2019. An Inspector Calls (lost television adaptation of play; 1948) - The Lost Media Wiki". lostmediawiki.com . Retrieved 16 September 2023. Eric: No. And I couldn't remember her name or where she lived . It was all very vague. But I happened to see her again in the palace bar.Eric: Yes. I wasn't in love with her or anything – but I liked her – she was pretty and a good sport -- Inspector: (impressively) I'm a police Inspector, Miss Birling. This afternoon a young woman drank some disinfectant, and died, after several hours of agony, tonight in the infirmary.

Birling: Oh – that's it, is it? Well, we've several hundred young women there, y'know, and they keep changing . Sheila: (gaily, possessively) I should jolly well think not, Gerald , I'd hate you to know all about port – like one of these purple-faced old men. Sybil Birling, "a rather cold woman" of about fifty, is Arthur's wife. As the leader of a charitable organisation, she assumes a social and moral superiority over Inspector Goole, whose questioning style she frequently refers to as "impertinent" and "offensive". Like her husband, she refuses to accept responsibility for the death of Eva Smith, and seems more concerned with maintaining the family's reputation, even going so far as to lie and deny that she recognizes the girl's picture. She derides women like Eva as immoral, dishonest, and greedy.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? Inspector: (firmly) Yes. ( As Birling looks like interrupting explosively.) I know – he's your son and this is your house – but look at him. He needs a drink now just to see him through. Gerald: no. I wasn't telling you a complete lie when I said I'd been very busy at the works all that time. We were very busy. But of course, I did see a good deal of her. Inspector: Because what happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterward, and what happened to her afterward may have driven her to suicide. A chain of events. Sheila: because Mother's been busy blaming everything on the young man who got this girl into trouble, and saying he shouldn't escape and should be made an example of.